As a women owned business here at FutureDecisions LLC we are doing our part to raise this percentage!

Why?  Well a companion survey of employees found that only about 37 percent of Gen Xers said they planned to stay in their current jobs after the recession ends, compared with 44 percent of Gen Yers, 50 percent of baby boomers and 52 percent of senior citizen workers who said the same.

This information is consistent with what we see and hear when conducting our Generations in the Workplace workshop. More and more we are hearing from Gen Y’s that they want to stay put while Gen X employees are feeling more disgruntled than ever. Gen X’ers are filling a very important gap in the workplace as a bridge between the boomers and the Y’ers. Employers who lose significant numbers of these individuals will find themselves finding it more and more difficult to be competitive in the workplace as the economy turns around.

If you would like more information on the generations in the workplace contact FutureDecisions regarding our workshop on the four generations in the workplace, “From the Typewriter to Texting – Understanding Four Generations in the Workplace”.

As individuals have watched their savings evaporate in the economic meltdown we have experienced many people working later in life. What this means is that soon we will have 5 generations in the workplace, not just 4!

According to the World Health Organization, men and women who are healthy at 60 will, on average, be physically capable of working until they are 74 and 77, respectively. Combine these statistics and the newest employees entering the workforce might not be joining their parents or grandparents, they might be joining their great-grandparents.

This translates into a social phenomenon not yet witnessed: five generations are about to be working side by side. They include:

• Traditionalists, born prior to 1946
• Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964
• Gen X, born between 1965 and 1980
• Gen Y, born between 1981 and 1999
• Gen 2020, born after 1999

Around 2015 Baby Boomers will cede the majority of the workforce to Gen Y’s. (Due to their smaller size, Gen X will never have the majority spot in the workplace — and so in essence, we will have skipped an entire generation.) What will this mean for your organization, how will you effectively recruit and retain individuals from 5 different and distinct generations? The challenges are real and the solutions are still being created, FutureDecisions LLC can assist you in creating an environment that maximizes the potential and contributions of all of your employees no matter their age.

According to an article on the CNN website France Telecom has been experiencing a rash of suicides and attempted suicides. There have been 24 suicides and 13 attempted suicides among France Telecom employees since the beginning of 2008! Much of the angst of France Telecom employees is due to the high level of uncertainty they are experiencing.

Sound familiar? Are your employees experiencing a high level of anxiety due to uncertainty? While their anxiety may not manifest itself in the form of suicide changes at the least they probably less productive than you would like.

What is the number one action you can take to lower the anxiety levels of your employees? Communicate, communicate, communicate! The more information they have the less time and effort they will take making up things about what might be, or not. Even if the news is not good it is better to share than to make them guess.

To read the entire CNN article click here.

From 2006 – 2016, 93% of the growth in the U.S. labor force will be among workers age 55 and older.

This cannot be good news for all the Gen X’ers who are anticipating the Boomers moving aside so they (Gen X’ers) can begin to take on additional responsibilities.

Here at FutureDecisions LLC we feel it is yet another reason that organizations need to begin now to plan for the all that is to come in a fast changing work environment. One way to gain assistance in getting a handle on how to put together a comprehensive workforce/succession plan (WSP) is to grab a copy of our new book: “FutureDecisions: Workforce/Succession Planning for the Perpetually Busy”. The book contains an easy to understand road map of how to establish an effective WSP along with numerous worksheets to assist in creating your plan.

For more information and to purchase the book just click here!

The survey results make several interesting  points but one in particular caught our attention here at FutureDecisions world headquarters.

We hear from many potential clients that they do not see a reason to be involved in any sort of workforce/succession planning as the unemployment rate is so high they can easily replace anyone who leaves. Think again.

The aforementioned survey, which was conducted with over 500 hiring managers and 500 workers found a whopping 47% of hiring managers surveyed cited under-qualified applicants as their most common hiring challenge! Furthermore, this same group stated that on average 44% of resumes they receive are from under-qualified candidates!

We believe that these numbers provide further evidence of the need to aggressively pursue workforce/succession strategies in your organization starting now.

To assist with getting started we would strongly recommend purchasing our new book: “FutureDecisions: Workforce/Succession Planning for the Perpetually Busy”. The book provides a road map to workforce/succession planning along with over 40 down-loadable worksheets to assist in facilitating your efforts.

If you would like additional information on our services please do not hesitate to contact us at: info@futuredecisions.com

According to a recent article in the WSJ several companies in Silicon Valley have instituted a concept being referred to as “topless meetings”, no it is not what you may think.

Many companies, in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, are experiencing an increasingly vexing problem during work related meetings. Specifically, many in the younger generation are logging onto Facebook, checking email or utilizing their IPhone to surf the web during meetings. It is easy to imagine that this can be quite disruptive to those conducting the meetings and the other participants!

So, they have implemented “topless meetings” which means that laptops, IPhones etc. are banned from meetings. As you know we at FutureDecisions conduct workshops and consultation regarding the generations in the workplace so naturally we have our own opinion on the subject. From our standpoint it appears that this action is a bit of a band-aid for an underlying problem, that is, boring meetings! If it is so difficult to keep participants attention then one should start to examine the meetings themselves, are they crisp and to the point or better yet, are they  even necessary?

Finally, is logging into Facebook or surfing the web on your IPhone any different than doodling, something we in the “older” generations have been doing for a very long time as we have sat through endless boring meetings…

The book is a comprehensive guide to workforce/succession planning in an easy to read format. When you purchase the book you also are provided the opportunity to download all the worksheets in the book in a standard 8.5×11 format.

To learn more about our newest member of the family check out our book page for additional information and ordering instructions. If you are involved in workforce/succession planning for your organization this handy book is a must read.

Any company that is looking at investing in executive coaching wants to make sure that it is worth their investment.  All you need to do is take a look at a study that was done by Manchester Consulting Group that proved that companies saw a return on their investment in executive coaching worth 5.7 times what they paid. Here are a number of other benefits organizations gain.
•    Strategic Thinking – The organization has a better grasp on risk management and strategic planning and thinking so that they are able to more creatively and effectively communicate company goals and visions.
•    Commitment and Loyalty – When employees feel as though they are of value to the company it establishes an increase in loyalty and commitment to the company. Even when demands and responsibilities are increased, executives focus remains on improving the company.
•    Interpersonal Skills – any organization that takes advantage of executive coaching also reaps the benefits of having executives that are more adept to use their personal power more effectively. Which means they are able to motivate their teams and accomplish more tasks successfully.
•    Trust and Responsibility – executive coaching also helps to improve the culture of the company whereby enhancing trust in the company and personal responsibility.
•    Team Effectiveness – an executive and a company that has gone through coaching is able to better develop team spirit and unity, working together to help others see their strengths and use those strengths to break down barriers and embark on new possibilities.
•    Learning and Development – an organization also benefits from executive coaching because it allows that company to recognize new competencies in their executives which will make them more effective leaders.
•    Systemic Learning -  One of the greatest benefits of executive coaching is that it also opens the eyes of the organization so that they can see where their weaknesses are and also if they are able to strength those weaknesses.
As you can see there are numerous benefits to an executive and an organization for executive coaching. Companies that truly want to move to the next level and make sure that their executives are able to help them get there will make the investment.

This popular workshop originally presented to the Sacramento Chapter of the Organizational Development Network is an overview of the world of Web 2.o and how it impacts how we manage, train and interact with our employees and clients alike.

If you would like further information on this workshop or other services offered in conjunction with this workshop please contact Kit at: kit@practicalmattersconsulting.com, she will be happy to inform you of how we can assist you and/or your organization in capitalizing on social media in the workplace.