Link: http://trax.fastcompany.com/k/w/mailman/fasttake/20080730/corporate_games

by Quibian Salazar-Moreno for FastCompany.com

The Sims games were not only one of the best-selling franchises of the past two decades, they pioneered an entire category of simulation games that require quicker problem-solving skills than trigger fingers.

Now video games are making their way into corporations, with savvy CEOs having employees play games as part of their job training.
Here's how serious games are invading corporate America... read on...

Have you seen any evidence of this in Australia?
Please share...

Link: http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/giveaway

How good is this!...

Beginning the 26th, and running through August 4th, Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Macmillan Audio will be offering the audio edition of Thomas Friedman's THE WORLD IS FLAT for free. Listeners will receive the audiobook in three easy-to-download sections, and soon after that, as an added bonus, will also receive an exclusive prepublication audio excerpt of Friedman's HOT, FLAT, AND CROWDED: WHY WE NEED A GREEN REVOLUTION AND HOW IT CAN RENEW AMERICA. The book itself will be released by Farrar, Straus and Giroux on September 8th.

Jeff Seroy, Senior Vice President of marketing and publicity at FSG, said the purpose of this audio giveaway is to "celebrate Friedman's enormous influence on our lives and times. And in preparation for the release of his new book, a green manifesto and a continuation in many ways of his thinking in THE WORLD IS FLAT, we want to enable anyone who hasn't already read THE WORLD IS FLAT to catch up with Friedman's argument and vision for the future."

If you'd like to receive these free audio downloads, sign up at the address below:

http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/giveaway

Enjoy!
ChangeThis
http://www.changethis.com/

Link: http://www.salary.com/sitesearch/layoutscripts/sisl_display.asp?filename=&path=/destinationsearch/par640_body.html

Salary.com Survey Finds Businesses Value Mom Skills Honed at Home
(this is US based research, but interesting just the same, and probably not too far from the mark for Australia either)

Salary.com Inc., a leading provider of on-demand compensations management solutions, today announced the results of its 7th annual Mom Salary Survey for working and stay-at-home moms. If paid the salary of the equivalent jobs moms performs, stay-at-home moms would earn USD$138,095 and working moms would earn USD$85,939 per year. At some point, many stay-at-home moms will seek to re-enter the workforce. This year, Salary.com's survey also highlights those skills moms have honed that employers value and provides tips to help moms make their stay-at-home time attractive to prospective employers-defining the "Marketable Mom".

Skills Employers Believe Mother's Excel At
Multi-Tasking Capabilities 58.8%
Compassion/Empathy 48.5%
Dependability 44.3%
Work Ethic 39.2%
Relevant Life Experience 36.1%
Management and People Skills 24.7%

The proof is in the hiring. Salary.com found that over 95 percent of employers do hire former stay-at-home moms and over 80 percent are actively recruiting moms re-entering the workforce. As the available talent pool shrinks, employers are finding increasing value in the transferable skills mothers can bring to the workforce... read on...

Have you looked at this demographic given their font of experience?
If not, why not?

Link: http://www.ere.net/2008/07/21/assess-your-employment-brand-using-an-audit-checklist/#more-3342

...by Dr John Sullivan for ERE.net

One of the hottest topics in talent management today is employment branding, in part because applicants rank brand as the second most influential factor when deciding whether to accept an offer.

Just five years ago, less than 1 in 10 Fortune 200 companies had a dedicated role to manage the employment brand, yet today more than 1 in 4 Fortune 200 companies have dedicated headcount and budget to the practice.

Employment branding is the practice of managing your firms image or reputation as an excellent place to work. Because so many factors influence how an organization is perceived, employment branding is loosely defined.

Most of the individuals involved in employment branding use a learn as you go approach, actively trying a market basket of brand manipulation activities to see what works and what does not. Quite often, initial employment branding efforts are weak and full of elements that need serious improvement.

To have an effective employment branding function, periodically conduct an assessment or audit of the three critical branding areas...
Your branding programs design elements
The information that you provide
The approaches used to establish each of your sub-employment brands

Whether you want to audit your existing effort or get a new effort off on the right foot, here is a quick audit checklist you can use to judge where you are now and where you need to be.

Incidentally, if your goal is to build a powerhouse employment brand like Google, recognize upfront that each individual audit item is important, so do not skip a single one... read on...

so... where are you up to?

Link: http://www.parttimeonline.com.au/resource_centre/news/is-flexibility-really-the-answer

Are working flexible hours really meeting our expectations of quality of life or is it just an excuse to work 24/7? Part Time Online asks, 'Has flexibility in the workplace become a friend or foe?'

In our quest to achieve the ideal work-life balance many of us find ourselves falling into the trap of non-stop work. As expectations in the workplace are slowly moving toward the delivery of outcomes, a new found freedom has been created for many employers; one which has enabled us to work where we want and when we want.

As our employment focus moves more and more towards outcome based projects and work, individuals must move more into the space of "self management". To achieve this, individuals must really understand their own personal motivations and how they can use these to maximise their quality of life... read on...

To learn more about PartTime OnLine, go to
www.parttimeonline.com.au