http://www.workforceinstitute.org The Workforce Institute Helps Empower Organizations to Address Human Capital Management Issues Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:50:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 The Workforce Institute Helps Empower Organizations to Address Human Capital Management Issues The Workforce Institute no The Workforce Institute Helps Empower Organizations to Address Human Capital Management Issues http://www.workforceinstitute.org/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://www.workforceinstitute.org/category/employee-retention/ http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/happy-employee-appreciation-day/ http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/happy-employee-appreciation-day/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:53:08 +0000 Joyce Maroney http://www.workforceinstitute.org/?p=1162 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/happy-employee-appreciation-day/feed/ 0 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/get-sick-youre-on-your-own/ http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/get-sick-youre-on-your-own/#comments Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:33:30 +0000 Joyce Maroney http://www.workforceinstitute.org/?p=878 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/get-sick-youre-on-your-own/feed/ 0 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/workforce-stimulus-plan/ http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/workforce-stimulus-plan/#comments Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:04:19 +0000 Joyce Maroney http://www.workforceinstitute.org/?p=731 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/workforce-stimulus-plan/feed/ 4 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/climbing-the-hourly-ladder-an-interview-with-paul-facella/ http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/climbing-the-hourly-ladder-an-interview-with-paul-facella/#comments Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:53:56 +0000 Joyce Maroney http://www.workforceinstitute.org/?p=696 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/climbing-the-hourly-ladder-an-interview-with-paul-facella/feed/ 1 hourly career opportunities,joyce maroney,kronos,Paul Facella,workforce institute I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Paul Facella, a former Regional Vice President of McDonald's Corporation and now CEO of Inside Management.  He is author of Everything I Know about Business I Learned at McDonald's (McGraw-Hill, 2008). I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Paul Facella, a former Regional Vice President of McDonald's Corporation and now CEO of Inside Management (http://www.insidemanagement.com).  He is author of Everything I Know about Business I Learned at McDonald's (http://www.mcdonaldsbook.com) (McGraw-Hill, 2008).   During Paul's 34 year career with McDonald's, he learned a lot about growing his own career as well as how to motivate and develop others to do so.  He was kind enough to share some of those lessons during our discussion and in a guest blog he wrote for us (below). Click here (http://www.workforceinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/facella-wfipodcastdec08.mp3) to listen to a podcast of our discussion and read on to enjoy Paul's blog below. (Paul's blog post is presented here as he submitted it to us) The jobless figures for the U.S. economy in November were the worst in 34 years. With more than 9.5 million Americans now out of work--and rising--many job seekers are wondering if the American Dream is fading. Is it still possible in today's economic climate to work hard, rise up the corporate ladder, and get ahead? No doubt about it. As someone with firsthand experience, I encourage you not to lose heart in this tough job market. There are opportunities hiding in some of the least likely places--namely, in the hourly workforce. Like four out of seven McDonald's CEOs and three out of four senior-level managers, I started my stellar career climb at the bottom rung--as a crew member. That scenario is as likely today as it ever was. But there's a caveat. If you want to grow in a company, you have to find one that has aggressive talent development policies and is committed to promoting from within. McDonald's, for example, has created more millionaires--including more women and minority millionaires--than any other American company. That's because the company culture is based on rewards and recognition. If you work hard there, you will be rewarded. Job seekers who are willing to work for hourly pay initially, want to learn and develop, are ambitious, and have a clear vision of where they'd like to be in three to five years are good candidates for such jobs. But don't waste your time at the bottom unless you are confident that the company hiring you has your best career interests at heart. So how can you find out which companies have the right stuff for career advancement? The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts out a detailed and excellent set of guidelines and resources, at http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco20046.htm (http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco20046.htm), for finding out more about a prospective company before you say yes. Do as much homework as possible before an interview so you can be reasonably sure this will be a goal-and-growth-oriented job--not a dead-end job. In your job interview, ask such questions as: What percentage of your mid- to senior-level managers are promoted from within? What programs and policies are set up for helping high-achieving employees develop new skills? Is mobility at your company limited, or could one apply for jobs for which one qualifies elsewhere in the company? What types of companies have the peachiest low-end jobs that are likely to lead to bigger and better positions? One rule of thumb is size. Large Fortune 500 companies usually have well-developed promote-from-within policies and are dedicated to career advancement for their lower-end employees. Some of the names that consistently come up, in addition to McDonald's, are Walgreens, GE, FedEx, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, and LL Bean. Each of these organizations has a track record for fast-tracking low-rung workers, such as store clerks, drivers, and low-end office workers into managerial positions. Also, the US military is well known for recognizing exceptional smarts and talents and promoting promising people quickly. The take-away message is this: If you're discouraged about the job market, The Workforce Institute no http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/reasons-to-be-optimistic-in-2009/ http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/reasons-to-be-optimistic-in-2009/#comments Wed, 24 Dec 2008 19:10:23 +0000 Joyce Maroney http://www.workforceinstitute.org/?p=658 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/reasons-to-be-optimistic-in-2009/feed/ 4 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/working-the-holidays-whos-working/ http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/working-the-holidays-whos-working/#comments Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:55:58 +0000 Joyce Maroney http://www.workforceinstitute.org/?p=622 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/working-the-holidays-whos-working/feed/ 1 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/tips-for-making-telecommuting-successful/ http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/tips-for-making-telecommuting-successful/#comments Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:40:03 +0000 Joyce Maroney http://www.workforceinstitute.org/?p=550 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/tips-for-making-telecommuting-successful/feed/ 3 joyce maroney,kronos,telecommuting,workforce institute I recently interviewed Patty Butler, senior manager of order management and service logistics at Kronos.  Patty's team of non-exempt employees supports the field sales organization by ensuring that their customers' orders are processed accurately and i... I recently interviewed Patty Butler, senior manager of order management and service logistics at Kronos.  Patty's team of non-exempt employees supports the field sales organization by ensuring that their customers' orders are processed accurately and in a timely fashion.  Patty has recently implemented part time telecommuting in her group with great success.  For those of you who'd like to do the same, Patty's experience can help you jumpstart your progress. Patty's key tips for success: * Clearly define how you'll measure success.  Patty focused on feedback from the internal customers, as well as monitoring changes in unplanned absences among her team. * Start with a pilot and make it clear to participants that the continuation of the program will be directly linked to measurable outcomes. * Establish rules for participation; i.e. employees have to qualify, telecommuting is not an automatic entitlement. As an example, Patty's team members have to have been employees for at least 6 months prior to beginning to telecommute. * Implement supporting technologies to make work-at-home work.  In Patty's case, the team relies heavily on instant messaging as well as a Sharepoint site to minimize the amount of paper processing required. * Create clear rules around behaviors expected.  Patty's team has established guidelines for how quickly phone calls, email and instant messages need to be addressed. * Incorporate some time in the office with the team.  Patty's folks telecommute part time and come into the office several days a week in order to maintain the team dynamics. Patty's pilot was deemed successful, and as a result telecommuting is now part of their standard practice.  The flexibility offered by the work from home option is allowing the team to provide better service to sales reps in other time zones.  She's found her folks to be even more productive at home, due to the lower level of distractions they experience there.  In addition, they are happier and more engaged - and working hard to prove that telecommuting is an ongoing flexible work option for them. Listen to my podcast with Patty Butler (http://www.workforceinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/pbutler3_gabcast.mp3): What's your view on telecommuting?  Do you take advantage of this option yourself? The Workforce Institute no http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/treating-hourly-workers-like-professional-employees/ http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/treating-hourly-workers-like-professional-employees/#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 23:04:48 +0000 Joyce Maroney http://www.workforceinstitute.org/?p=391 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/treating-hourly-workers-like-professional-employees/feed/ 0 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/russell-klosk-hiring-for-retention/ http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/russell-klosk-hiring-for-retention/#comments Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:10:46 +0000 Joyce Maroney http://www.workforceinstitute.org/?p=333 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/russell-klosk-hiring-for-retention/feed/ 0 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/running-on-empty/ http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/running-on-empty/#comments Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:00:22 +0000 Joyce Maroney http://www.workforceinstitute.org/?p=279 http://www.workforceinstitute.org/blog/running-on-empty/feed/ 0