Link: http://archives.subscribermail.com/msg/3191ef2c489d409d885fe5ce4695fe78.htm

After the layoffs and budget cuts, now what? Are you living up to your brand promises or are you falling short on customer experiences? This edition of the TP Times focuses on sustaining your organizational brand and the power of values and brand. The lead article below is written from the belief that when the focus is only on the bottom line and people are ignored, the organizational brand suffers, as customers lose sight of what you stand for, and they no longer trust what you can deliver.

What About the Brand?

The news is full of stories about downsizing, job evaporations, and budgets being slashed into shreds. After all is said and done, what happens to the brand? Did it survive? Or is it bruised and battered? Leaders in the organization are responsible for the integrity of the brand, and they have to pull their heads out of the financial data long enough to assess the current state of the brand and of their talent.

We know that, when there is a shift in the organization as strong as this economic shift has been for many, the brand can become diluted if no one is asking, "What about the brand?"

Let us not forget that in the center hub of organizations is the talent, and, by the way, the talent is the brand. It is the talent in an organization that brings its brand to life. If the talent are no longer happy, if they are concerned about their own welfare, or they've hunkered down to stay out of sight, the brand may be on its last breath as well. And when the brand is struggling to survive, the impact is on the customer experience. The talent may become non-caring and cynical and these attitudes can permeate into how the customers experience the brand.

When there have been strong shifts in the organization, then the organization must recalibrate itself and set the organization back on course. We believe that organizations can best do this by taking these steps:

1. Revisit the ambition or goal of the organization and connect people to it.
2. Managers spend time on the front lines talking to people and getting a handle on the issues.
3. Re-state the brand promise and ensure that everyone knows how his or her job affects the promise.
4. Take a look at the changes in the organization and assess the impact on the brand and the impact on the customer experience.
5. Design a course of action to put the brand back on track.

A brand bruised and battered can have customers headed towards the competition, which is exactly the opposite of an organization's aims. In tough economic times, it would serve an organization best to focus on keeping their current loyal customers/clients. Now would be the time to re-think how to make the brand truly distinctive in the marketplace.

Excellence can be achieved when the brand, the talent, and the customer experience are in alignment.

If you want to know how your organization is doing, and if it needs some recalibration, take a look at our Excellence Audit.

Valarie Willis
US Keynote Speaker,
Facilitator, Consultant

Tom's core message: "To put the marketplace customer first, I must put the person serving the customer 'more first.'"

Tom says: "There is no great 'external focus' unless the bedrock great 'internal focus' is in place. ... I contend that the bedrock of finding and keeping and co-creating with great folks is not about clever tools to induce prospective 'thems' to 'shop [live] with us,' but a 99% internal effort to create such an exciting, spirited, entrepreneurial, diverse, humane 'professional home' that people will be lining up by the gazillions (physically or electronically) to try and get a chance to come and live in our house and become what they'd never imagined they could become!"

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Link: http://www.aimvic.com.au/apps/news/StoryView.php?viewNewsStory=1106

Australian Institute of Management – News Release
Melbourne, December 1, 2008

As Australia contemplates spending about $500 million a year on the introduction of a compulsory paid maternity leave scheme, a new survey reveals that only a minority of executives believe the scheme will boost the numbers of women in the workforce.

The survey, conducted by the Australian Institute of Management VT attracted 3,180 respondents from the executive ranks of private and government sector organisations. Just 33 per cent of the survey participants agreed that compulsory paid maternity leave would ‘benefit the recruitment and retention of women in the workforce.’ The survey is titled ‘Retaining women in the Workforce’.

The Australian Government’s Productivity Commission, which has made an initial recommendation that taxpayers fund 18 weeks paid maternity leave, is now working on its final report to Government following the completion of public forums on the issue last week (final report due in Feb 09). One of the goals of the Commission’s proposals on maternity leave is to achieve ‘greater workforce participation by women’.

Respondents to the survey were 55 per cent male and 45 per cent female. The minority support for compulsory paid maternity leave as a means of boosting the numbers of women in the workforce was indicated by men (only 26% support) and women (40% support).
Eighty seven per cent of survey respondents said that ‘more needs to be done to retain women in the Australian workforce’.
“Australia’s ageing population means that maximising the retention and contribution of women in the workforce is becoming a key business imperative,” the CEO of the Australian Institute of Management, (Vic/Tas) Ms Susan Heron said.

The survey identified the most important single factor to retain women in the workforce was ‘flexible working arrangements’. The second most important factor was improved childcare support (10.0%), followed by improved career path (9.5%), paid maternity leave (7.0%), pay equity (6.9 %), training and professional development (5.1%) and other (3.4%).

“Whilst the Government’s move to consider the introduction of paid maternity leave is a welcome development, it is clear that by itself, this initiative will not significantly boost the retention of women in the workforce. Australian organisations need to embrace a broad range of measures to improve the situation.

“Our survey makes clear that greater flexibility in workplace arrangements is a key priority. The greater demand by women - and their partners – for options such as flexible working hours, the ability to work from home when required and job sharing point to the changes underway and indicate what lies ahead for Australian employers.”

Significantly, 63 per cent of participants believed that Australian organisations were not supportive of women ‘who seek to achieve seniority equivalent to their male counterparts.’

“This survey finding about lack of support for women helps us to understand why less than 15 per cent of women occupy the senior executive ranks of our major companies despite the fact that more than 50 per cent of tertiary graduates are women,” Ms Heron said.
“It is clear that Australia can no longer sustain such a poor return on its investment in tertiary education for women.”Eighty per cent of survey participants supported the view that having a child impacted ‘on a woman’s ability to achieve her career goals.’

The survey revealed that 64 per cent of respondents had never worked in an organisation run by a woman CEO (or equivalent position).

However, respondents who worked in the public sector or in the not for profit sector were much more likely to have worked for a woman CEO (or equivalent). Fifty five per cent of respondents in the public sector and 62 per cent of those working for a not for profit entity reported they had worked for an organisation run by a woman.

SURVEY RESULTS – SOME KEY FACTS
• Only 33% of respondents believed that compulsory paid maternity leave would boost the recruitment and retention of women in the workforce
• 58% of respondents said the most important factor in retaining women in the workforce was flexible working arrangements
• 63% felt that Australian organisations were not supportive of women who seek to achieve seniority equivalent to their male counterparts
• 87% believed that more needs to be done to retain women in the workforce
• 80% said that having a child impacts on a woman’s ability to achieve her career goals
• 54% indicated that if compulsory paid maternity leave was introduced, it should be paid by a combination of ‘Govt. and Employer’
• More than 55% of respondents said that if compulsory paid maternity leave was introduced, it should be for a longer period than the 18 weeks nominated by the Productivity Commission
• 55% said that if compulsory paid maternity leave was introduced, that it should not replace the $5,000 Baby Bonus.

For further information
W www.aimvic.com.au
E lfunston@aimvic.com.au

Link: http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/2008/09/06/sales-compensation-bonus-ent-sales-cx_gp_0906askanexpertglennportercompensation.html?partner=smallbusiness_newsletter

Chances are that others can do what you do.
The difference: relationships and reputation.

read on...

Link: http://www.ere.net/2008/08/04/trends-in-corporate-recruiting-for-2009/#more-3489

by Dr. John Sullivan for ERE.net

A significant part of my work involves giving presentations around the world on the hottest recruiting topics. It is an aspect of my work that I truly enjoy because it affords me an opportunity to continuously learn about where our profession is headed.

Through speaking, I not only help companies understand the latest recruiting trends, but I also learn from hundreds of professionals about what they see as hot topics, emerging trends, and how they are approaching them. I wanted to take this opportunity to share my thoughts on what recruiting trends will top the agendas of Global 500 recruiting managers in the next 12 to 18 months based on my interaction with more than 300 organizations around the globe this year.

The Latest Trends in Corporate Recruiting

Based on conversations with recruiting leaders, questions asked during seminars, advisory requests, and best-practice research, expect to see an increased emphasis in:

Upgrading employment branding. Nothing is hotter around the globe in recruiting than employment branding. Firms throughout Asia, in particular, are increasingly adopting employment branding as a wildly important activity for 2009. The success of Google, a firm that has built the worlds strongest employment brand over an amazing five year period, has led others to focus on this impactful long term strategy. Key focus areas include increasing media coverage, increasing visibility online, building your green brand, and countering your negative employment brand. Firms to watch: Facebook, Google, Yum Brands, Tata, E&Y, Enterprise, U.S. Army, and Sodexo.

Reinvigorating referral programs. Despite the growth of career-related Internet sites, the highest volume and quality candidates still come from well-designed employee referral programs. While heavy adoption was initially hampered by cultural issues around the world, today such programs are proving highly effective everywhere. Key focus areas include proactively approaching key employees for referrals (program targeting), leverage non-employee referrals, making reward systems more comprehensive, immediate, and visible, and last but not least, helping employees leverage social media to restore relationships, make new relationships, and build stronger relationships. Firms to watch: AmTrust Bank, Edward Jones, Whirlpool, and Amazon.com.

Renewing the focus on quality of hire. As a result of strong research by organizations like staffing.org, recruiting leadership has begun to refocus its efforts on identifying factors that increase the quality or the on-the-job performance of new hires. Key focus areas include improved quality of hire metrics, calculating the performance differential between average and quality hires, and identifying sources that produce high-quality hires. Firms to watch: Aimco and Wipro.

Reinforcing the business case for recruiting. As budgets tighten and slow economic growth continues, recruiting budgets will face constant constraints. Instead of whining, many leading talent organizations are seizing the opportunity to reposition themselves as non-transactional organizations. When the focus in recruiting is placed on non-transactional, more systemic issues, such organizations can work with the CFO and risk management to demonstrate the importance of supporting recruiting even during times of reduced hiring volume. The key focus areas include predictive modeling, dollarizing recruiting results, and showing the dollar impact of vacancies in revenue generating positions. Firms to watch: Aimco, DFS, Wipro, and Google.

keep reading...

Leverage non-employee referrals... something aCE talentNET does all the time. And we consistently find the best Organisational Development consultants via referrals from our existing talent NETwork... want to know how we do it? email consult@ acetalentnet.com.au and we'll share...

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?