According to research done for the publication Help Wanted we already know that by 2018 we anticipate 22 million new workers will be needed for jobs that most definitely will require a college degree. Since the US is a service economy these jobs will be servicing information systems, education, government, financial services, business and healthcare. STEM occupations will be in high demand but workers must have post- secondary education to qualify for these jobs. According to The Center on Education and the Workforce in the publication The Undereducated American by Anthony P. Carnevale and Stephen J. Rose, “America has been under producing college educated workers since 1980.” During the 20th century prior to 1980 the supply of educated workers kept pace with business demand. In 1980 the trend began to turn, the demand exceeded the supply of workers. By 2006 the US National Academies loudly voiced their concern about the lack of educated college talent to move into STEM positions. They even went on record with suggestions on how to rectify the devastating effect the under education was having on our economy. Their solutions included improving K-12 math and science programs, upgrading teacher training in math and science, and encouraging more students to study math and science in post- secondary schools. . If we keep education status quo we will find ourselves 3 million qualified workers short to meet the job demand in 2018.

American business needs to stop bellyaching about not being able to find skilled workers and start using this recession as an opportunity to influence how public education and higher education prepare students to come into the workforce. American corporations need to step up and create opportunities for students to meet the demands of the workforce they are going into. It is not too late to salvage the imbalance in the workforce and turn the economy around.

American businesses can:

• Use R& D statistics to help set federal guidelines for public education curriculum

• Engage state DOE’s in dialogue to promote skills needed to move from K-12 to work readiness

• Adopt school districts and let industry workers do community service with children in schools:
exposing students to different careers, sponsoring career days, work visits, job shadowing, mentoring students, develop financial readiness programs for students

• Work with teachers to do a co-op exchange program so that educators can experience what skills are needed in the workplace instead of speculating what is needed

• Provide internships in different areas of the business for both high school and college students

• Provide summer youth employment for a stipend (good way to start youth initiation into work habit, introduction to business, chance to guide students toward post-secondary education

• Offer scholarships from your industry with diverse criteria to encourage high school graduates to pursue
post-secondary education and college students to continue on to graduate school

• Partner with colleges to provide continuing education and certificate programs for employees

What does business get out of these initiatives?

• More educated workforce from entry level to executive
• Profits based on human capital generated from more educated and capable workforce
• Input into the public education curriculum to create a connection between education and business
• Access to new and innovative thinking in the early stages
• More diverse work group because of early public education access
• Less company expense for remedial training
• Competitive pool of educated people for possible employment
• Business loyalty and goodwill

Education + Business = Economic Growth

Please remember to take look at the APLS Online store for fascinating reads and the latest training materials.

When the economy collapsed during the Great Depression Americans looked towards better education to increase the possibility of employment. Between 1930 and 1940 there was a significant spike in high school graduation rates from 30 percent to 50 percent. Add to that the soldiers returning from World War II and the GI Bill was responsible for the explosion in college attendance. By 1947 the veterans made up 49 percent of all college admissions. If we reflect on those times we will realize that the rise in an educated work force helped make General Motors, R.C.A., U.S. Steel, and I.B.M. the giants of industry. It also was the beginning of the middle class.

We know that an educated workforce has value. In the 1960’s economist Theodore Schultz coined the term “human capital” to refer to the value of human capabilities. He saw education as an investment in human capital that helped improve business production. According to Thijs van Rens, a researcher and Affiliated Professor at Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, in his article, The Value of an Educated Workforce: What We Learn From a Comparison Growth and Inequality Across Countries he wrote:

“….the average worker in an average country that went to school for seven years
earns about 14% more on her first job than another worker that dropped out after
six years in school in her first job. Twenty years later, the difference between their
wage is still about 14%. Increasing the average education level of the entire workforce
in an average country by one year increases that country’s output by about 8% initially, suggesting the social return is similar to or even a bit lower than the private return. However, eventually the extra year of education raises that country’s output by as much as 42%.”

We are struggling in a paralyzing recession. We need an educated workforce to come up with good old American ingenuity to get us back on track. It is imperative that we teach our young people the importance of securing a good education and the impact it has on their personal growth and the economy as a whole. Unfortunately American secondary schools are saddled with No Child Left Behind, budget cuts, and shrinking graduation rates. College attendance is at an all -time high but college graduation rates are stagnant. Community colleges are coming to the rescue by providing entry level academic programs, technical programs and vocational programs. In addition, community colleges are functioning as the financial alternative and gateway to four year colleges. They are providing the additional post- secondary education that is needed to move the country’s economy forward at an affordable cost.

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This blog was written as a means to begin a continuing dialogue with my readers and fans of nancisnotions.com. Hopefully I have stimulated some reactions, insights and passion. What are your thoughts about the value of an educated workforce on business? Does more education mean higher wages and less profit for business or better ideas and more profit? Come on, share your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you!

“… implicit promises can be imbedded in things like a company
name, a company’s brand, the packaging of a product, the way
a salesperson or customer service representative behaves, or a
manager looks at his or her staff, to name a few.”

Using Hall’s Trust Model I decided to look at APL S Group with a critical eye and I liked the outcome. Our customers expect value, competent consultation and expert training services. They need advice on how to improve productivity in their organizations. Our implicit promise is that we are a quality company that cares about our clients. We are willing to work with our clients to facilitate change in their organizations. That message is evident in the website photos, explanation of services and our customer service. Our explicit promise to our clients is outlined in our initial agreement and backed up by the final contract.
I challenge you to take a look at your business to evaluate the “trust factor”. How does your company measure up? If you were to poll your customers would they respond that they trust your organization? Fall is a great time to re-evaluate business strategy and plan for the new year.

I would like to thank Mark, an invaluable member of the APLS GROUP, for pinch hitting at Nanci’s Notions during my absence. Mark’s insightful views on transitioning from college to a career have given me a question to ponder. Are you in the right career?  With unemployment in the double digits
in many areas across this country, having a secure job is enviable and daring to ask if my career fits me seems unthinkable. Yet making the proper career choice can be the catalyst for combined personal and professional success.

According to Kathleen Gage’s article “How to Know if You Are in the Right Career”, 80% of working  people are misemployed. They are working in careers that are unsatisfying and unfulfilling.  Mike Rowe, popular host of Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs, says on his website that popular culture has
demonized the idea of work and work is a place to be avoided at all costs. Unemployment and under employment figures would have us believe that the pride associated with a job well done is passé. Our country, our people and our economy are suffering. In the last thirty years we have lost or outsourced manufacturing jobs by the millions and discouraged our children from entering the trades. As a result, the college enrollments have swelled, the high school dropout rate has escalated and job dissatisfaction has increased. There are jobs in IT, building and construction trades, healthcare, and engineering but the lack of a skilled labor pool has caused a disconnect on the employment front. What’s wrong with this picture?

When I traced my own steps that led to the career that I currently have, I was pleasantly surprised that I am right where I want to be.  Though I have rarely been reflective of my professional journey, the outcome has been more design than happenstance. I am in the career that suits my personality
and my skill sets. It is impossible to be misemployed when skill sets and personality are aligned. I did not always know that I wanted to be a consultant but I always knew that the study of human behavior was my passion. As a college student,  I was fascinated by psychology and participated in numerous lab studies to test the cause and effect of human behavior. Later when I began my professional life I worked at NTL Institute where I was surrounded by the masters in the field of human behavior, training and organizational development. As my resume grew, I continued to pursue opportunities in organizations where human behavior was an integral part of my responsibilities. I developed a professional toolbox that keeps me invested and engaged in my career to this day.

Whether you are just starting a career or preparing for a change in career, consider the following tips to help you make a wise transition:

Make an investment in three assessments: personality, learning style, skills inventory
Research the industry you want to enter including outlook, pay, benefits
Interview people that are doing the job you think you want to do
Do not be afraid to switch from traditional “white collar” to “hands on” jobs
Concentrate on your strengths and seek employment that uses your strengths
Accurately assess your skills and outline what you have to offer an organization
Seek appropriate education to sharpen your skills in the field you are pursuing including job sector training
Network in the field (go to industry events including career fairs)
Meditate and visualize yourself as successful in the field (positive self -talk)

The next time you ask yourself if you are in the right career, let the answer be a resounding yes!

Visit the APL Group online store for additional material on this topic.

It is so cliché, but…
When you hear people drop the need for the “C” word, do you almost want to scream “Communication, again…?  That’s the best they have?  Yet over and over again companies see this as an area of disconnect, if you will, on the “Employee Engagement” surveys they send out each year.  And each year employees say “so you asked, now what?”
I have been a manager of people throughout my career.  I started out lousy, made mistakes, and got better over time (I think).  The main issue was not the technical aspect or lack of knowledge.  It was the communication part.  I was lousy and at times I still struggle.  The quote that sticks with me and moved me to action was from Lee Iacocca of Mustang and Chrysler fame – “You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere”.
I see this in practice in the current work I do as a process improvement practitioner.  I work with managers that have gaps between what they tell me is going on versus what I observe when I work with their folks.  No one in this situation is the “bad guy”.  It is an easy trap, however, for managers to fall into.  Manage by reports from the confines of their office.  Interaction may be sporadic or situational. Sound familiar?
The cure is a bit tough, but it has been validated for me in practice and in literature on the subject.  Systematic, routine meetings with each employee on a weekly basis that the employee owns go a long way toward curing the communication symptom.  Employees are engaged, held accountable, and better yet cannot claim that they did not know.  It becomes a way of life, a way of doing business, an old way.  Not micromanaging.  That is when an assignment is given and you stand over someone asking “is it done yet?” blah, blah, blah.  Weekly meetings are planned and prescriptive.  It is effective if done over and over.  The amount of sharing and front line problem solving cannot be over stated.  And the mid year or year-end review?  A piece of cake.  There has been full disclosure throughout the year.  No surprises!  Ever been surprised during a review cycle? (Insert stomach churn here)
So when you hear that better communication is needed, do you see yourself above or below average in that category?  If below, ask yourself how often you have real, face to face (or phone to phone) conversations with your direct reports.  If you are above average, have someone observe you or get feedback from your direct reports.  You may be surprised.

 Visit the APLS Group on-line store for a variety of resources on Communication – www.aplsgroup.com

Recently I started my first job after college.  On my first day, I began training at the new company for a position I feel is a little beneath my skill set. Being that I am just out of college and am new to the company I understand and accept that I have to start at the bottom, but what I decided was that I would not accept staying in the position.

Many people in the workforce feel the same way that I do now, that their position in a company does not reflect that of their potential, yet they continue to stay in their position and do not move up. What I have realized is this is primarily because most individuals feel that they should be noticed simply for doing their job well and should be promoted on that merit alone. This is untrue. The mark of a highly qualified upper management type individual is not that they are very good at their job, but that they are able to see beyond their position and the tasks at hand.

In order for any person to better themselves, they must extend themselves beyond that which is expected. For example, in order to get stronger you can’t lift the same weight every day. You have to extend yourself by lifting more weight. When in the office, you cannot expect more responsibility for just doing what you are asked to do, but should be proactive in that you realize problems and find solutions. The key is finding solutions. Not simply noting problems and letting a superior know (or if you are running your own company merely noticing a problem), but discovering problems and creating concrete steps to solving issues.

By realizing a problem, studying the problem, working out possible solutions, and creating real processes which can be implemented in order to solve the issue you can prove that you are able to gain ownership of the responsibility that comes with an upper management position. We all have to realize that being a manager or a vice president or even a CEO does not depend on just being the best at performing a particular task, but more important than that, it depends on understanding the business and being able to adjust and solve issues that will come up which hinder those beneath you from performing the task most efficiently.

A retired executive of a major company came to my class the other day to talk with us about starting companies and getting ahead in the business world. He asked us what the antelope does when it wakes up. “It runs” he told us. It runs because if it doesn’t it will be eaten. He then asked what the lion does when it wakes up. Again he said, “It runs.” It runs because if it doesn’t it will starve. The point he was making to us was that in order to succeed we must keep this same mentality. From the moment we enter the office in the morning to the time we leave we must begin to seek out opportunities and get to work.

What I have realized in my entrepreneurship concentration is that the business environment can be just as dangerous as the jungle. Every product on the market will eventually be replaced and that is what creates both opportunity and threats. In order to be successful it is imperative that you must be willing to either adjust to the trends of the market or lead the way.  Anyone can be successful if they simply work to continue to improve their company, their department, or their concept. The trends of the jungle present us with opportunities and threats and it is our own responsibility to determine which it is.

Regards,

Nanci Appleman-Vassil

As I approach graduation and my future, I am trying to learn as much as I can from my short past.  Looking over my past four years, there are two large lessons that I have taken from my college experience that I believe will always stick with me in my professional life.

The first lesson I learned in a business strategy course;  it is important to stick to your core competences when determining the direction of your company. What this means is that when making strategic decisions you must keep in mind what your core capabilities are and the purpose or mission of your business. The “why” that a company exists is one of the most important components when deciding the “what” that a company does.

The second thing I learned was to understand what is being sold by looking beyond the box when considering what you are selling.  I say, “looking beyond,” rather than “outside of” because you must  keep your focus on what exists in front of you. This is not a time to think of new ideas, but rather realize what is already there. In order to sell we must realize that we do not simply sell the product; we sell the purpose for those products. For example, the internet was not created to see web pages. It was created to offer the capability of connecting the world.

When approaching my own job search and deciding on a career path, I have applied these ideas to myself.  The biggest mistake I try to avoid is changing myself to fit a position rather than fitting the position to my competences. In each of the five or so interviews I have had over the past three weeks, I have been asked one common question, “Why do you think you would be a good fit for this job?” What I have strived to do to answer this question is research each company and make honest reasons why my skills would work well in each position. I do not simply look at what the company wants and read these traits back to them but figure out how my personal strengths can be used to fill the gaps which they require. This is done by looking beyond the product. By looking at myself as a product, I have to realize what my capabilities are and avoid simply selling myself as a potential employee. I am more than that.  I am an investment opportunity for each company, whose core competences can be used in order to give the highest return to the company which realizes my potential. By doing this, I am using my core ompetences to find the best direction for my career while selling companies my ability and potential rather than an employee to fill a position.

To learn more about developing your core competences, please visit the APLS online store.

 The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation. In America, innovation doesn’t change our lives. It’s how we make our living.”     - State of the Union 2011,  President Barack Obama

If you had the chance to catch President Obama’s State of the Union address last Tuesday, were you struck by his emphasis on innovation in American business? On more than one occasion in the speech. he mentioned the importance of innovation. As we move forward into the new year, it might be time for innovation in Human Resources.

After a few years of sluggish business, there seems to be a glimmer of light quietly announcing that business is bouncing back and companies are poised to start hiring again. This is prime time for Human Resources to re-evaluate employee benefit and compensation packages. Is your company plan attractive to a prospective employee? Is your plan competitive in the workplace?  And how does a current employee’s package line up with that of a new hire? Your current employees have weathered the hard times of the recession by taking on more responsibility and often doing the work of one and a half to two people but collecting a single salary. Without your current employees dedication and diligent work, production would have decreased and company profits would have plummeted. As business rebounds, what are the company plans for the standing employees? Has your Human Resources Department considered preparing a proposal for CEO’s or Executive Boards to address changes in employee benefit and compensation packages for both new and existing employees? Does your company offer an Employees Incentive Program? If not, now is the time for innovation.

 An Employee Incentive Program is an opportunity to create a win/win situation for employers and employees. It does not matter whether the company is part of a huge conglomerate or a small business; an Employee Incentive Program can become an effective change agent in any company. If implemented correctly, an incentive program can change the culture of a company from employer- dominated top down business to an all- inclusive, customer satisfaction priority organization. Employees want to be valued by employers. Time and time again successful companies have shown that customer satisfaction plus employee satisfaction equal company profits. Other positive consequences to establishing an incentive plan include improved employee morale, a productive company environment and better employee retention.

In order to create an effective Employee Incentive Program Human Resources needs to take into account the following steps:

•  Purpose of the program

1. Motivate employees to be productive
2. Increase company profits
3. Attract and retain best in the business

•  Program Design

1. Develop a committee including management, non-management and senior level employees and add HR representative
2. Review current compensation packages, benefits and wages
3. Review current employee incentives both formal and informal
4. Develop an anonymous survey to ask employees about motivation, incentives, attainable benchmarks, views about employers, profit ratios
5. Use data from survey to begin creating a company plan

•  Develop incentives that are generic to your organization (examples)

1. Performance pay (individual or team)
2. Periodic monetary increments for exceeding benchmarks
3. Time off with pay
4. Profit Sharing
5. Tangible Merchandise Rewards
6. Company paid trips
7. Employee Recognition in a public forum (luncheon, media)
8. Implement an employee business solution
9. Exchange business strategies with senior level management
10. Pay and recognition for new idea to improve productivity

•  Enlist senior level support for implementation
• Market to employees to insure buy in
• Communicate widely and often to keep employee motivation active
• Original committee including HR revisit program annually to measure effectiveness and adjust accordingly
• Manage the program up and down (Board or senior level to employees)

By using the steps outlined above, your Human Resources department would be taking a bold step to become an innovator in your company. Rarely is HR seen in this light but as President Obama says, “In America, innovation doesn’t change our lives. It’s how we make our living.”

To read more about employee incentive compensation ideas visit the APLS online store.