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The rising cost of gas lays heavy on the minds and wallets of every employee. The issue comes up in conversations on elevators and in lunchrooms all across Corporate America. In response, more companies, including my own, are offering their employees the option of telecommuting at least one day a week if not permanently. And, recently, Chicago-based software firm, 37signals, implemented a four day work week by eliminating Friday as a workday, following the suit of other companies such as American Express and even municipalities such as the entire city of Birmingham, Alabama and The State of Utah.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas' List of Top 10 Workforce Trends of the Future, includes the four-day workweek as the new corporate standard. “The idea of a set workday or a five-day workweek doesn’t make sense,” says John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “It’s not about the time you put in. It’s about the work you do.”
The Very Bright Up Side of the soaring energy costs is that is comes alongside the emergence of Generation Y into the workforce and both are simutaneously Revolutionizing the Workforce and how we view and measure employee productivity. In a study on the effect of telecommuting on productivity published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, lead author Ravi S. Gajendran says “Our results show that telecommuting has an overall beneficial effect because the arrangement provides employees with more control over how they do their work. Autonomy is a major factor in worker satisfaction and this rings true in our analysis. We found that telecommuters reported more job satisfaction, less motivation to leave the company, less stress, improved work-family balance, and higher performance ratings by supervisors.”
BTW: You can read a story of one of our own employee's success with telecommuting on TheLedger.com
Best Buy has implemented the Results-Only Work Environment or ROWE where they've done away with the normal corporate restrictions such as keeping regular hours and even coming into the office every morning. "In the standard corporate work environment, you have to put in face time because that's how you show your commitment to the organization and your level of dedication," says Steve Hance, Best Buy employee relations manager. "When you come into the office, you've got to make sure you're always seen by the right people. That becomes the goal, rather than actually getting things done. With ROWE, all those little rules that we've grown used to living by are out the door. Instead, the work itself is the only thing that matters." So now employees can do whatever they want, whenever they want, as long as the work gets done.
Here's a quick video on how the Results-Only Work Environment achieves the optimal Work/Life Balance for Employees and Changes the mindset of an Entire Organization
August 21, 2008 - Chicago (Office)
Suntopia, The Knights That Say Ni, & Mergerlandia were among the numerous "countries" participating in our inaugurual Office Olympics!!!
I came into the office a bit nervous. My event was the Floppy Disc Toss and until the day of the event, thought it was a Floppy DisK toss and had been (mentally) preparing for frisbee action when it was really...well ... 3 1/2" Floppy Disc action. Desperately trying to regain my focus, I shook off my nerves, consumed my strictly prepared diet of PopTarts and Coffee, and prepared for battle.
At lunchtime, the Opening Ceremonies commenced. Athletes from cubicles near and far came costumed in their team colors and proudly waving their Flags in the Parade of Nations around the Entire Office. Spectators jockeyed for best viewing positions as we whoo-hoo'd through their departments, with a few lucky high fives being thrown in the air. We ended in the Cafeteria where we (actually) sang the anthem of the United States (I just lip synced), each country presented their Flag and Theme Song, and the Torch was lit!
The first event was the Floppy Disc Toss. My Teammate was able to score one basket and I was able to score three baskets for a total of seven points. Sadly, we didn't medal in this event. Teams continued to test their strength, perseverance and humility in various events including Table Ping Pong, Waste Paper BasketBall, and Marker Archery (which was interrupted by a building scheduled fire drill). After each event, we attended the Awards Ceremony where winners received gold, silver and bronze stickers and we all swayed to country anthems including The Theme from Monty Python and "It's a Small World Afterall" (earworm).
At the end of the games, I'm proud to say, after winning a couple of gold medals and a silver medal, my country Suntopia took the overall prize!!! Whoo Hoo!! We sang our anthem "I'm Walking on Sunshine" during the closing ceremonies...as we all walked back to our cubes savoring decadent Dove Ice Cream Bars. Oh yes, our team also won a gift certificate to lunch at Giordano's Pizza which is such a great prize. I'd never previously met most of the people on my team prior to the Olympics and it was great getting to know them during our planning and flag making sessions. It will be great to kick back together over a yummy pan of Chicago Homestyle Pizza ***drool***
And now you lucky viewers, lets give Thanks to Venson Kuchipudi for providing this Exclusive Video Footage of our Office Olympics including never before seen interviews!!!
Baby Boomer employees are employees born between 1946 and 1964. They are the activists - the first wave of the rage against the machine. They witnessed the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the end of segregation and were influenced by the great minds of JFK and Marting Luther King Jr. and, of course, witnessed the Vietnam War. This was a generation that birthed the feminist movement and also saw the beginnings of the non traditional family as the family unit strained under the pressure of the rise in divorce rates. They are our managers, directors and CEO's.
What do they bring to the table - They provide the energy and dedication to see a project through to completion and get the team noticed.
Baby Boomers bring the dedication to get the job done whatever the sacrifice. They ushered in group decision making and also introduced the formal annual review process.
Good to know for coworkers - They are dedicated to be the project at hand and expect the same level of dedication from the team members. They also prefer face-to-face interaction and strive to have consensus decision making. Boomers aversion to conflict can clash with Gen X and Gen Y who may be more direct and unskilled in conflict management.
Good to know for managers - Many in this age group oppose the strict management styles of their bosses from earlier generations. They often question authority and make decisions based upon their core beliefs of right and wrong. They value personal growth and gratification, teamwork. These workers are also easing into retirement and are the main focus of the impending workforce shortage.
Most companies are attempting to plan for the shortage of skilled employees that will result from the Mass Exodus of the Boomers. Infor's Talent Management Suite offers advanced online recruiting, robust employee performance and competency management, easy succession planning, and best-in-class learning management tools that give you full control over how you attract, develop, deploy, and reward your people. The Succession Planning module in particular, provides customized views of your current and future development plans, identifying individuals whose rapid advancement earmarks them for greater achievements, calculating a percentage fit between potential successors and key positions, and prescribing learning recommendations to address any gaps.
Succession Planning can also be used to identify appropriate mentors whose strengths complement the weaknesses of succession candidates.
You can find out more at http://www.infor.com/solutions/hcm/talentmgmt/ or come visit us at Inforum2008 - Hurry Early Registration ends August 22nd!
In the meantime, take a listen to Garry Lee Wright and his Baby Boomer Cliche´ Blues
Traditionalist employees are employees born before 1946 and are currently make up 5 - 10% of the workforce. Punctual, sharply dressed and proudly conservative they believe that hard work is it's own reward. They are probably also the one's signing your paychecks. They are survivors of hard times - the Great Depression, Two World Wars, and witness to the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Known to be loyal, self-sacrificing, and thrifty, many members of this group are military veterans, credit the GI Bill with jumpstarting their careers and, at work, operate on the military chain of command. It is therefore not surprising that Traditionalists best respond to a leadership modeled in a command-and-control structured hierarchy. Also worth noting, traditional gender roles and family structure were commonplace for this generation, with husbands working while wives cared for the home and children.
What do they bring to the table - They have established our present day workplace ethic and created the "white collar" job. They are "company men" and are loyal to their organizations. They also have exceptional problem-solving skills and the experience and knowledge of what has and has not worked in the past. This generation still tends to believe in the American dream and having achieved this dream they are now willing to "give back" and help others get there.
Good to know for coworkers - Many in this age group lack technological literacy and prefer face to face meetings, stopping by the office or using the phone instead of email or IM. They are excellent mentors to younger generations - tap in to their wealth of knowledge and learn the merits of meetings and one-on-one networking. Last, when speaking with Traditionalists in any context, take the time to really listen. Don’t interrupt and hold your questions until an appropriate pause. They will appreciate the courtesy.
Good to know for managers - Many in this age group thrive on verbal and public acknowledgment of their experience, value due process and appreciate having the reasoning behind decisions explained to them. These workers are also easing into pre-retirement and when motivated to remain in the work force, this age group is a good source of workers to offset the impending shortage of workers and expertise.
A new trend that is coming out of this segment of the aging workforce is the evolution of the Silver Entrepreneur - people who are starting their own businesses after retirement. Here's a short clip on the emergence of this trend:
Recently, a co-worker (a baby boomer), upon hearing about this blog, came up to me and said "Hey Gen, I really like your blog!..Hmmm...what Is a Blog anyway??"
Another co-worker (also a boomer) asked me during water cooler talk if I knew who Paul Newman was and I said "The Salad Dressing Guy??"
Oh boy, talk about showing your age.
We laugh a lot here about the many nuances that crop up between our generational gaps. And while some of them are quite laughable, often the differences in a multigenerational workforce can be a challenge to navigate let alone manage. My boss does an extremely great job of managing her multigenerational team; everyone from the Silent Generation/Traditionalists to the Baby Boomers, to Generations X and Y. It takes a very flexible and innovative manager to be able to motivate different types of people who have very different gauges of what constitutes a successful and fulfilling professional life.
Today, there are four generations working side by side in the workforce. Each of these groups has differing values, definitions of success, and perspectives on leadership. Enterprising companies now find that understanding these differences help to bridge the gap.
In this first in a series on the Multigenerational workforce, lets get an overview of these four generations and listen to Karen McCullough in her engaging and humorous presentation “The Generations: Managing the Mix”
Companies around the world are taking steps big and small to go green and reduce their carbon footprint. Among some of the most enterprising of these is Blackle. (If you're a Geek like me you will find that Blackle is Very Similar to the new beta visual search engine SearchMe without the page by page bells n whistles).
Blackle is essentially a Blackscreen Overlay on Google and the principle behind Blackle is based on the fact that the display of different colors consumes different amounts of energy on computer monitors. The creators of Blackle cite a 2002 study entitled Energy Use and Power Levels in New Monitors and Personal Computers where a variety of CRT and LCD monitors were tested and researchers found that an all black screen consumed less energy than an all white screen on all of them. The creators of Blackle state that a black Google would save 750 megawatt-hours a year (a megawatt-hour is the equivalent of ten thousand 100 watt light bulbs burning continuously for 1 hour) and on the Blackle homepage, the creators provide a count of the number of watt-hours that the users of Blackle have collectively saved.
In an age where enterprising employees are looking for ways to go green in both their personal and professional lives, Blackle is a great tool to effectively research the web while making an environmentally conscious little step in the right direction.
Even if your company is not making a concerted effort to go green (gasp!) there are many ways that you can individually make a difference in your office. You can start by:
- Starting a Recycling Program
- Requesting to telecommute a few days out of the month
- Turning off your computer and any other electrical devices when not in use
Visit the Grist Website for more Ideas on How to Green Your Day Job.
In the meantime, here's a short clip from the folks at the Opus Hotel in Montreal showing us how the Luxury Hospitality Industry is taking steps to go green including offering free hotel parking for drivers of Hybrid vehicles
BTW: Infor Global Solutions has over two decades of embedded hospitality industry expertise with the world’s most successful hotels, resorts, and casinos. Come visit us at Inforum 2008 and attend sessions that will explore the latest trends in Hospitality Technology. Register now at http://www.inforum2008.com/
"Empowering Your Employees with Self Service", one of the many sessions being presented at Inforum 2008, will show our customers how to extend their HR business processes using Infor's HCM Self-Service application and achieve cost savings in labor, administration, printing, production and distribution costs, by transforming labor intensive, paper-based HR processes to Web-based self service .
Self-service gives employees 24/7 access to the information that matters to them most and puts the responsibility for information-management tasks, such as filing change-of-address forms and completing benefits enrollments, in the hands of fully capable employees who can make the updates on their own. Meanwhile, it creates time for the HR department to use their resources on achieving more strategic goals for the company, such as sourcing new talent, reducing turnover, and developing succession plans. Your employees are then empowered, enjoy a strong sense of participation, and have the time and mental capacity to be Creative, come up with new ideas and new processes to drive the organization forward, thus, creating a sense of satisfaction and loyalty to the company.
Human Capital is an organization’s most important asset, and they are the key differentiator between "them" and US. Providing employees with the most innovative tools available, allows them to optimize their productivity and become engaged and enterprising employees able to deliver world class products and support to your customers. Infor has a 95% retention rate because our customers like working with our employees who love working for Infor!
Find out more about Infor Global Solutions Human Capital Management Suite and explore other session offerings at Inforum2008.com
Today, we will hear from supercharged Tony Robbins, an American self-help writer and professional speaker, and ponder why we do what we do and how we can do it better.
What is Corporate Sustainability...really?? The definitions can get as broad or as specific as you need them to be but, generally, 4CR defines Corporate Sustainability as an organizations verifiable commitment to operating in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner.
Mel Wilson, a Senior Manager in the Sustainable Business Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, defines the four pillars of corporate sustainability in his paper on Corporate Sustainability:
Sustainable development - balancing the need for economic growth with environmental protection and social equity by meeting the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs
Corporate social responsibility - the ethical obligation of corporate managers to consider and address the needs of society and not just to act solely in the interests of the shareholders or their own self-interest.
Stakeholder theory - if you strengthen your relationships with other external parties, it will be easier to meet your corporate business objectives; the worse your relationships, the harder it will be. Strong relationships with stakeholders based on trust, respect, and cooperation help develop a competitive advantage.
Corporate accountability - the legal or ethical responsibility to provide an account or reckoning of the actions for which one is held responsible. The contribution of corporate accountability theory to corporate sustainability is that it helps define the nature of the relationship between corporate managers and the rest of society and also sets out the arguments as to why companies should report on their environmental, social, and economic performance, not just financial performance.
More and more companies are focusing on innovations that create, what BiggerThinking calls A New Mindset for Corporate Sustainability . In BT's list of the 10 Steps to Sustainability, #10 is to "Think beyond reporting: align all business systems with the company’s vision of sustainability...Sustainability should run through every core system, from talent management to supplier evaluation, customer relationship management (CRM), and...the balanced scorecard. This approach can turn focus into coordinated action that matters."
To that end, Infor provides solutions that help organizations implement green and sustainability programs and we also have a site specifically dedicated to "going green" which also includes information on our products and other resources. Visit our going green site at: http://www.infor.com/goinggreen/
Here's an interesting TED Talk by John Doerr on Seeking Salvation and Profit in Greentech
Everyone is doing it…or needs to be. This week, we will focus on enterprising practices, tools and ideas of companies who are making a commitment to Go Green. At Inforum 2008, customers will be able to attend "Green" sessions focused on increasing corporate sustainability including a session on How Infor ERP LN Service Supports Green Initiatives in your Supply Chain. You can browse other Inforum 2008 sessions in the Course Catalog .
How green in your organization?? Well, Infor provides a Green Assessment tool which will show you the current sustainability status of your organization compared to the average scores of other organizations that have participated in the assessment. Take a look: http://go.infor.com/green/
In this first of a series of posts highlighting the corporate green movement, let's shine the spotlight on the ever enterprising Sir Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Group LTD, and find out how "green consumerism" at the grassroots level accelerated corporate commitment to environmental products.
