WASHINGTON (AP) -- Newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits posted a sharp decline last week.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that claims for unemployment benefits fell by 33,000 last week to 342,000. Economists had been expecting claims would rise by 3,000.
The four-week moving average for claims fell by 7,250 to 369,500. Even with the improvements, analysts are still worried that the weak economy is putting greater pressures on the labor market. The unemployment rate climbed to 5.1% in March as businesses laid off the largest number of workers in five years.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Article from CNN-Money on Small Business Hiring, growth
Surprise rise in private-sector jobs
Survey from payroll services firm ADP shows increase in the number of jobs created last month.
By Ben Rooney, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: April 2, 2008: 11:34 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In a surprising flash of good news for the U.S. economy, businesses added jobs in March, according to a survey of private sector employers released Wednesday.
Payroll services firm ADP's employment report showed an increase of 8,000 private sector jobs last month. Economists were expecting a decline of 45,000 private sector jobs, according to Briefing.com.
The report showed a revised loss of 18,000 jobs in February, which was the first decline in the two years ADP has been tracking employment data.
"This is an unexpected piece of constructive news," said Bob Brusca, an economist at FAO Economics. "It suggests that the job market isn't getting unequivocally worse."
However, while the report showed the job market expanding overall, certain underlying trends remain intact.
The service sector added 85,000 jobs, while the goods-producing sector cut 77,000 jobs in March - the 16th consecutive monthly decline.
Small-sized businesses, those with fewer than 50 workers, added 55,000 jobs in March. Large businesses, on the other hand, cut 52,000 jobs.
The increase in small business jobs is not surprising, according to Molly Brogan, a spokeswoman for the National Small Business Association.
"When you're looking at an economic downturn, starting your own business becomes a more viable option," she said.
Brogan thinks a "large chunk" of the 55,000 jobs added in the small-business segment came from workers exiting large businesses. Moreover, the survey counts business operated by individuals as small businesses, which could also account for the large increase.
Meanwhile, residential construction businesses cut 22,000 jobs in March - the 16th straight month of decline - as the turmoil in the housing market continued to batter homebuilders.
Employment in the financial services sector was flat.
Earlier Wednesday, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that March layoff notices fell by 26% to 53,579 from February. But that still puts the number of announced cuts 9% above year-earlier levels.
Both reports come ahead of Friday's closely watched employment report from the Labor Department, which includes private and public sector jobs data. Economists are forecasting a decline of 50,000 jobs in March. The unemployment rate is expected to increase to 5% from 4.8% in February.
Brusca said the ADP report could indicate that Friday's report will show a smaller-than-expected decline, or possibly an increase in employment.
First Published: April 2, 2008: 8:30 AM EDT
Survey from payroll services firm ADP shows increase in the number of jobs created last month.
By Ben Rooney, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: April 2, 2008: 11:34 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In a surprising flash of good news for the U.S. economy, businesses added jobs in March, according to a survey of private sector employers released Wednesday.
Payroll services firm ADP's employment report showed an increase of 8,000 private sector jobs last month. Economists were expecting a decline of 45,000 private sector jobs, according to Briefing.com.
The report showed a revised loss of 18,000 jobs in February, which was the first decline in the two years ADP has been tracking employment data.
"This is an unexpected piece of constructive news," said Bob Brusca, an economist at FAO Economics. "It suggests that the job market isn't getting unequivocally worse."
However, while the report showed the job market expanding overall, certain underlying trends remain intact.
The service sector added 85,000 jobs, while the goods-producing sector cut 77,000 jobs in March - the 16th consecutive monthly decline.
Small-sized businesses, those with fewer than 50 workers, added 55,000 jobs in March. Large businesses, on the other hand, cut 52,000 jobs.
The increase in small business jobs is not surprising, according to Molly Brogan, a spokeswoman for the National Small Business Association.
"When you're looking at an economic downturn, starting your own business becomes a more viable option," she said.
Brogan thinks a "large chunk" of the 55,000 jobs added in the small-business segment came from workers exiting large businesses. Moreover, the survey counts business operated by individuals as small businesses, which could also account for the large increase.
Meanwhile, residential construction businesses cut 22,000 jobs in March - the 16th straight month of decline - as the turmoil in the housing market continued to batter homebuilders.
Employment in the financial services sector was flat.
Earlier Wednesday, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that March layoff notices fell by 26% to 53,579 from February. But that still puts the number of announced cuts 9% above year-earlier levels.
Both reports come ahead of Friday's closely watched employment report from the Labor Department, which includes private and public sector jobs data. Economists are forecasting a decline of 50,000 jobs in March. The unemployment rate is expected to increase to 5% from 4.8% in February.
Brusca said the ADP report could indicate that Friday's report will show a smaller-than-expected decline, or possibly an increase in employment.
First Published: April 2, 2008: 8:30 AM EDT
Friday, April 4, 2008
Economy loses 80,000 jobs
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. employers slashed jobs on their payrolls for the third straight month in March and unemployment rose to a nearly three-year high, offering the latest signs that the economy has fallen into a recession.
The Labor Department's much anticipated report showed a net loss of 80,000 jobs in the month, marking the longest period of decline since early 2003.
February's loss was revised to 76,000 jobs. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast that payrolls would fall by 50,000 in the latest reading.
The job losses in both January and February were revised sharply higher, adding an additional 67,000 job losses to the previous readings. The Labor Department now estimates that the economy has shed 232,000 jobs in the first three months of this year.
The job losses were widespread, with the battered construction sector losing 51,000 jobs and manufacturing employment falling by 48,000. But there were also losses in key service sector industries. Retail employment dropped by 12,000 jobs, and business and professional service employers cut staff by 35,000.
The unemployment rate jumped from the 4.8% reading in February to 5.1%, the highest level since May 2005. Economists had forecast that unemployment would rise to 5%.
The unemployment rate is based on a separate survey of households, rather than the employer survey that produces the closely watched payroll number.
The household survey gave an even grimmer view of the job losses in the economy, with the number of Americans saying they were unemployed soaring by 434,000, the biggest jump in that reading since October 2001, right after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The job outlook will be a key factor influencing interest rate decisions by the Federal Reserve when it meets on April 29 and 30.
Earlier this week Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke made his bleakest and bluntest assessment on the economy's condition. The central bank chief told a joint Congressional committee that a recession is possible in the first half of this year.
The Labor Department's much anticipated report showed a net loss of 80,000 jobs in the month, marking the longest period of decline since early 2003.
February's loss was revised to 76,000 jobs. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast that payrolls would fall by 50,000 in the latest reading.
The job losses in both January and February were revised sharply higher, adding an additional 67,000 job losses to the previous readings. The Labor Department now estimates that the economy has shed 232,000 jobs in the first three months of this year.
The job losses were widespread, with the battered construction sector losing 51,000 jobs and manufacturing employment falling by 48,000. But there were also losses in key service sector industries. Retail employment dropped by 12,000 jobs, and business and professional service employers cut staff by 35,000.
The unemployment rate jumped from the 4.8% reading in February to 5.1%, the highest level since May 2005. Economists had forecast that unemployment would rise to 5%.
The unemployment rate is based on a separate survey of households, rather than the employer survey that produces the closely watched payroll number.
The household survey gave an even grimmer view of the job losses in the economy, with the number of Americans saying they were unemployed soaring by 434,000, the biggest jump in that reading since October 2001, right after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The job outlook will be a key factor influencing interest rate decisions by the Federal Reserve when it meets on April 29 and 30.
Earlier this week Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke made his bleakest and bluntest assessment on the economy's condition. The central bank chief told a joint Congressional committee that a recession is possible in the first half of this year.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Jobless claims: Highest since '05
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- New filings for unemployment claims surged in the latest week to the highest level since September 2005, according to a government report released Thursday.
The Labor Department said applications for unemployment benefits rose to 407,000 in the week ended March 29, up from a revised 369,000 claims in the previous week.
A consensus of economists polled by Briefing.com had expected initial jobless claims to fall to 365,000 from the originally reported 366,000.
"There has been a slow deterioration in the labor market," Paul Kasriel, chief economist with Northern Trust, said. "We're starting to see a speed-up in this deterioration," he added.
The surge in jobless claims comes a day before the government's closely watched March employment report. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect that report to show a decline of 50,000 jobs.
The job market has suffered from the deepening economic slump. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that a "recession is possible," and that the economy could contract over the first half of the year.
The Labor Department said over the past four weeks, a running average of 374,500 people filed new claims per week, up 4.4% from the previous week's revised average of 358,750. In the year-ago period, the average was at 311,750.
Continuing claims for those already receiving benefits rose to 2.9 million in the week ended March 22, the most recent week available. That's up from a revised 2.8 million reported for the prior week, matching the four-week average.
New jobless claims in Pennsylvania increased the most in the week ended March 22, the report showed. Michigan saw the biggest drop, with first-time claims falling 7,660 due to fewer layoffs in the automotive industry.
The Labor Department said applications for unemployment benefits rose to 407,000 in the week ended March 29, up from a revised 369,000 claims in the previous week.
A consensus of economists polled by Briefing.com had expected initial jobless claims to fall to 365,000 from the originally reported 366,000.
"There has been a slow deterioration in the labor market," Paul Kasriel, chief economist with Northern Trust, said. "We're starting to see a speed-up in this deterioration," he added.
The surge in jobless claims comes a day before the government's closely watched March employment report. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect that report to show a decline of 50,000 jobs.
The job market has suffered from the deepening economic slump. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that a "recession is possible," and that the economy could contract over the first half of the year.
The Labor Department said over the past four weeks, a running average of 374,500 people filed new claims per week, up 4.4% from the previous week's revised average of 358,750. In the year-ago period, the average was at 311,750.
Continuing claims for those already receiving benefits rose to 2.9 million in the week ended March 22, the most recent week available. That's up from a revised 2.8 million reported for the prior week, matching the four-week average.
New jobless claims in Pennsylvania increased the most in the week ended March 22, the report showed. Michigan saw the biggest drop, with first-time claims falling 7,660 due to fewer layoffs in the automotive industry.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
New unemployment claims fall
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- New filings for unemployment claims fell last week, according to a report released Thursday by the Labor Department.
According to the report, 366,000 people filed for unemployment for the first time in the week ended March 22, down 9,000 from a revised 375,000 reported in the previous week.
A consensus of economists polled by Briefing.com had expected to see initial jobless claims to fall to 371,000 from the originally reported 378,000.
Much of the prior report's new claims numbers were inflated by an ongoing strike in the automobile industry, according to Andrew Gledhill, an economist with Moody's Economy.com. The fact that claims only retreated 9,000 this week is "further evidence the labor market is having difficulty," he said.
The level of new jobless claims can be used to determine the health of the overall economy, but one economist doesn't see a lot of problems with the latest numbers.
"This measure is not turning on the recession signal," said Robert Brusca, economist with FAO Economics. "The job market continues to show resiliency."
Over the past four weeks, a running average of 358,000 people filed for unemployment for the first time per week, up 1,750 from the previous week's revised average of 356,250, and higher than the 312,000 average reported during the same period last year.
"So far it shows there is some slowdown in the economy," but "it isn't that dramatic," Brusca said.
Other economic signals have not shown as much strength.
A report from the Commerce Department released Thursday showed that the gross domestic product, a measure of all the goods and services produces within the country, rose a paltry annual rate of 0.6% between October and December of 2007. In the previous quarter, the GDP grew at 4.9%.
Continuing claims for those already receiving benefits fell just slightly to 2.845 million in the week ended March 15, the most recent week available, from a revised 2.85 million reported for the prior week.
Over the four weeks ended March 15, continuing jobless claims reached a running average of 2.82 million per week, up from the prior week's revised average of 2.8 million, and remains well above the 2.5 million average reported for the same period last year.
The number of claims for those who are already on unemployment reveals that slower hiring is more responsible for the troubled labor market than loss of jobs, according to Gledhill.
"Payrolls are a lot leaner," he said, "Businesses are really reigning in their hiring."
New jobless claims in Missouri, Michigan and Ohio increased the most in the week ended March 15, due to layoffs in the automobile industry, the report said. California saw the biggest drop in first-time claims, falling more than 5,000.
While the weekly jobless claims report offers an up-to-the week measure of the labor market, the Labor Department's monthly employment report, which next comes out April 4, will reveal a broader view of layoffs and hiring. Many economists use the measure to help determine the health of the overall economy.
According to the report, 366,000 people filed for unemployment for the first time in the week ended March 22, down 9,000 from a revised 375,000 reported in the previous week.
A consensus of economists polled by Briefing.com had expected to see initial jobless claims to fall to 371,000 from the originally reported 378,000.
Much of the prior report's new claims numbers were inflated by an ongoing strike in the automobile industry, according to Andrew Gledhill, an economist with Moody's Economy.com. The fact that claims only retreated 9,000 this week is "further evidence the labor market is having difficulty," he said.
The level of new jobless claims can be used to determine the health of the overall economy, but one economist doesn't see a lot of problems with the latest numbers.
"This measure is not turning on the recession signal," said Robert Brusca, economist with FAO Economics. "The job market continues to show resiliency."
Over the past four weeks, a running average of 358,000 people filed for unemployment for the first time per week, up 1,750 from the previous week's revised average of 356,250, and higher than the 312,000 average reported during the same period last year.
"So far it shows there is some slowdown in the economy," but "it isn't that dramatic," Brusca said.
Other economic signals have not shown as much strength.
A report from the Commerce Department released Thursday showed that the gross domestic product, a measure of all the goods and services produces within the country, rose a paltry annual rate of 0.6% between October and December of 2007. In the previous quarter, the GDP grew at 4.9%.
Continuing claims for those already receiving benefits fell just slightly to 2.845 million in the week ended March 15, the most recent week available, from a revised 2.85 million reported for the prior week.
Over the four weeks ended March 15, continuing jobless claims reached a running average of 2.82 million per week, up from the prior week's revised average of 2.8 million, and remains well above the 2.5 million average reported for the same period last year.
The number of claims for those who are already on unemployment reveals that slower hiring is more responsible for the troubled labor market than loss of jobs, according to Gledhill.
"Payrolls are a lot leaner," he said, "Businesses are really reigning in their hiring."
New jobless claims in Missouri, Michigan and Ohio increased the most in the week ended March 15, due to layoffs in the automobile industry, the report said. California saw the biggest drop in first-time claims, falling more than 5,000.
While the weekly jobless claims report offers an up-to-the week measure of the labor market, the Labor Department's monthly employment report, which next comes out April 4, will reveal a broader view of layoffs and hiring. Many economists use the measure to help determine the health of the overall economy.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
I'm Not Interested
I'm Not Interested
By Wendy Weiss at EyesOnSales, a community for and by sales professionals (http://www.eyesonsales.com)
Created Mar 6 2008 - 11:42am
Whenever I conduct a workshop or teleclass, invariably someone asks the question: "What should I say when the prospect says, 'I'm not interested?'"
My response invariably is: "It's probably too late."
Certainly you can try to recover from that "I'm not interested" response. You can ask, "Why do you say that?" (Say this gently, as though you are confused and really, really want the answer.) You can repeat back: "Not interested?" (Again, say this gently, as though you are confused.) This sometimes gets people to start talking and explain themselves. Bottom line, however, if everyone that you speak with says, "I'm not interested," you're not saying anything interesting.
If you have a compelling script with stellar delivery, you will hardly ever hear the words, "I'm not interested." That's because you will actually be saying something interesting!
On the telephone, you have approximately 10-20 seconds to grab your prospect's attention - and if you do not do that, your call is probably over. 10-20 seconds is not a lot of time. You are not going to convey a lot of information in 10-20 seconds. Instead, what you'll convey is your energy, your confidence and your excitement. Your words must reach out and immediately grab and hook your prospect's attention.
From the moment your prospect says, "Hello," your goal is to gain your prospect's attention so that she is hungry to hear more. If you don't hook your prospects in the beginning of your conversation, they will not want to speak with you. They will say, "I'm not interested," and worse case, they may hang up on you.
In order to hook your prospect, ask yourself: Whom are you calling? Why should they be interested? You're looking for hot buttons, those issues that are so important to your prospect that when they come up, your prospect stops in her tracks to listen. The big point here is that when you are trying to hook someone, you have to have some sense of what's important to them.
Ask yourself: What is the value that I (the company/product/service) bring to customers. How do they benefit? How do I (the company/product/service) make customer's lives easy, stress-free, happy, profitable etc? You may have to do some market research and/or brainstorming here. Once you've determined that value, however, lead with it.
Here's an example:
Last year when I conducted the "Cold Calling College--Live" group coaching program (http://wendyweiss.com/coldcallingcollegelive.html), I received an e-mail from a participant. He said he was calling owners of mid-size companies and not having much success. His e-mail read:
"...I say my name and company and then say 'we specialize in business performance management solutions for budgeting, reporting and analysis.... I hear 'not interested' then they hang up before I can say anything else.
Another thing I have tried is, '...the reason I am calling is to introduce [company name]'s budgeting reporting analysis solutions and to invite you to an Excel seminar....' But after this I hear, 'not interested,' then they hang up before I can say anything else."
It's hardly surprising that these introductions didn't work. They weren't interesting. There was nothing in those first sentences to grab and hook a business owner's attention.
Later on, after going through the "Cold Calling College" process, the person who wrote this e-mail was able to pare his introduction down. His introduction ended up being something like: "We help companies keep the money they make." Short, sweet, to the point and focused on the value to business owners. Prospects stopped hanging up on him. Instead, he was able to start scheduling meetings with those business owners.
Lesson learned: Do your homework. Do what ever is necessary to truly understand your prospects. Before you ever pick up the phone, have the answer to the question: "Why should this prospect be interested?" If you have that answer, you will never again hear: "I'm not interested."
By Wendy Weiss at EyesOnSales, a community for and by sales professionals (http://www.eyesonsales.com)
Created Mar 6 2008 - 11:42am
Whenever I conduct a workshop or teleclass, invariably someone asks the question: "What should I say when the prospect says, 'I'm not interested?'"
My response invariably is: "It's probably too late."
Certainly you can try to recover from that "I'm not interested" response. You can ask, "Why do you say that?" (Say this gently, as though you are confused and really, really want the answer.) You can repeat back: "Not interested?" (Again, say this gently, as though you are confused.) This sometimes gets people to start talking and explain themselves. Bottom line, however, if everyone that you speak with says, "I'm not interested," you're not saying anything interesting.
If you have a compelling script with stellar delivery, you will hardly ever hear the words, "I'm not interested." That's because you will actually be saying something interesting!
On the telephone, you have approximately 10-20 seconds to grab your prospect's attention - and if you do not do that, your call is probably over. 10-20 seconds is not a lot of time. You are not going to convey a lot of information in 10-20 seconds. Instead, what you'll convey is your energy, your confidence and your excitement. Your words must reach out and immediately grab and hook your prospect's attention.
From the moment your prospect says, "Hello," your goal is to gain your prospect's attention so that she is hungry to hear more. If you don't hook your prospects in the beginning of your conversation, they will not want to speak with you. They will say, "I'm not interested," and worse case, they may hang up on you.
In order to hook your prospect, ask yourself: Whom are you calling? Why should they be interested? You're looking for hot buttons, those issues that are so important to your prospect that when they come up, your prospect stops in her tracks to listen. The big point here is that when you are trying to hook someone, you have to have some sense of what's important to them.
Ask yourself: What is the value that I (the company/product/service) bring to customers. How do they benefit? How do I (the company/product/service) make customer's lives easy, stress-free, happy, profitable etc? You may have to do some market research and/or brainstorming here. Once you've determined that value, however, lead with it.
Here's an example:
Last year when I conducted the "Cold Calling College--Live" group coaching program (http://wendyweiss.com/coldcallingcollegelive.html), I received an e-mail from a participant. He said he was calling owners of mid-size companies and not having much success. His e-mail read:
"...I say my name and company and then say 'we specialize in business performance management solutions for budgeting, reporting and analysis.... I hear 'not interested' then they hang up before I can say anything else.
Another thing I have tried is, '...the reason I am calling is to introduce [company name]'s budgeting reporting analysis solutions and to invite you to an Excel seminar....' But after this I hear, 'not interested,' then they hang up before I can say anything else."
It's hardly surprising that these introductions didn't work. They weren't interesting. There was nothing in those first sentences to grab and hook a business owner's attention.
Later on, after going through the "Cold Calling College" process, the person who wrote this e-mail was able to pare his introduction down. His introduction ended up being something like: "We help companies keep the money they make." Short, sweet, to the point and focused on the value to business owners. Prospects stopped hanging up on him. Instead, he was able to start scheduling meetings with those business owners.
Lesson learned: Do your homework. Do what ever is necessary to truly understand your prospects. Before you ever pick up the phone, have the answer to the question: "Why should this prospect be interested?" If you have that answer, you will never again hear: "I'm not interested."
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
A slice of pizza gets pricier
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Pizzeria owner Joe Vicari shakes his head as he prepares to rip open a 50-pound bag of flour for another batch of dough.
"That's 37-bucks. $37. I couldn't believe it!" says Vicari.
Since opening Mariella Pizza in mid-town Manhattan 30-years ago, Vicari, says he has never experienced such a jump in the cost of his ingredients.
"I can't even believe how much the flour [goes] up. When I see the bill I can't believe it, that's too much," says the veteran pizza maker, who emigrated from Sicily. Only four weeks ago, Vicari says, he was paying just $16-a-bag for Gold Medal brand flour, which at $37-a-bag now seems more golden than ever.
Executives at his supplier, Cremosa Food of Melville, New York, did not return CNN's repeated phone calls, though a source at the company confirms there are plans for a price hike to $40-a-bag in the next week. Cremosa, the source said, is allocating flour to restaurants, refusing to allow customers to buy more than they had purchased the prior week.
Vicari struggles with the thought of raising the price of a slice, which he lifted to $2.50 only a few months ago due to an increase in cheese costs.
"Over here people come to buy pizza, working people. How much [am] I going to raise the pizza now?" asks Vicari. "Somebody come in here for two slices, and I take $5. I feel very, very bad for the person."
But, he concedes, if flour rises a few dollars more, above $40-a-bag, he probably will pass along the higher expense to customers.
The cost of cereals and bakery products climbed at an annual rate of more than 9% last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared to a rise in the overall Consumer Price Index during the past 12 months of 4%.
Indeed, it's not only pizza that's becoming more costly. Baked goods of all kinds are heading higher as the price of flour rises due to the fact that wheat is trading near a record high.
At the Chicago Board of Trade a bushel, 60-pounds of wheat, now trades for more than $1100, more than two-and-1/2 times what it was just a year ago.
Why? You can lay part of the blame on ethanol. Huge demand for ethanol has farmers planting more corn to produce the fuel when they could be growing wheat.
"Ethanol was competing against wheat for acres in 2007," said Joe Victor, grain analyst with Allendale Inc.
Poor growing conditions last year also affected the global wheat crop, from a winter freeze in the U.S. to droughts in Australia and France.
And, the dollar sinking to a record low makes U.S. wheat relatively cheap for foreigners.
"Fifty-nine-percent of everything we raised in 2007 is leaving the U.S.," said Victor. "That's 9-10% greater than normal." As a result, Victor said, U.S. wheat supplies are at their lowest level since the end of World War II, another factor pushing prices skyward.
The good news for U.S. consumers is that high wheat prices have led farmers to plant a large crop of winter wheat, which could temper retail prices later this year.
But, for now, it appears likely the cost of baked goods is heading higher.
"It's killing us, it's killing us. It's forcing me to pass it on to the consumer," said Frank Karalis co-owner of Europan Bakery Café in Manhattan. Karalis was holding a menu on which he had just crossed out every price and written in new, higher prices he plans for next week: Bagel with butter $1.30, up 20-cents; Muffins $2.25, up 25-cents; Paninis $7.20 up 25-cents.
"Someone's gonna buy a croissant here for $2 and tomorrow they're going to pay $2.50. They're not going to like that," Karalis said.
"That's 37-bucks. $37. I couldn't believe it!" says Vicari.
Since opening Mariella Pizza in mid-town Manhattan 30-years ago, Vicari, says he has never experienced such a jump in the cost of his ingredients.
"I can't even believe how much the flour [goes] up. When I see the bill I can't believe it, that's too much," says the veteran pizza maker, who emigrated from Sicily. Only four weeks ago, Vicari says, he was paying just $16-a-bag for Gold Medal brand flour, which at $37-a-bag now seems more golden than ever.
Executives at his supplier, Cremosa Food of Melville, New York, did not return CNN's repeated phone calls, though a source at the company confirms there are plans for a price hike to $40-a-bag in the next week. Cremosa, the source said, is allocating flour to restaurants, refusing to allow customers to buy more than they had purchased the prior week.
Vicari struggles with the thought of raising the price of a slice, which he lifted to $2.50 only a few months ago due to an increase in cheese costs.
"Over here people come to buy pizza, working people. How much [am] I going to raise the pizza now?" asks Vicari. "Somebody come in here for two slices, and I take $5. I feel very, very bad for the person."
But, he concedes, if flour rises a few dollars more, above $40-a-bag, he probably will pass along the higher expense to customers.
The cost of cereals and bakery products climbed at an annual rate of more than 9% last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared to a rise in the overall Consumer Price Index during the past 12 months of 4%.
Indeed, it's not only pizza that's becoming more costly. Baked goods of all kinds are heading higher as the price of flour rises due to the fact that wheat is trading near a record high.
At the Chicago Board of Trade a bushel, 60-pounds of wheat, now trades for more than $1100, more than two-and-1/2 times what it was just a year ago.
Why? You can lay part of the blame on ethanol. Huge demand for ethanol has farmers planting more corn to produce the fuel when they could be growing wheat.
"Ethanol was competing against wheat for acres in 2007," said Joe Victor, grain analyst with Allendale Inc.
Poor growing conditions last year also affected the global wheat crop, from a winter freeze in the U.S. to droughts in Australia and France.
And, the dollar sinking to a record low makes U.S. wheat relatively cheap for foreigners.
"Fifty-nine-percent of everything we raised in 2007 is leaving the U.S.," said Victor. "That's 9-10% greater than normal." As a result, Victor said, U.S. wheat supplies are at their lowest level since the end of World War II, another factor pushing prices skyward.
The good news for U.S. consumers is that high wheat prices have led farmers to plant a large crop of winter wheat, which could temper retail prices later this year.
But, for now, it appears likely the cost of baked goods is heading higher.
"It's killing us, it's killing us. It's forcing me to pass it on to the consumer," said Frank Karalis co-owner of Europan Bakery Café in Manhattan. Karalis was holding a menu on which he had just crossed out every price and written in new, higher prices he plans for next week: Bagel with butter $1.30, up 20-cents; Muffins $2.25, up 25-cents; Paninis $7.20 up 25-cents.
"Someone's gonna buy a croissant here for $2 and tomorrow they're going to pay $2.50. They're not going to like that," Karalis said.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Delta offers to buy out 30,000 workers
ATLANTA (AP) -- Delta Air Lines said Tuesday it will offer voluntary severance payouts to roughly 30,000 employees - more than half its work force - and cut domestic capacity by an extra 5 percent this year as part of an overhaul of its business plan to deal with soaring fuel prices.
Executives at Atlanta-based Delta said in a memo to employees that the airline's goal is to cut 2,000 frontline, administrative and management jobs through the voluntary program, attrition and other initiatives.
A spokeswoman says that if more than that amount agree to take the voluntary severance, it will be allowed. The severance program primarily affects mainline Delta employees. It will not affect Delta pilots, who have a union contract with the company, and employees at Delta regional carrier Comair, which is based in Erlanger, Ky.
Delta had 55,044 total full-time employees as of the end of last year.
Oil prices recently cracked $111 a barrel, nearly twice what prices were a year ago.
The memo from Chief Executive Richard Anderson and President Ed Bastian did not mention Delta's talks with Northwest Airlines Corp. about a combination that would create the world's largest airline. Bastian was updating investors Tuesday at a conference in New York.
On Monday, Delta's pilots union said it had told company executives it can't agree on seniority issues with its counterpart at Northwest, raising serious doubts about the prospect of a combination of the two companies.
The disclosure was made in a letter from the head of the pilots union at Delta, Lee Moak, to rank-and-file Delta pilots.
The letter does not mention Northwest, but describes the union that Delta's pilots had been negotiating with as the only one they were focused on talking with. Multiple officials close to the talks have said in recent months that the other company was Northwest (NWA, Fortune 500).
The letter talks about the discussions with the other carrier in the past tense, suggesting at least for now there won't be further talks.
The two carriers don't need a pilot seniority integration deal in advance to move forward with a combination, but Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL, Fortune 500) executives have said they would not move forward with any combination unless the seniority of their employees was protected.
A Delta-Northwest combination deal could proceed without a pilot seniority agreement, but that would be up to the boards of the two companies.
At least one airline analyst, Calyon Securities' Ray Neidl, sounded doubtful that will happen, at least in the near term
Executives at Atlanta-based Delta said in a memo to employees that the airline's goal is to cut 2,000 frontline, administrative and management jobs through the voluntary program, attrition and other initiatives.
A spokeswoman says that if more than that amount agree to take the voluntary severance, it will be allowed. The severance program primarily affects mainline Delta employees. It will not affect Delta pilots, who have a union contract with the company, and employees at Delta regional carrier Comair, which is based in Erlanger, Ky.
Delta had 55,044 total full-time employees as of the end of last year.
Oil prices recently cracked $111 a barrel, nearly twice what prices were a year ago.
The memo from Chief Executive Richard Anderson and President Ed Bastian did not mention Delta's talks with Northwest Airlines Corp. about a combination that would create the world's largest airline. Bastian was updating investors Tuesday at a conference in New York.
On Monday, Delta's pilots union said it had told company executives it can't agree on seniority issues with its counterpart at Northwest, raising serious doubts about the prospect of a combination of the two companies.
The disclosure was made in a letter from the head of the pilots union at Delta, Lee Moak, to rank-and-file Delta pilots.
The letter does not mention Northwest, but describes the union that Delta's pilots had been negotiating with as the only one they were focused on talking with. Multiple officials close to the talks have said in recent months that the other company was Northwest (NWA, Fortune 500).
The letter talks about the discussions with the other carrier in the past tense, suggesting at least for now there won't be further talks.
The two carriers don't need a pilot seniority integration deal in advance to move forward with a combination, but Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL, Fortune 500) executives have said they would not move forward with any combination unless the seniority of their employees was protected.
A Delta-Northwest combination deal could proceed without a pilot seniority agreement, but that would be up to the boards of the two companies.
At least one airline analyst, Calyon Securities' Ray Neidl, sounded doubtful that will happen, at least in the near term
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Three Mistakes Every Sales Rep Makes Every Day
Three Mistakes Every Sales Rep Makes Every Day March 13, 2008 by Christopher Rack
Whether you're a sales rookie straight out of college or a crafty veteran of 20-plus years, being a sales professional provides one absolute truth: you make mistakes and you make them every single day.
It was Jack King, in "Confessions of a Winning Poker Play" who said, "Few players recall big pots they have won, strange as it seems, but every player can remember with remarkable accuracy the outstanding tough beats of his career."
This holds remarkably true in the sales world. It becomes difficult to remember all of the large deals you've closed throughout your career, but you can always remember the one client that got away—and, more importantly, why they got away. There isn't a sales professional in the world that doesn't make at least one mistake every single day. But making mistakes doesn't have to be looked at in a completely negative light. Mistakes, especially in sales, are the foundation for growth and achievement.
Mistake No. 1: Pre-Judging Sales Prospects
Leads/prospects are the foundation of success in any sales job and every day sales professionals pine for the "hot leads" within their prospective industries. Have you ever seen the classic sales movie "Glengarry, Glen Ross" and viewed the vicious battle between sales reps for the Glengarry leads? The movie is a classic example of one of the biggest mistakes sales professionals make daily—pre-judging their leads. But don't confuse pre-judging sales leads with pre-qualifying them—the two are night and day. Sales basics teach us that we should do a bit of research on our clients to ensure they are a good match for our products and services (pre-qualifying), pre-judging leads is automatically eliminating a prospect because you feel they are not worth the time.
Below are a few common areas in which sales reps pre-judge their leads/prospects.
• Company Size. A small company size doesn't mean small spend.
• Buying Cycle. A prospect that is "just looking" is doing just that—looking at your product or solution.
• Project Budget. If your product/solution is good—and you pitch it well—budgets get created.
Mistake No. 2: Not Asking Questions
As markets become more and more competitive, sales professionals become too reliant on pitching their product. Sales is quickly becoming all about bells and whistles, product demonstrations and pricing. Prospects and clients share one commonality across all industries: they have a problem (or they wouldn't be talking to you) and they are looking for help (a solution to that problem). The key to identifying a prospect's "pain" is questions, questions and more questions. Going into a sales call/presentation, a customer/prospect expects the "pitch"—they expect that you will try and sell them on your product/service. What most don't expect—and what separates the No.1 rep from the No. 10—is that you have a vested interest in not only their company's success, but also their personal success. Prospects and clients love to talk about their company and its successes/struggles; you just have to open the door.
Here are a few tips:
• Ask questions based on research: "I noticed you are launching a new product next quarter, is this going to be a big initiative for you?" Or, "I see in your reports that your company has grown by 25% this past year, how has that affected your position?"
• Don't be afraid to get a bit personal: "So how long have you worked in this industry?" And, "Is there a product/solution you feel would make your job/workload easier?"
• Ask the tough questions: "What has held you back from working with my company in the past?"; "What do you like most about (your biggest competitor)?"; and "What is the biggest problem you face on a daily basis?"
Mistake No. 3: Ego
The first step to fixing a problem is admitting that you have a problem. Believe it or not, this is the hardest step in the process. Sales professionals, as a norm, tend suffer from over-inflated egos. And with those egos come habits that are often difficult to break. In the long run, the biggest mistake sales professionals make every single day is not recognizing that they make mistakes. It is impossible to fix problems that you don't know exist. Thus, you have a responsibility to identify problems and work on them.
Here are a few tips:
• Schedule regular self-evaluations. Schedule a regular time in your calendar to review your work, at least once a month. Review accounts you win and more importantly review the prospects and clients you lose. What did you do well? What went wrong?
• Create a standard checklist that you can use for every self evaluation. By using the same format to review yourself, you can track your growth across an extended period of time.
Start simple and think back over today—which one of the mistakes listed above did you make? It's okay to admit it, you are 100% not alone. You can safely assume that thousands of sales professionals are in the same boat. Believe it or not, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Mistakes can be good things, but only if you are dedicated to learn from them.
Christopher Rack is a sales professional with an undergraduate degreee in Comminications and a minor in Art and Design from Purdue University. At Careerbuilder.com, he held several positions including account manager, senior account manager and sales manager. Currently, Rack manages a sales team for emediaUSA concentrated on lead generation solutions for IT companies.
Whether you're a sales rookie straight out of college or a crafty veteran of 20-plus years, being a sales professional provides one absolute truth: you make mistakes and you make them every single day.
It was Jack King, in "Confessions of a Winning Poker Play" who said, "Few players recall big pots they have won, strange as it seems, but every player can remember with remarkable accuracy the outstanding tough beats of his career."
This holds remarkably true in the sales world. It becomes difficult to remember all of the large deals you've closed throughout your career, but you can always remember the one client that got away—and, more importantly, why they got away. There isn't a sales professional in the world that doesn't make at least one mistake every single day. But making mistakes doesn't have to be looked at in a completely negative light. Mistakes, especially in sales, are the foundation for growth and achievement.
Mistake No. 1: Pre-Judging Sales Prospects
Leads/prospects are the foundation of success in any sales job and every day sales professionals pine for the "hot leads" within their prospective industries. Have you ever seen the classic sales movie "Glengarry, Glen Ross" and viewed the vicious battle between sales reps for the Glengarry leads? The movie is a classic example of one of the biggest mistakes sales professionals make daily—pre-judging their leads. But don't confuse pre-judging sales leads with pre-qualifying them—the two are night and day. Sales basics teach us that we should do a bit of research on our clients to ensure they are a good match for our products and services (pre-qualifying), pre-judging leads is automatically eliminating a prospect because you feel they are not worth the time.
Below are a few common areas in which sales reps pre-judge their leads/prospects.
• Company Size. A small company size doesn't mean small spend.
• Buying Cycle. A prospect that is "just looking" is doing just that—looking at your product or solution.
• Project Budget. If your product/solution is good—and you pitch it well—budgets get created.
Mistake No. 2: Not Asking Questions
As markets become more and more competitive, sales professionals become too reliant on pitching their product. Sales is quickly becoming all about bells and whistles, product demonstrations and pricing. Prospects and clients share one commonality across all industries: they have a problem (or they wouldn't be talking to you) and they are looking for help (a solution to that problem). The key to identifying a prospect's "pain" is questions, questions and more questions. Going into a sales call/presentation, a customer/prospect expects the "pitch"—they expect that you will try and sell them on your product/service. What most don't expect—and what separates the No.1 rep from the No. 10—is that you have a vested interest in not only their company's success, but also their personal success. Prospects and clients love to talk about their company and its successes/struggles; you just have to open the door.
Here are a few tips:
• Ask questions based on research: "I noticed you are launching a new product next quarter, is this going to be a big initiative for you?" Or, "I see in your reports that your company has grown by 25% this past year, how has that affected your position?"
• Don't be afraid to get a bit personal: "So how long have you worked in this industry?" And, "Is there a product/solution you feel would make your job/workload easier?"
• Ask the tough questions: "What has held you back from working with my company in the past?"; "What do you like most about (your biggest competitor)?"; and "What is the biggest problem you face on a daily basis?"
Mistake No. 3: Ego
The first step to fixing a problem is admitting that you have a problem. Believe it or not, this is the hardest step in the process. Sales professionals, as a norm, tend suffer from over-inflated egos. And with those egos come habits that are often difficult to break. In the long run, the biggest mistake sales professionals make every single day is not recognizing that they make mistakes. It is impossible to fix problems that you don't know exist. Thus, you have a responsibility to identify problems and work on them.
Here are a few tips:
• Schedule regular self-evaluations. Schedule a regular time in your calendar to review your work, at least once a month. Review accounts you win and more importantly review the prospects and clients you lose. What did you do well? What went wrong?
• Create a standard checklist that you can use for every self evaluation. By using the same format to review yourself, you can track your growth across an extended period of time.
Start simple and think back over today—which one of the mistakes listed above did you make? It's okay to admit it, you are 100% not alone. You can safely assume that thousands of sales professionals are in the same boat. Believe it or not, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Mistakes can be good things, but only if you are dedicated to learn from them.
Christopher Rack is a sales professional with an undergraduate degreee in Comminications and a minor in Art and Design from Purdue University. At Careerbuilder.com, he held several positions including account manager, senior account manager and sales manager. Currently, Rack manages a sales team for emediaUSA concentrated on lead generation solutions for IT companies.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
New jobless claims unchanged
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- New filings for unemployment claims were unchanged in the latest week while continuing claims rose, the government said Thursday.
Initial filings for state jobless benefits held steady at 353,000, a revised figure from the previous week, which was originally reported as 351,000.
The consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com was for claims to rise 4,000 to 355,000.
Continuing unemployment insurance claims from workers already receiving benefits rose in the week ended March 8 to 2,835,000, up 7,000 from the previous week.
Initial filings for state jobless benefits held steady at 353,000, a revised figure from the previous week, which was originally reported as 351,000.
The consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com was for claims to rise 4,000 to 355,000.
Continuing unemployment insurance claims from workers already receiving benefits rose in the week ended March 8 to 2,835,000, up 7,000 from the previous week.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
IT Employment Surges in the US
Written by Robert Jaques
IT employment in the US surged in February despite the "dismal" overall job market, experts report.
The National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses (NACCB), which tracks IT employment on a monthly basis, said that IT jobs grew by more than 40,000 last month.
On a year-over-year basis, IT employment grew 9.1 per cent from February 2007 to stand at an all-time high of nearly 3.9 million in February 2008.
"Despite the steady stream of negative economic news, including a disappointing report on the broader job market, demand for IT professionals remains extraordinarily robust," said Mark Roberts, chief executive at the NACCB.
"While I fully expected a favourable IT employment picture based on the positive anecdotal reports from our member companies, the strength of February's IT employment numbers surprised even me."
The robust IT employment picture should be heartening to executives in all industries, according to the report.
"The figures reflect continuing corporate investment in IT as companies seek to maintain or improve their competitive position and reap the benefits of enhanced productivity," said Roberts.
IT employment in the US surged in February despite the "dismal" overall job market, experts report.
The National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses (NACCB), which tracks IT employment on a monthly basis, said that IT jobs grew by more than 40,000 last month.
On a year-over-year basis, IT employment grew 9.1 per cent from February 2007 to stand at an all-time high of nearly 3.9 million in February 2008.
"Despite the steady stream of negative economic news, including a disappointing report on the broader job market, demand for IT professionals remains extraordinarily robust," said Mark Roberts, chief executive at the NACCB.
"While I fully expected a favourable IT employment picture based on the positive anecdotal reports from our member companies, the strength of February's IT employment numbers surprised even me."
The robust IT employment picture should be heartening to executives in all industries, according to the report.
"The figures reflect continuing corporate investment in IT as companies seek to maintain or improve their competitive position and reap the benefits of enhanced productivity," said Roberts.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Slower growth, but no recession forcast
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The U.S. economy will suffer as the slumping housing market eats away at job creation and consumer spending, but the nation should avoid slipping into a recession this year, according to a new economic report.
A recession could still happen though, if the credit crisis that has stifled the housing market deepens, preventing consumers from buying big-ticket items like cars and businesses from spending on equipment, according to the quarterly Anderson Forecast by the University of California at Los Angeles.
"We don't see that happening," said Edward Leamer, director and co-author of the forecast released Tuesday. "This is a tough call, but I will be very surprised if this thing actually precipitates into recession."
The forecast anticipates job growth remaining sluggish in 2008, with the U.S. unemployment rate rising to 5.5% by the end of the year. The February rate was 4.8%.
The forecast expects the economy to post gross domestic product growth of about 1.5% this year, rising to about 3% growth in 2009. GDP grew 2.2% in 2007, the weakest showing in five years.
The no-recession forecast runs counter to the outlook among many economists and financial pundits, who contend the economy has already started to shrink amid rising unemployment, job losses, record oil prices, and the lingering effects of the housing and credit crises.
The U.S. lost 63,000 payroll jobs last month, the second consecutive month of job losses. The last time the U.S. posted a two-month drop in payroll jobs was in 2003, when employers were still struggling through the aftermath of the 2001 recession.
Leamer said the nation may be experiencing negative economic growth in the current quarter. Economists generally look for at least two consecutive quarters of negative growth before they make a recession determination.
The biggest risk of recession comes from the credit crisis that emerged last year as home values began to tumble and the number of mortgage defaults and foreclosures soared, the economists said.
Major financial institutions were racked by credit losses as the value of securities backed by mortgages sank, causing the traditional outlet through which banks borrow money to seize up.
The credit woes have deepened the housing slump, making it harder for would-be homeowners to borrow money and for homeowners to refinance. But consumer spending, while weakened, hasn't declined severely due to credit problems, Leamer notes.
"Americans are not as wealthy as they thought they were, and that's going to factor into consumer spending going forward, but it doesn't cause a recession because consumers all realize their lack of wealth at different points in time," he said.
Another potential factor in a recession would be widespread job losses. Leamer, who has maintained a no-recession forecast in recent quarters, said that's not likely.
"So far the labor markets are slowing but not collapsing," he said.
The forecast calls for the nation's housing doldrums to continue "for a long time," Leamer said.
He expects housing starts, which fell from a high of 2.3 million units in January 2006 to 1 million units this January, to bottom out in the summer.
A recession could still happen though, if the credit crisis that has stifled the housing market deepens, preventing consumers from buying big-ticket items like cars and businesses from spending on equipment, according to the quarterly Anderson Forecast by the University of California at Los Angeles.
"We don't see that happening," said Edward Leamer, director and co-author of the forecast released Tuesday. "This is a tough call, but I will be very surprised if this thing actually precipitates into recession."
The forecast anticipates job growth remaining sluggish in 2008, with the U.S. unemployment rate rising to 5.5% by the end of the year. The February rate was 4.8%.
The forecast expects the economy to post gross domestic product growth of about 1.5% this year, rising to about 3% growth in 2009. GDP grew 2.2% in 2007, the weakest showing in five years.
The no-recession forecast runs counter to the outlook among many economists and financial pundits, who contend the economy has already started to shrink amid rising unemployment, job losses, record oil prices, and the lingering effects of the housing and credit crises.
The U.S. lost 63,000 payroll jobs last month, the second consecutive month of job losses. The last time the U.S. posted a two-month drop in payroll jobs was in 2003, when employers were still struggling through the aftermath of the 2001 recession.
Leamer said the nation may be experiencing negative economic growth in the current quarter. Economists generally look for at least two consecutive quarters of negative growth before they make a recession determination.
The biggest risk of recession comes from the credit crisis that emerged last year as home values began to tumble and the number of mortgage defaults and foreclosures soared, the economists said.
Major financial institutions were racked by credit losses as the value of securities backed by mortgages sank, causing the traditional outlet through which banks borrow money to seize up.
The credit woes have deepened the housing slump, making it harder for would-be homeowners to borrow money and for homeowners to refinance. But consumer spending, while weakened, hasn't declined severely due to credit problems, Leamer notes.
"Americans are not as wealthy as they thought they were, and that's going to factor into consumer spending going forward, but it doesn't cause a recession because consumers all realize their lack of wealth at different points in time," he said.
Another potential factor in a recession would be widespread job losses. Leamer, who has maintained a no-recession forecast in recent quarters, said that's not likely.
"So far the labor markets are slowing but not collapsing," he said.
The forecast calls for the nation's housing doldrums to continue "for a long time," Leamer said.
He expects housing starts, which fell from a high of 2.3 million units in January 2006 to 1 million units this January, to bottom out in the summer.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Jobs get tossed out of stores
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- As U.S. job growth hits the skids, a shrinking labor market means one thing for the nervous retail workers who reside in Columbus, Ohio: Their job is on shaky ground.
The nation's labor market lost a much larger-than-expected 63,000 jobs last month.
Retailing was hit hard, accounting for 34,000 job cuts across department stores, building supplies and garden equipment sellers and auto dealers.
Indeed, big chain retailers including Macy's (M, Fortune 500), Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500), Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) and J.C Penney (JCP, Fortune 500) recently announced they were consolidating their operations and cutting jobs to curb costs in order to offset weakening sales.
While this macro picture already looks disappointing, at a micro level, it gets even bleaker.
A retail hotbed no more?
Consider Columbus, Ohio's third-largest metropolitan area with 1.7 million residents.
According to the Columbus Chamber of Commerce's "Blue Chip Economic Forecast" released in January, total jobs in the greater Columbus area are expected to grow at an anemic 0.4% this year, or just 3,500 jobs, after a not much better 0.5% growth rate in 2007.
But retailing, manufacturing and financial services jobs are actually forecast to decline over the coming months.
This is bad news for a city where retailing ranks among the top five employers after financial services, distribution, healthcare and the state government.
Over the past 12 months, Macy's has cut 640 jobs in Columbus and Meijer Stores has eliminated 662 positions. Limited Brands (LTD, Fortune 500), which operates Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works chains, has trimmed 500 positions.
Retail-related jobs in Columbus are forecast to decline by 2.1%, or about 2,100 jobs, on top of about 2,000 industry jobs that were lost last year.
"We've already lost 17% of our retail jobs since the beginning of 2001," said Bill Lafayette, vice president, economic analysis with the Columbus Chamber of Commerce.
But two decades ago, it was a very different story.
"In the mid-80's, Columbus was ripe for the picking when retailers discovered that it was an underretailed market," Lafayette said. Big chains Limited Brands and Big Lots set up their home offices in Columbus.
By 1997, retailing jobs were at their peak and accounted for about 14% of total employment in the Columbus area. "We were just off the charts with the retail bubble," Lafayette said.
Then the bubble burst. "We just grew too fast," he said.
Between 2001 and 2006, the number of retail stores in Columbus metropolitan area shrunk by more than 400 stores and retailing jobs accounted to less than 11% of total employment in the area.
"We'll probably see a retail recovery in the next few years but it won't be robust because retailers nationwide don't anticipate robust growth anytime soon," Lafayette said.
For Gayle Pavlofsky, that's not comforting news.
Pavlofsky, a single mother who lives with her daughter in New Albany, a suburb to the northeast of Columbus, lost her job last month as a human resources manager with specialty chain Tween Brands (TWB).
Pavlofsky, who declined to give her age, had been working at the company's headquarters in New Albany for a little over a year. She lost her job due to downsizing and she's been looking for another job since early February.
Although Pavlofsky has extensive experience in the retailing industry - she previously worked with Federated Department Stores, now known as Macy's Inc., in a similar capacity for 12 years - she's not keen to jump back into the industry.
"Anybody in retailing today has to be fearful. You just don't know which way the market is going," she said. "As more [retail] companies spin off, merge or get acquired, I think the downsizing trend will continue."
Fortunately for her, she believes her skills are "transferable" to other industries.
Pavlofsky is currently a client of Karen Hughes, who is career adviser at the Jewish Family Services in Columbus. Part of the agency's mission is to assist individuals in finding new jobs.
"We work closely with professionals from 18 to 80 [years old] who have been laid off," Hughes said.
Hughes said the ground-level reality points to an increasingly challenging environment this year in terms of an uptick in unemployment across the board.
"Last year we has 92 clients who walked into our center who needed new jobs. We've already reached more than 92 clients at a much faster rate this year," she said.
One happy ending
But it's not all gloomy in Columbus.
Julie Sagtetter's tale has a happier ending - for now. Sagtetter, 58, who lives in Franklin County, worked for 10 months at a regional furniture chain called Sofa Express.
Then Sofa Express announced it was closing its doors and shuttering more than 40 stores.
"I came in not knowing their financial situation. Then the economy went bad and their business suffered more. They could not pay their bills," Sagtetter said.
She was unemployed for 6 weeks and just found another job a week ago, with another furniture retailer.
Even though she's aware that furniture retailing is a risky bet, especially when a housing downturn has depressed sales of home-related goods, Sagtetter said retailing is still a better option that her previous job in real estate.
"I was a realtor in the past. That industry is even more unstable," she said. "I did not even have health insurance for a few years."
With her new job, she'll get a base salary, sales commission and health insurance.
"For some of us in our 50's, it's not easy to find a new job," Sagtetter said. "There's age discrimination and we haven't grown up in the computer age."
"I'm happy to find this job," she added.
The nation's labor market lost a much larger-than-expected 63,000 jobs last month.
Retailing was hit hard, accounting for 34,000 job cuts across department stores, building supplies and garden equipment sellers and auto dealers.
Indeed, big chain retailers including Macy's (M, Fortune 500), Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500), Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) and J.C Penney (JCP, Fortune 500) recently announced they were consolidating their operations and cutting jobs to curb costs in order to offset weakening sales.
While this macro picture already looks disappointing, at a micro level, it gets even bleaker.
A retail hotbed no more?
Consider Columbus, Ohio's third-largest metropolitan area with 1.7 million residents.
According to the Columbus Chamber of Commerce's "Blue Chip Economic Forecast" released in January, total jobs in the greater Columbus area are expected to grow at an anemic 0.4% this year, or just 3,500 jobs, after a not much better 0.5% growth rate in 2007.
But retailing, manufacturing and financial services jobs are actually forecast to decline over the coming months.
This is bad news for a city where retailing ranks among the top five employers after financial services, distribution, healthcare and the state government.
Over the past 12 months, Macy's has cut 640 jobs in Columbus and Meijer Stores has eliminated 662 positions. Limited Brands (LTD, Fortune 500), which operates Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works chains, has trimmed 500 positions.
Retail-related jobs in Columbus are forecast to decline by 2.1%, or about 2,100 jobs, on top of about 2,000 industry jobs that were lost last year.
"We've already lost 17% of our retail jobs since the beginning of 2001," said Bill Lafayette, vice president, economic analysis with the Columbus Chamber of Commerce.
But two decades ago, it was a very different story.
"In the mid-80's, Columbus was ripe for the picking when retailers discovered that it was an underretailed market," Lafayette said. Big chains Limited Brands and Big Lots set up their home offices in Columbus.
By 1997, retailing jobs were at their peak and accounted for about 14% of total employment in the Columbus area. "We were just off the charts with the retail bubble," Lafayette said.
Then the bubble burst. "We just grew too fast," he said.
Between 2001 and 2006, the number of retail stores in Columbus metropolitan area shrunk by more than 400 stores and retailing jobs accounted to less than 11% of total employment in the area.
"We'll probably see a retail recovery in the next few years but it won't be robust because retailers nationwide don't anticipate robust growth anytime soon," Lafayette said.
For Gayle Pavlofsky, that's not comforting news.
Pavlofsky, a single mother who lives with her daughter in New Albany, a suburb to the northeast of Columbus, lost her job last month as a human resources manager with specialty chain Tween Brands (TWB).
Pavlofsky, who declined to give her age, had been working at the company's headquarters in New Albany for a little over a year. She lost her job due to downsizing and she's been looking for another job since early February.
Although Pavlofsky has extensive experience in the retailing industry - she previously worked with Federated Department Stores, now known as Macy's Inc., in a similar capacity for 12 years - she's not keen to jump back into the industry.
"Anybody in retailing today has to be fearful. You just don't know which way the market is going," she said. "As more [retail] companies spin off, merge or get acquired, I think the downsizing trend will continue."
Fortunately for her, she believes her skills are "transferable" to other industries.
Pavlofsky is currently a client of Karen Hughes, who is career adviser at the Jewish Family Services in Columbus. Part of the agency's mission is to assist individuals in finding new jobs.
"We work closely with professionals from 18 to 80 [years old] who have been laid off," Hughes said.
Hughes said the ground-level reality points to an increasingly challenging environment this year in terms of an uptick in unemployment across the board.
"Last year we has 92 clients who walked into our center who needed new jobs. We've already reached more than 92 clients at a much faster rate this year," she said.
One happy ending
But it's not all gloomy in Columbus.
Julie Sagtetter's tale has a happier ending - for now. Sagtetter, 58, who lives in Franklin County, worked for 10 months at a regional furniture chain called Sofa Express.
Then Sofa Express announced it was closing its doors and shuttering more than 40 stores.
"I came in not knowing their financial situation. Then the economy went bad and their business suffered more. They could not pay their bills," Sagtetter said.
She was unemployed for 6 weeks and just found another job a week ago, with another furniture retailer.
Even though she's aware that furniture retailing is a risky bet, especially when a housing downturn has depressed sales of home-related goods, Sagtetter said retailing is still a better option that her previous job in real estate.
"I was a realtor in the past. That industry is even more unstable," she said. "I did not even have health insurance for a few years."
With her new job, she'll get a base salary, sales commission and health insurance.
"For some of us in our 50's, it's not easy to find a new job," Sagtetter said. "There's age discrimination and we haven't grown up in the computer age."
"I'm happy to find this job," she added.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Job Losses: Worst in 5 Years
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Employers made their deepest cut in staffing in almost five yearsin February, according to a closely watched government report that showed the labor market to be far weaker than expected.
The weak report fueled already mounting recession fears and is likely to influence the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates later this month.
There was a net loss of 63,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department, which is the biggest decline since March 2003 and weaker than the revised 22,000 jobs lost in January. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a gain of 25,000 jobs in the most recent reading.
"These poor jobs data are the strongest evidence yet that the economy has slipped into a recession of uncertain depth and duration," University of Maryland Professor Peter Morici said.
Job losses were widespread, reaching beyond the battered construction sector, which lost 39,000 and manufacturing, where job losses hit 52,000. Retailers cut 34,000 jobs, while business and professional services cut 20,000 jobs.
Temporary staffing firms cut nearly 28,000 from their payrolls, another warning sign of employers pulling back, and hotels cut about 4,000 jobs, a sign that discretionary consumer spending could be on the wane.
Overall the private sector cut 101,000 jobs, with only a gain in government employment limiting losses.
Despite the loss, the unemployment rate improved to 4.8% from the 4.9% reading in January. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate would rise to 5%. The rate fell because of a big jump in the number of people that the government counted as no longer in the labor force.
"Businesses have become too pessimistic about the outlook for the economy, and the capacity of the Bush Administration and Federal Reserve to manage it, to be adding new employees or replacing those that leave," Morici said.
The labor market has weakened significantly in recent months, fueling fears of recession and a series of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
The Fed is set to meet March 18 to decide what to do with interest rates. Friday's report would seem to suggest more rate cuts are on the way, despite the improved unemployment rate.
"Even the silver lining of a falling unemployment rate has a little rust," said Rich Yamarone, director of economic research at Argus Research. He predicted that the central bank will cut rates by a half percentage point at both its March meeting and again on April 30.
The weak report fueled already mounting recession fears and is likely to influence the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates later this month.
There was a net loss of 63,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department, which is the biggest decline since March 2003 and weaker than the revised 22,000 jobs lost in January. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a gain of 25,000 jobs in the most recent reading.
"These poor jobs data are the strongest evidence yet that the economy has slipped into a recession of uncertain depth and duration," University of Maryland Professor Peter Morici said.
Job losses were widespread, reaching beyond the battered construction sector, which lost 39,000 and manufacturing, where job losses hit 52,000. Retailers cut 34,000 jobs, while business and professional services cut 20,000 jobs.
Temporary staffing firms cut nearly 28,000 from their payrolls, another warning sign of employers pulling back, and hotels cut about 4,000 jobs, a sign that discretionary consumer spending could be on the wane.
Overall the private sector cut 101,000 jobs, with only a gain in government employment limiting losses.
Despite the loss, the unemployment rate improved to 4.8% from the 4.9% reading in January. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate would rise to 5%. The rate fell because of a big jump in the number of people that the government counted as no longer in the labor force.
"Businesses have become too pessimistic about the outlook for the economy, and the capacity of the Bush Administration and Federal Reserve to manage it, to be adding new employees or replacing those that leave," Morici said.
The labor market has weakened significantly in recent months, fueling fears of recession and a series of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
The Fed is set to meet March 18 to decide what to do with interest rates. Friday's report would seem to suggest more rate cuts are on the way, despite the improved unemployment rate.
"Even the silver lining of a falling unemployment rate has a little rust," said Rich Yamarone, director of economic research at Argus Research. He predicted that the central bank will cut rates by a half percentage point at both its March meeting and again on April 30.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Jobless Claims Drop but Don't Change Overall Picture of Slower Employment Market
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of people signing up for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week, a spot of welcome news that nonetheless failed to change the overall picture of a softer employment climate.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance fell by a seasonally adjusted 24,000 to 351,000 for the week ending March 1.
Although the drop left claims lower than the 360,000 showing economists were expecting, the longer-term picture shows a slowing in the jobs market. A year ago, new filings for unemployment benefits stood at 327,000.
The number of people continuing to collect unemployment benefits rose by a sharp 29,000 to 2.83 million for the week ending Feb. 23, the most recent period for which that information is available. That was the highest level since late September 2005.
Many fear that spreading fallout from the housing and credit crises are driving the country closer to a recession, or that it's in one already.
To help bolster activity, the Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates since September. It turned much more aggressive in January, and Chairman Ben Bernanke has signaled rates will likely move even lower. Another rate reduction is expected on March 18, the Fed's next meeting.
All the economy's problems have sapped momentum from the labor market. For the first time in more than four years, the economy suffered a nationwide loss of jobs in January. Economists expect to find new jobs were created in February, but not enough to prevent the unemployment rate from rising to 5 percent from 4.9 percent. The government releases the February employment report on Friday.
The economy skidded to nearly a halt in the final three months of last year, growing at a pace of just 0.6 percent. Many economists believe growth in the current January-to-March period will be even weaker -- around a 0.4 percent pace. Some, however, believe the economy is shrinking now.
A severe housing slump and harder-to-get credit have turned businesses and individuals more cautious in their spending, thus weakening economic growth. Adding to the strains: lofty energy prices. Oil prices have soared to record highs
The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance fell by a seasonally adjusted 24,000 to 351,000 for the week ending March 1.
Although the drop left claims lower than the 360,000 showing economists were expecting, the longer-term picture shows a slowing in the jobs market. A year ago, new filings for unemployment benefits stood at 327,000.
The number of people continuing to collect unemployment benefits rose by a sharp 29,000 to 2.83 million for the week ending Feb. 23, the most recent period for which that information is available. That was the highest level since late September 2005.
Many fear that spreading fallout from the housing and credit crises are driving the country closer to a recession, or that it's in one already.
To help bolster activity, the Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates since September. It turned much more aggressive in January, and Chairman Ben Bernanke has signaled rates will likely move even lower. Another rate reduction is expected on March 18, the Fed's next meeting.
All the economy's problems have sapped momentum from the labor market. For the first time in more than four years, the economy suffered a nationwide loss of jobs in January. Economists expect to find new jobs were created in February, but not enough to prevent the unemployment rate from rising to 5 percent from 4.9 percent. The government releases the February employment report on Friday.
The economy skidded to nearly a halt in the final three months of last year, growing at a pace of just 0.6 percent. Many economists believe growth in the current January-to-March period will be even weaker -- around a 0.4 percent pace. Some, however, believe the economy is shrinking now.
A severe housing slump and harder-to-get credit have turned businesses and individuals more cautious in their spending, thus weakening economic growth. Adding to the strains: lofty energy prices. Oil prices have soared to record highs
First-Time Unemployment Claims Fall
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- New filings for unemployment claims dropped more than expected last week, but continuing claims remained high, according to a government report released Thursday.
Initial filings for state jobless benefits decreased by a seasonally-adjusted 24,000 to 351,000 in the last week of February, the Labor Department said. The consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com was for claims to fall to 360,000.
The four-week moving average of new jobless claims fell by 1,500 from last week to 359,500.
Continuing unemployment insurance claims from those already receiving benefits rose in the week ending February 23 to 2.83 million, up 29,000 from the previous week. The four-week moving average for continued claims rose by 12,750 to 2.79 million.
Initial filings for state jobless benefits decreased by a seasonally-adjusted 24,000 to 351,000 in the last week of February, the Labor Department said. The consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com was for claims to fall to 360,000.
The four-week moving average of new jobless claims fell by 1,500 from last week to 359,500.
Continuing unemployment insurance claims from those already receiving benefits rose in the week ending February 23 to 2.83 million, up 29,000 from the previous week. The four-week moving average for continued claims rose by 12,750 to 2.79 million.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
More Signs of Job Weakness
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- February was another bad month for jobs as two key employment reports showed more signs of labor weakness Wednesday.
In the private sector, nonfarm employment declined by 23,000 jobs for the month, according to the ADP National Employment Report.
The drop marks the first-ever decline in the two-year history of the report. Though the report did not exist in 2003, ADP estimates that the last decline in nonfarm private employment would have occurred in that year.
Service provider jobs grew 47,000 while employment in the goods-producing sector fell by 70,000, marking the 15th straight monthly decline in that category. Manufacturing jobs fell for the 18th straight month, declining by 40,000.
Hit by mortgage market woes, employment in the construction sector fell by 30,000 jobs. The sector has shown a decline in every month since August 2006, and has lost a total of 236,000 jobs since then.
Employment in the struggling financial sector lost 5,000 jobs, ADP said.
"This report really isn't a surprise," said co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Dean Baker, who believes that the slumping housing market has taken a toll on consumers whose homes have plummeted in value.
The decline in cash flow has significantly weakened the economy, which has increasingly been unable to support jobs across multiple sectors, Baker argued.
"When equity drops, people have to start saving; when consumption goes down, everyone gets hit," he said.
A second study also revealed a decline in employment last month. A Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. report showed planned job cuts announced by U.S. employers fell 3.9% in February, but the month still showed a decline of 72,091 jobs.
Government and retail jobs were hit the hardest, according to the Challenger report, with 10,870 jobs lost in the government sector and 6,918 employees cut in retail. It marked only the second time in seven months that the financial sector did not top the list, suggesting that the credit crunch has spread to other sectors.
"The fact that these two sectors topped the job-cut list in February is clear evidence that the slowdown has moved beyond the housing and financial industries," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of the employment consulting firm, in a statement.
The report shows that job cuts in the first two months of 2008 are essentially even with the same period last year, and monthly cuts have not approached the 140,000 level recorded during the 2001 recession.
"Despite increased layoffs in several industries, job-cut activity is still well below levels we would expect in a recession," said Challenger. "With companies currently cutting at half that [2001] level, it appears that they do not expect this slowdown to be deep or prolonged."
In the private sector, nonfarm employment declined by 23,000 jobs for the month, according to the ADP National Employment Report.
The drop marks the first-ever decline in the two-year history of the report. Though the report did not exist in 2003, ADP estimates that the last decline in nonfarm private employment would have occurred in that year.
Service provider jobs grew 47,000 while employment in the goods-producing sector fell by 70,000, marking the 15th straight monthly decline in that category. Manufacturing jobs fell for the 18th straight month, declining by 40,000.
Hit by mortgage market woes, employment in the construction sector fell by 30,000 jobs. The sector has shown a decline in every month since August 2006, and has lost a total of 236,000 jobs since then.
Employment in the struggling financial sector lost 5,000 jobs, ADP said.
"This report really isn't a surprise," said co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Dean Baker, who believes that the slumping housing market has taken a toll on consumers whose homes have plummeted in value.
The decline in cash flow has significantly weakened the economy, which has increasingly been unable to support jobs across multiple sectors, Baker argued.
"When equity drops, people have to start saving; when consumption goes down, everyone gets hit," he said.
A second study also revealed a decline in employment last month. A Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. report showed planned job cuts announced by U.S. employers fell 3.9% in February, but the month still showed a decline of 72,091 jobs.
Government and retail jobs were hit the hardest, according to the Challenger report, with 10,870 jobs lost in the government sector and 6,918 employees cut in retail. It marked only the second time in seven months that the financial sector did not top the list, suggesting that the credit crunch has spread to other sectors.
"The fact that these two sectors topped the job-cut list in February is clear evidence that the slowdown has moved beyond the housing and financial industries," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of the employment consulting firm, in a statement.
The report shows that job cuts in the first two months of 2008 are essentially even with the same period last year, and monthly cuts have not approached the 140,000 level recorded during the 2001 recession.
"Despite increased layoffs in several industries, job-cut activity is still well below levels we would expect in a recession," said Challenger. "With companies currently cutting at half that [2001] level, it appears that they do not expect this slowdown to be deep or prolonged."
Monday, March 3, 2008
Ford Offering 2,500 Employees Buyouts
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Ford Motor Co. announced Monday that it will lay off 2,500 autoworkers who do not accept retirement and buyout packages by the late summer in a cost-cutting move.
The automaker said it will focus its buyouts on three locations - Chicago, Louisville, and Cleveland. It said the buyouts and layoffs are consistent with the company's plan to reduce production capacity to meet customer demand and return its North American operations back to profitability by 2009.
"We remain focused on our plan to return the North American automotive business to profitability," Mark Fields, Ford's president of The Americas, said in a statement. "These actions are necessary as we align our capacity and product mix to meet real customer demand."
GM (GM, Fortune 500), Chrysler LLC and Ford (F, Fortune 500) have all announced buyout and early retirement packages for their UAW hourly workers. GM said in mid-February that as many as 20,000 employees, or 25% of its hourly workforce, could accept buyouts.
The three plants will begin to operate with one shift, starting in the summer. The company said the move will not affect production volume, but it will promote efficiency during "down weeks."
"By adjusting our operating patterns in this way, we can produce the right volume and avoid down weeks," said Joe Hinrichs, group vice president, Global Manufacturing.
Ford is currently offering the buyout packages to its entire U.S. hourly workforce. Workers may select from one of ten retirement packages, including an enhanced retirement offer to eligible workers.
The automaker said it will focus its buyouts on three locations - Chicago, Louisville, and Cleveland. It said the buyouts and layoffs are consistent with the company's plan to reduce production capacity to meet customer demand and return its North American operations back to profitability by 2009.
"We remain focused on our plan to return the North American automotive business to profitability," Mark Fields, Ford's president of The Americas, said in a statement. "These actions are necessary as we align our capacity and product mix to meet real customer demand."
GM (GM, Fortune 500), Chrysler LLC and Ford (F, Fortune 500) have all announced buyout and early retirement packages for their UAW hourly workers. GM said in mid-February that as many as 20,000 employees, or 25% of its hourly workforce, could accept buyouts.
The three plants will begin to operate with one shift, starting in the summer. The company said the move will not affect production volume, but it will promote efficiency during "down weeks."
"By adjusting our operating patterns in this way, we can produce the right volume and avoid down weeks," said Joe Hinrichs, group vice president, Global Manufacturing.
Ford is currently offering the buyout packages to its entire U.S. hourly workforce. Workers may select from one of ten retirement packages, including an enhanced retirement offer to eligible workers.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
US weekly jobless claims up 19,000; continuing claims at over 2-yr high
WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- The number of people filing new claims for unemployment insurance rose above expectations in the latest week while continuing claims for unemployment climbed to its highest level in over two years, the Labor Department said today.The number of first-time claims filed in the week ending Feb 23 rose by 19,000 to 373,000 from an upwardly revised 354,000 claims in the previous week. That's well above the 350,000 claims economists polled by Thomson's IFR Markets had expected.The unexpected increase in initial claims 'is a move towards levels providing a signal indicating recession,' said Joseph Brusuelas of IDEAglobal.'The level of claims this week now matches the four-week average recorded at the end of February 2001, immediately before the recession began in March,' said Ian Shepherdson of High Frequency Economics.But Richard Iley of BNP Paribas (OOTC:BPRBF) said the level of initial jobless claims are 'still surprisingly low,' adding that 'historically, weekly claims of around the 400,000 level have been associated with recession and negative non-farm payroll prints.'The Labor Department also reported that the four-week moving average for initial claims decreased by 1,250 to 360,500.Economists prefer the four week moving average because it smoothes out fluctuations in the weekly data.For the week ending Feb 16, the number of individuals continuing to receive unemployment insurance rose by 21,000 to 2.807 mln from an upwardly revised 2.786 mln claims in the previous week. That's above the 2.800 mln claims economists were expecting and the highest level since October 2005.The four-week moving average for continuing claims increased 24,250 to 2.778 mln, the highest level since October 2005.'The continuing claim data is consistent with a strong 5.0 pct rate of unemployment with a risk to the upside for the February payroll period,' Brusuelas said.Rising continuing claims 'suggests that it is becoming more difficult for people who have lost their job to find new employment,' said economists from Bear Stearns. (NYSE:BSC) 'Jobs are a clue about what happens with the economy' and while this week's jobless claims numbers indicate softening, 'I don't think its going to change the dollar's direction,' said Meg Browne of Brown Brothers Harriman.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Kill the HR Speak
The HR profession has managed to create a bewildering array of meaningless terms. When you’re in the realm of HR strategy, it is nearly impossible to read an article or view a PowerPoint that isn’t littered with terms like “business partner,” “seat at the table,” “organizational alignment” or “balanced scorecard.” Every function within the HR profession deserves some level of credit for creating confusion. These terms often emerge when corporate leaders are fed up and want something different, a situation that can lead HR leaders to re-brand the same old approaches and tools under a different name: “talent management” becomes “human capital management,” for example.
Why is the proliferation of HR speak a problem? To begin with, it builds a language wall between us and the rest of the business. If you’ve ever sat with a CEO during executive committee meetings, you’ll note that most executives have a relatively limited vocabulary. It often includes “hard” and easily measurable words like “profit,” “stock price,” “ROI” and “market share.” Executives also use a quantifiable language, one which is primarily made up of numbers and dollars. HR practitioners, in contrast, use in their presentations and conversations “soft” terminology like “emotional intelligence,” “work/life balance” and “empowerment.” These are almost totally devoid of numbers and dollars. And because it so often amounts to Orwellian doublespeak, HR speak causes a great deal of anxiety and confusion among both managers and employees.
Full article here: http://www.workforce.com/section/01/feature/25/37/75/index.html
Why is the proliferation of HR speak a problem? To begin with, it builds a language wall between us and the rest of the business. If you’ve ever sat with a CEO during executive committee meetings, you’ll note that most executives have a relatively limited vocabulary. It often includes “hard” and easily measurable words like “profit,” “stock price,” “ROI” and “market share.” Executives also use a quantifiable language, one which is primarily made up of numbers and dollars. HR practitioners, in contrast, use in their presentations and conversations “soft” terminology like “emotional intelligence,” “work/life balance” and “empowerment.” These are almost totally devoid of numbers and dollars. And because it so often amounts to Orwellian doublespeak, HR speak causes a great deal of anxiety and confusion among both managers and employees.
Full article here: http://www.workforce.com/section/01/feature/25/37/75/index.html
Monday, February 25, 2008
Top Jobs In 10 Industries
By Anthony Balderrama
Editor's note: CNN.com has a business partnership with CareerBuilder.com, which serves as the exclusive provider of job listings and services to CNN.com.Soon after you begin searching for a job, you might realize how many more opportunities are available than you initially thought. Information technology jobs like computer engineers and network systems analysts have high rates of growth.For some job seekers, it's a welcome discovery because they now have more choices. For others, it means they have to sift through more job posts to see what best suits them.Of the many factors you use to narrow down your search, such as salary and qualifications, one you should consider is projected job growth.A field that will experience an increase in demand and in newly created positions in the coming years means more stability. You don't want to switch to a new career only to be downsized shortly after you start.To help your search, we've put together a list of the top industries and the five hottest jobs in each, along with their median salaries. These jobs will experience strong growth and be in great demand for the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).Information technology1. Network systems and data communications analysts Projected growth by 2016: 53 percent Median annual salary: $64,600*2. Computer applications software engineers Projected growth by 2016: 45 percent Median annual salary: $79,7803. Database administrators Projected growth by 2016: 29 percent Median annual salary: $64,6704. Computer systems software engineers Projected growth by 2016: 28 percent Median annual salary: $85,3705. Network and computer systems administrators Projected growth by 2016: 27 percent Median annual salary: $62,130Service occupations1. Home health aides Projected growth by 2016: 49 percent Median annual salary: $19,4202. Makeup artists, theatrical and performance Projected growth by 2016: 40 percent Median annual salary: $31,8203. Medical assistants Projected growth: 35 percent Median annual salary: $26,2904. Skin care specialists Projected growth by 2016: 34 percent Median annual salary: $26,1705. Dental assistants Projected growth by 2016: 29 percent Median annual salary: $30,220Business and financial operations1. Personal financial advisors Projected growth by 2016: 41 percent Median annual salary: $66,1202. Financial analysts Projected growth by 2016: 34 percent Median annual salary: $66,5903. Management analysts Projected growth by 2016: 22 percent Median annual salary: $68,0504. Meeting and convention planners Projected growth by 2016: 20 percent Median annual salary: $42,1805. Cost estimators Projected growth by 2016: 19 percent Median annual salary: $52,940Health diagnosing and treating occupations1. Veterinarians Projected growth by 2016: 35 percent Median annual salary: $71,9902. Physician assistants Projected growth by 2016: 27 percent Median annual salary: $74,9803. Physical therapists Projected growth by 2016: 27 percent Median annual salary: $66,2004. Radiation therapists Projected growth by 2016: 25 percent Median annual salary: $66,1705. Registered nurses Projected growth by 2016: 23 percent Median annual salary: $57,280Education1. Preschool teachers, except special education Projected growth by 2016: 26 percent Median annual salary: $22,6802. Postsecondary teachers Projected growth by 2016: 23 percent Median annual salary: $56,1203. Self-enrichment education teachers Projected growth by 2016: 23 percent Median annual salary: $33,4404. Instructional coordinators Projected growth by 2016: 22 percent Median annual salary: $52,7905. Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten and elementary school Projected growth by 2016: 20 percent Median annual salary: $46,360Sales1. Securities, commodities and financial services sales agents Projected growth by 2016: 25 percent Median annual salary: $68,5002. Counter and rental clerks Projected growth by 2016: 23 percent Median annual salary: $19,5703. Advertising sales agents Projected growth by 2016: 20 percent Median annual salary: $42,7504. Demonstrators and product promoters Projected growth by 2016: 18 percent Median annual salary: $22,1505. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products Projected growth by 2016: 12 percent Median annual salary: $64,440Art and design1. Multimedia artists and animators Projected growth by 2016: 26 percent Median annual salary: $51,3502. Interior designers Projected growth by 2016: 19 percent Median annual salary: $42,2603. Fine artists, including painters, sculptors and illustrators Projected growth by 2016: 10 percent Median annual salary: $41,9704. Graphic designers Projected growth by 2016: 10 percent Median annual salary: $39,9005. Art directors Projected growth by 2016: 9 percent Median annual salary: $39,900Office and administrative support1. Customer service representatives Projected growth by 2016: 25 percent Median annual salary: $28,3302. Bill and account collectors Projected growth by 2016: 23 percent Median annual salary: $29,0503. Brokerage clerks Projected growth by 2016: 20 percent Median annual salary: $36,3904. Medical secretaries Projected growth: 17 percent Median annual salary: $28,0905. Executive secretaries and administrative assistants Projected growth by 2016: 15 percent Median annual salary: $37,240Installation, maintenance and repair occupations1. Medical equipment repairers Projected growth by 2016: 22 percent Median annual salary: $40,5802. Automotive glass installers and repairers Projected growth by 2016: 19 percent Median annual salary: $30,7203. Motorboat mechanics Projected growth by 2016: 19 percent
Median annual salary: $33,2104. Automotive service technicians and mechanics Projected growth by 2016: 14 percent
Median annual salary: $33,7805. Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines Projected growth by 2016: 12 percent
Median annual salary: $40,440Construction1. Construction and building inspectors Projected growth by 2016: 18 percent
Median annual salary: $46,5702. Tile and marble setters Projected growth by 2016: 15 percent Median annual salary: $36,5903. Boilermakers Projected growth by 2016: 14 percent Median annual salary: $46,9604. Roofers Projected growth by 2016: 14 percent Median annual salary: $32,2605. Reinforcing iron and rebar workers Projected growth by 2016: 12 percent Median annual salary: $38,220
Editor's note: CNN.com has a business partnership with CareerBuilder.com, which serves as the exclusive provider of job listings and services to CNN.com.Soon after you begin searching for a job, you might realize how many more opportunities are available than you initially thought. Information technology jobs like computer engineers and network systems analysts have high rates of growth.For some job seekers, it's a welcome discovery because they now have more choices. For others, it means they have to sift through more job posts to see what best suits them.Of the many factors you use to narrow down your search, such as salary and qualifications, one you should consider is projected job growth.A field that will experience an increase in demand and in newly created positions in the coming years means more stability. You don't want to switch to a new career only to be downsized shortly after you start.To help your search, we've put together a list of the top industries and the five hottest jobs in each, along with their median salaries. These jobs will experience strong growth and be in great demand for the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).Information technology1. Network systems and data communications analysts Projected growth by 2016: 53 percent Median annual salary: $64,600*2. Computer applications software engineers Projected growth by 2016: 45 percent Median annual salary: $79,7803. Database administrators Projected growth by 2016: 29 percent Median annual salary: $64,6704. Computer systems software engineers Projected growth by 2016: 28 percent Median annual salary: $85,3705. Network and computer systems administrators Projected growth by 2016: 27 percent Median annual salary: $62,130Service occupations1. Home health aides Projected growth by 2016: 49 percent Median annual salary: $19,4202. Makeup artists, theatrical and performance Projected growth by 2016: 40 percent Median annual salary: $31,8203. Medical assistants Projected growth: 35 percent Median annual salary: $26,2904. Skin care specialists Projected growth by 2016: 34 percent Median annual salary: $26,1705. Dental assistants Projected growth by 2016: 29 percent Median annual salary: $30,220Business and financial operations1. Personal financial advisors Projected growth by 2016: 41 percent Median annual salary: $66,1202. Financial analysts Projected growth by 2016: 34 percent Median annual salary: $66,5903. Management analysts Projected growth by 2016: 22 percent Median annual salary: $68,0504. Meeting and convention planners Projected growth by 2016: 20 percent Median annual salary: $42,1805. Cost estimators Projected growth by 2016: 19 percent Median annual salary: $52,940Health diagnosing and treating occupations1. Veterinarians Projected growth by 2016: 35 percent Median annual salary: $71,9902. Physician assistants Projected growth by 2016: 27 percent Median annual salary: $74,9803. Physical therapists Projected growth by 2016: 27 percent Median annual salary: $66,2004. Radiation therapists Projected growth by 2016: 25 percent Median annual salary: $66,1705. Registered nurses Projected growth by 2016: 23 percent Median annual salary: $57,280Education1. Preschool teachers, except special education Projected growth by 2016: 26 percent Median annual salary: $22,6802. Postsecondary teachers Projected growth by 2016: 23 percent Median annual salary: $56,1203. Self-enrichment education teachers Projected growth by 2016: 23 percent Median annual salary: $33,4404. Instructional coordinators Projected growth by 2016: 22 percent Median annual salary: $52,7905. Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten and elementary school Projected growth by 2016: 20 percent Median annual salary: $46,360Sales1. Securities, commodities and financial services sales agents Projected growth by 2016: 25 percent Median annual salary: $68,5002. Counter and rental clerks Projected growth by 2016: 23 percent Median annual salary: $19,5703. Advertising sales agents Projected growth by 2016: 20 percent Median annual salary: $42,7504. Demonstrators and product promoters Projected growth by 2016: 18 percent Median annual salary: $22,1505. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products Projected growth by 2016: 12 percent Median annual salary: $64,440Art and design1. Multimedia artists and animators Projected growth by 2016: 26 percent Median annual salary: $51,3502. Interior designers Projected growth by 2016: 19 percent Median annual salary: $42,2603. Fine artists, including painters, sculptors and illustrators Projected growth by 2016: 10 percent Median annual salary: $41,9704. Graphic designers Projected growth by 2016: 10 percent Median annual salary: $39,9005. Art directors Projected growth by 2016: 9 percent Median annual salary: $39,900Office and administrative support1. Customer service representatives Projected growth by 2016: 25 percent Median annual salary: $28,3302. Bill and account collectors Projected growth by 2016: 23 percent Median annual salary: $29,0503. Brokerage clerks Projected growth by 2016: 20 percent Median annual salary: $36,3904. Medical secretaries Projected growth: 17 percent Median annual salary: $28,0905. Executive secretaries and administrative assistants Projected growth by 2016: 15 percent Median annual salary: $37,240Installation, maintenance and repair occupations1. Medical equipment repairers Projected growth by 2016: 22 percent Median annual salary: $40,5802. Automotive glass installers and repairers Projected growth by 2016: 19 percent Median annual salary: $30,7203. Motorboat mechanics Projected growth by 2016: 19 percent
Median annual salary: $33,2104. Automotive service technicians and mechanics Projected growth by 2016: 14 percent
Median annual salary: $33,7805. Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines Projected growth by 2016: 12 percent
Median annual salary: $40,440Construction1. Construction and building inspectors Projected growth by 2016: 18 percent
Median annual salary: $46,5702. Tile and marble setters Projected growth by 2016: 15 percent Median annual salary: $36,5903. Boilermakers Projected growth by 2016: 14 percent Median annual salary: $46,9604. Roofers Projected growth by 2016: 14 percent Median annual salary: $32,2605. Reinforcing iron and rebar workers Projected growth by 2016: 12 percent Median annual salary: $38,220
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Shaky Economy Signals Opportunity To Refine Online Job-Hunting Skills
In a shaky economy, are you hoping to find a new job?
Even if you're tech-savvy, you may need to fine-tune your approach in today's quickly changing job market, experts say.
"There is a growing tendency, especially among younger job seekers, to turn to the Internet when they need to find a new job," said Gad Levanon, an economist at the Conference Board.
Sure, the Internet makes it easy to find and apply for jobs. But it also makes it easy for other applicants to compete for the same position.
At Monster.com MNST, potential candidates applied for 107 million positions and posted 16.4 million new resumes -- an average of 40,000 a day -- during the past year. Rival CareerBuilder.com lists more than 1.5 million jobs each month and works with more than 300,000 employers, including 93% of the Fortune 500.
Initially, these sites focused on management positions. But they have broadened their reach to a wider range of job categories encompassing everything from advertising to zoology.
While convenient, the influx of these new job sites creates new challenges for job hunters.
Security is a big one. Last summer, hackers attacked Monster.com and stole the personal details of several hundred thousand users -- names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and other information.
And in November, hackers embedded malicious software into Monster's Company Boulevard pages, a section of the site designed to help job seekers research companies. Instead, the code turned visitors' PCs into remote-controlled zombies to deliver spam and malware.
The attack affected employment ads for a number of major brands, including Eddie Bauer EBHI, GMAC (NYSE:GM) Mortgage, Best Buy BBY, Toyota Financial TM and Tri Counties Bank.
Another challenge is finding the right job among all the clutter.
The Conference Board reported that online job sites had 4,270,000 listings in September. Sorting through all of them can be a full-time job in itself.
To make matters worse, the low cost of placing an ad makes them easy to forget. Some employers leave the listing up long after they've filled the position.
The first step in sifting through the mire is narrowing your search.
Start by searching the major job databases using keywords to describe the preferred position and other variables such as salary range and location.
Job-search engines from companies such as Indeed.com, SimplyHired.com, Juju.com and JustPosted.com compile listings from all the major job sites, capture new job postings and tailor the results to individual users.
Another way to narrow searches is by using job-hunting sites that target particular industries or regions.
"One recent change has been the growing popularity of regional job sites," said the Conference Board's Levanon. Regional sites list fewer positions than the megasites but offer more-targeted selections.
Jobs.com breaks all of its listings down by geographic area. JobCircle.com offers jobs in the Mid-Atlantic area exclusively.
Other sites focus on particular industries: Jupitermedia's JUPM Mediabistro lists positions in the publishing industry, while Chicago Computer Guider lists technology positions in that city.
Again, these sites don't have as many listings as the larger sites. But for certain job seekers, they'll have just the right ones. Newstex ID: IBD-0001-23168690
Originally published in the February 21, 2008 version of Investor's Business Daily.
Even if you're tech-savvy, you may need to fine-tune your approach in today's quickly changing job market, experts say.
"There is a growing tendency, especially among younger job seekers, to turn to the Internet when they need to find a new job," said Gad Levanon, an economist at the Conference Board.
Sure, the Internet makes it easy to find and apply for jobs. But it also makes it easy for other applicants to compete for the same position.
At Monster.com MNST, potential candidates applied for 107 million positions and posted 16.4 million new resumes -- an average of 40,000 a day -- during the past year. Rival CareerBuilder.com lists more than 1.5 million jobs each month and works with more than 300,000 employers, including 93% of the Fortune 500.
Initially, these sites focused on management positions. But they have broadened their reach to a wider range of job categories encompassing everything from advertising to zoology.
While convenient, the influx of these new job sites creates new challenges for job hunters.
Security is a big one. Last summer, hackers attacked Monster.com and stole the personal details of several hundred thousand users -- names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and other information.
And in November, hackers embedded malicious software into Monster's Company Boulevard pages, a section of the site designed to help job seekers research companies. Instead, the code turned visitors' PCs into remote-controlled zombies to deliver spam and malware.
The attack affected employment ads for a number of major brands, including Eddie Bauer EBHI, GMAC (NYSE:GM) Mortgage, Best Buy BBY, Toyota Financial TM and Tri Counties Bank.
Another challenge is finding the right job among all the clutter.
The Conference Board reported that online job sites had 4,270,000 listings in September. Sorting through all of them can be a full-time job in itself.
To make matters worse, the low cost of placing an ad makes them easy to forget. Some employers leave the listing up long after they've filled the position.
The first step in sifting through the mire is narrowing your search.
Start by searching the major job databases using keywords to describe the preferred position and other variables such as salary range and location.
Job-search engines from companies such as Indeed.com, SimplyHired.com, Juju.com and JustPosted.com compile listings from all the major job sites, capture new job postings and tailor the results to individual users.
Another way to narrow searches is by using job-hunting sites that target particular industries or regions.
"One recent change has been the growing popularity of regional job sites," said the Conference Board's Levanon. Regional sites list fewer positions than the megasites but offer more-targeted selections.
Jobs.com breaks all of its listings down by geographic area. JobCircle.com offers jobs in the Mid-Atlantic area exclusively.
Other sites focus on particular industries: Jupitermedia's JUPM Mediabistro lists positions in the publishing industry, while Chicago Computer Guider lists technology positions in that city.
Again, these sites don't have as many listings as the larger sites. But for certain job seekers, they'll have just the right ones. Newstex ID: IBD-0001-23168690
Originally published in the February 21, 2008 version of Investor's Business Daily.
What It Takes To Be Great
The following is an excerpt from the article, "What It Takes To Be Great" published in Fortune magazine.
"The best people in any field are those who devote the most hours to what the researchers call deliberate practice. It's activity that's explicitly intended to improve performance, that reaches for objectives just beyond one's level of competence, provides feedback on results and involves high levels of repetition.
For example: Simply hitting a bucket of balls is not deliberate practice, which is why most golfers don't get better. Hitting an eight-iron 300 times with a goal of leaving the ball within 20 feet of the pin 80 percent of the time, continually observing results and making appropriate adjustments, and doing that for hours every day - that's deliberate practice."
Simply hitting your minimum activity numbers is not deliberate practice, which is why most sales reps don't get any better. Picking up the phone 175 times each day with a goal of setting 6 appointments and running three appointments 75 percent of the time, continually observiing results and making appropriate adjustments - that's deliberate practice.
Link to full article:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391794/index.htm
"The best people in any field are those who devote the most hours to what the researchers call deliberate practice. It's activity that's explicitly intended to improve performance, that reaches for objectives just beyond one's level of competence, provides feedback on results and involves high levels of repetition.
For example: Simply hitting a bucket of balls is not deliberate practice, which is why most golfers don't get better. Hitting an eight-iron 300 times with a goal of leaving the ball within 20 feet of the pin 80 percent of the time, continually observing results and making appropriate adjustments, and doing that for hours every day - that's deliberate practice."
Simply hitting your minimum activity numbers is not deliberate practice, which is why most sales reps don't get any better. Picking up the phone 175 times each day with a goal of setting 6 appointments and running three appointments 75 percent of the time, continually observiing results and making appropriate adjustments - that's deliberate practice.
Link to full article:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391794/index.htm
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Fed Sees Economic Slowdown
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Federal Reserve cut its growth forecast for the economy and said it sees higher unemployment for the rest of 2008.
The central bank said it now sees the economy growing at a rate between 1.3 to 2% this year, down from its previous forecast from October of growth between 1.8% and 2.5% for 2008.
The Fed also said it expects the unemployment rate for the year to be between 5.2% and 5.3%, up from the 4.8 % to 4.9% range previously given.
This gloomier forecast, which was hinted at by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee last week, was released along with the minutes from the Fed's two meetings it held in January.
The Fed slashed interest rates twice last month in an attempt to ward off a recession. It cut rates by three-quarters of a percentage point on January 22 following an emergency meeting the day before and followed that with a half-point cut on January 30.
According to the minutes from the emergency meeting, at least one member argued the Fed should wait until its regularly scheduled meeting later that month to announce a rate cut.
"Some concern was expressed that an immediate policy action could be misinterpreted as directed at recent declines in stock prices, rather than the broader economic outlook," read the minutes.
This meeting took place while U.S. markets were closed for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. But overseas markets were experiencing a steep sell-off that day, fueling fears that stocks would plunge on Wall Street when the U.S. markets resumed trading on January 22.
The central bank said it now sees the economy growing at a rate between 1.3 to 2% this year, down from its previous forecast from October of growth between 1.8% and 2.5% for 2008.
The Fed also said it expects the unemployment rate for the year to be between 5.2% and 5.3%, up from the 4.8 % to 4.9% range previously given.
This gloomier forecast, which was hinted at by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee last week, was released along with the minutes from the Fed's two meetings it held in January.
The Fed slashed interest rates twice last month in an attempt to ward off a recession. It cut rates by three-quarters of a percentage point on January 22 following an emergency meeting the day before and followed that with a half-point cut on January 30.
According to the minutes from the emergency meeting, at least one member argued the Fed should wait until its regularly scheduled meeting later that month to announce a rate cut.
"Some concern was expressed that an immediate policy action could be misinterpreted as directed at recent declines in stock prices, rather than the broader economic outlook," read the minutes.
This meeting took place while U.S. markets were closed for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. But overseas markets were experiencing a steep sell-off that day, fueling fears that stocks would plunge on Wall Street when the U.S. markets resumed trading on January 22.
Will Microsoft's Proxy Threat Force Yahoo!'s Hand?
Despite considering a number of potential alternatives to a takeover by Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) in recent weeks, Yahoo! Inc.'s (YHOO) options appear to be down to accepting the software maker's $41 billion takeover offer, returning to the bargaining table in hopes of drawing a modestly higher bid, or succumbing to a long and potentially ugly proxy contest.
That's the assessment of many analysts and corporate governance experts following media reports that Microsoft would not increase its offer for the Sunnyvale, Calif., Internet media company, and is gearing up to take control of Yahoo!'s board of directors. All 10 of Yahoo!'s board members are up for re-election at the company's next annual meeting. Microsoft must nominate its slate of candidates by March 13.
Analysts said Microsoft's move to threaten a proxy fight could be enough to force Yahoo! to enter deal talks, especially if the Internet company fails to make progress in arranging other deals. The company has been linked to transactions including mergers with News Corp. (NWS) subsidiary MySpace and Time Warner Inc.'s (TWX) AOL.
"No board wants to be forcibly extracted," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst with Enderle Group, a San Jose, Calif., technology consulting firm.
Paul Lapides, director of the Corporate Governance Center at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Ga., emphasized that the mere threat of a proxy battle could be a powerful negotiating tool for Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft winning Yahoo! at its original offer price.
"Part of this is really just a matter of how do you get people to sit down and talk and get to a reasonable agreement," Lapides said, calling Microsoft's talk of a governance fight "another tactic to get it closer to the finish line."
This does not mean Microsoft will hesitate to carry through with its threat, but it does increase the chances that Yahoo! will reconsider its current position opposing the Microsoft offer. "It is easier to negotiate before you have dissident shareholders on your board," said Lapides who added, "Yahoo! is not against selling."
Since Microsoft made its unsolicited $31 per share offer for Yahoo! three weeks ago, there has been a strong sense that the software giant would ultimately prevail, given that the price it offered was a 60% premium over Yahoo!'s share price and that the latter faces a challenging year amid a budding recession, which is expected to damp online advertising revenues.
Another key issue affecting a possible proxy challenge is the significant shareholder overlap between the two companies. Capital Research & Management Co. is the top institutional shareholder in both companies, owning 2.7% of Microsoft shares and 11.4% of Yahoo!'s stock. Several of Yahoo!'s other top institutional shareholders, including Vanguard Group Inc., Barclays Global Investors, State Street Global Advisors and Fidelity Management & Research Co., are also Microsoft investors.
In a report issued last week, RiskMetrics Group (RMG) noted that this overlap in ownership could favor Microsoft because they were likely to be more concerned about Microsoft overpaying for Yahoo! than they are interested in Yahoo! fetching an even higher premium.
Microsoft's stock has fallen from $32.60 before its bid was announced on Feb. 1 to $28.42 on Tuesday on concern over the challenges of absorbing struggling Yahoo!.
Although Microsoft continues to hold the advantage, governance experts noted the difficulty of overhauling a company's board, even when the business is struggling and needs a change. One such expert, who asked not to be named, said Microsoft must come up with a qualified board slate that can pass muster with all the proxy solicitation firms that review these contests and make recommendations.
"It will still be incumbent on Microsoft to demonstrate that their bid offers good value," he said.
That's the assessment of many analysts and corporate governance experts following media reports that Microsoft would not increase its offer for the Sunnyvale, Calif., Internet media company, and is gearing up to take control of Yahoo!'s board of directors. All 10 of Yahoo!'s board members are up for re-election at the company's next annual meeting. Microsoft must nominate its slate of candidates by March 13.
Analysts said Microsoft's move to threaten a proxy fight could be enough to force Yahoo! to enter deal talks, especially if the Internet company fails to make progress in arranging other deals. The company has been linked to transactions including mergers with News Corp. (NWS) subsidiary MySpace and Time Warner Inc.'s (TWX) AOL.
"No board wants to be forcibly extracted," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst with Enderle Group, a San Jose, Calif., technology consulting firm.
Paul Lapides, director of the Corporate Governance Center at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Ga., emphasized that the mere threat of a proxy battle could be a powerful negotiating tool for Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft winning Yahoo! at its original offer price.
"Part of this is really just a matter of how do you get people to sit down and talk and get to a reasonable agreement," Lapides said, calling Microsoft's talk of a governance fight "another tactic to get it closer to the finish line."
This does not mean Microsoft will hesitate to carry through with its threat, but it does increase the chances that Yahoo! will reconsider its current position opposing the Microsoft offer. "It is easier to negotiate before you have dissident shareholders on your board," said Lapides who added, "Yahoo! is not against selling."
Since Microsoft made its unsolicited $31 per share offer for Yahoo! three weeks ago, there has been a strong sense that the software giant would ultimately prevail, given that the price it offered was a 60% premium over Yahoo!'s share price and that the latter faces a challenging year amid a budding recession, which is expected to damp online advertising revenues.
Another key issue affecting a possible proxy challenge is the significant shareholder overlap between the two companies. Capital Research & Management Co. is the top institutional shareholder in both companies, owning 2.7% of Microsoft shares and 11.4% of Yahoo!'s stock. Several of Yahoo!'s other top institutional shareholders, including Vanguard Group Inc., Barclays Global Investors, State Street Global Advisors and Fidelity Management & Research Co., are also Microsoft investors.
In a report issued last week, RiskMetrics Group (RMG) noted that this overlap in ownership could favor Microsoft because they were likely to be more concerned about Microsoft overpaying for Yahoo! than they are interested in Yahoo! fetching an even higher premium.
Microsoft's stock has fallen from $32.60 before its bid was announced on Feb. 1 to $28.42 on Tuesday on concern over the challenges of absorbing struggling Yahoo!.
Although Microsoft continues to hold the advantage, governance experts noted the difficulty of overhauling a company's board, even when the business is struggling and needs a change. One such expert, who asked not to be named, said Microsoft must come up with a qualified board slate that can pass muster with all the proxy solicitation firms that review these contests and make recommendations.
"It will still be incumbent on Microsoft to demonstrate that their bid offers good value," he said.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Creating a sense of urgency, or "Hurry up and buy!"
by Jeffrey Gitomer (www.gitomer.com)
One of the questions I always get is, "How can I create a greater sense of urgency in the buyer?"
The questions you need to ask yourself are:
• Is this person really the decision-maker? And usually he or she isn't.
• Do they have a sense of urgency?
• Is there an objection you haven't uncovered?
• Do they really want you?
I'm going to address this issue from both sides. Why they will and why they won't decide. It's a perspective issue, not an opposite issue. (Half full, half empty, or partly cloudy, partly sunny.)
Why do people decide they will buy?They believe it's safe. The customer feels that buying presents a safer way to go than the way they have right now.
They're willing to risk. They believe risk is lower than the reward of ownership. Risk is measured by tolerance. And risk is often unspoken. No one is going to say, "I'm afraid to buy." Rather they'll say, "your price s to high."
They believe it's the best deal. They have sold themselves, or justified the emotion of the moment with the logic of afterthought.
They want it bad. Emotion drives purchase. People will line up a day in advance, pre-order months in advance, and pay hundreds of extra dollars to get what they really want. HARD QUESTION: How can you get people to "really want" what you're selling? The answer lies within the four secret words of selling: "perceived difference" and "perceived value."
They're passionate for it. Sports, weekend, hobby, ball game, or eBay. Willing to pay fast and maybe pay a premium. Whatever it is, price is not the issue.
They need it bad. When hurricane Hugo hit Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1989 two-hundred-dollar chainsaws were selling for a grand. Don't even ask about bottled water. The price of gas doesn't matter when your tank is empty, neither does the price of cigarettes when you need one and you're out. Out of stock and production has stopped? Price bows to availability. Impulse. See it. Want it. Justify it. Buy it.
Greed. They believe that if they buy, that they will make a significant gain, or keep someone else from getting it. (eBay is a classic example of "gotta have it.")
Vanity. They believe that if they buy, they will look better or gain "one-up" on someone.
Fear. They're afraid that if they don't buy that they will lose. NOTE: Fear of loss is greater than desire to gain.
There are tons of other triggers for urgency. Here's a list -- pick the ones your customers might use, or one you might relate to: Deadline. Lowest price. Convinced by self. Persuaded by others. Must get this done. Compromise (not what I really want – but it's the most practical). Things on sale. Deals. Lowest price.
REALITY of URGENCY: It's not just what I want, or what I need. It's what I feel safe buying, and when is the best time to buy. It's complex. There is no answer for "urgency." Especially when YOU need the sale and the customer is hesitating for no apparent reason.It's their motive, emotion, and logical justification balanced with their tolerance for risk, and you can even throw in outside influences. YIKES!Many decisions are made based on the person making the sale.
Reflection of who you are – your beliefs and principles – the salesperson's passion and self-belief being transferred.The type of person you are determines your motives to buy. Same with your customer. Me personally, I don't settle. If a store or a supplier has a "similar product" but not the brand I want, I go to another store or another vendor. Or I'll just not make a purchase at all.
Others will settle. Which are you? More important, which are the buyers you're trying to convince? And while there is no one answer -- your understanding of the situation will help you gain awareness of each specific situation. If you need more information on urgency, go to www.gitomer.com, register if you're a first time user, and enter the word URGENT in the GitBit box.
Challenging Google
What happened
Google on Sunday offered to help Yahoo! fend off a hostile, $44.6 billion takeover bid from Microsoft, and said the deal would raise "troubling" antitrust questions because it could make Microsoft too powerful. Microsoft lawyers dismissed the concerns, saying that joining together Microsoft and Yahoo! would make the marketplace more competitive by creating a "more compelling No. 2 competitor for Internet search and online advertising," which Google dominates. (The Wall Street Journal)
What the commentators said
“The Yahoo! merger is classic Microsoft,” said Farhad Manjoo in Salon, in that it is “a brilliant stock move” rather than a technical innovation of any sort. But that’s the problem with it: Yahoo! and Microsoft both lack Google’s “relentless culture of creation.” Google is “eating everyone’s lunch simply because it makes things faster, better, and more useful than anyone else—and Microhoo will have no better way than Yahoo! and Microsoft did to replicate that engineering feat.”
That’s true right now, said Chris Wilson in Slate. But a combined Microsoft-Yahoo! “would be in great position to head Google off at the pass” for the Web’s next big thing. Google owns the search market, but the three companies have been racing to capture the market on “the rest of the Web experience”—photos, music, and office productivity applications. Mix Yahoo!’s strength as the No. 1 Web portal with Microsoft’s dominant position in “offline software,” and you have “the ingredients for a powerful Google alternative.”
That looks good on paper, said Paul Maidment and Dan Bigman in Forbes.com. But the merger faces two serious threats: “Microsoft and Yahoo!” The marriage of “these two legendary bureaucracies” will be a “nightmare.” Plus, Yahoo! is a directionless mess while Microsoft has one speed: slow. But good idea or not, “this deal will close.” Sure, there will be perfunctory antitrust “teeth-gnashing, especially in Europe,” but Microsoft set too high a bid for anyone else to counter—except maybe Google, and that seems “unlikely.”
Don’t discount the antitrust concerns, said John Dvorak in MarketWatch. The EU will never go for it, nor should they, and “I will personally be stunned if this deal, in the end, passes muster and is actually consummated.” Microsoft and Yahoo! are dominant Web portals and top players in free email, groups, and content delivery. “How is this NOT an anti-trust violation”?
Google on Sunday offered to help Yahoo! fend off a hostile, $44.6 billion takeover bid from Microsoft, and said the deal would raise "troubling" antitrust questions because it could make Microsoft too powerful. Microsoft lawyers dismissed the concerns, saying that joining together Microsoft and Yahoo! would make the marketplace more competitive by creating a "more compelling No. 2 competitor for Internet search and online advertising," which Google dominates. (The Wall Street Journal)
What the commentators said
“The Yahoo! merger is classic Microsoft,” said Farhad Manjoo in Salon, in that it is “a brilliant stock move” rather than a technical innovation of any sort. But that’s the problem with it: Yahoo! and Microsoft both lack Google’s “relentless culture of creation.” Google is “eating everyone’s lunch simply because it makes things faster, better, and more useful than anyone else—and Microhoo will have no better way than Yahoo! and Microsoft did to replicate that engineering feat.”
That’s true right now, said Chris Wilson in Slate. But a combined Microsoft-Yahoo! “would be in great position to head Google off at the pass” for the Web’s next big thing. Google owns the search market, but the three companies have been racing to capture the market on “the rest of the Web experience”—photos, music, and office productivity applications. Mix Yahoo!’s strength as the No. 1 Web portal with Microsoft’s dominant position in “offline software,” and you have “the ingredients for a powerful Google alternative.”
That looks good on paper, said Paul Maidment and Dan Bigman in Forbes.com. But the merger faces two serious threats: “Microsoft and Yahoo!” The marriage of “these two legendary bureaucracies” will be a “nightmare.” Plus, Yahoo! is a directionless mess while Microsoft has one speed: slow. But good idea or not, “this deal will close.” Sure, there will be perfunctory antitrust “teeth-gnashing, especially in Europe,” but Microsoft set too high a bid for anyone else to counter—except maybe Google, and that seems “unlikely.”
Don’t discount the antitrust concerns, said John Dvorak in MarketWatch. The EU will never go for it, nor should they, and “I will personally be stunned if this deal, in the end, passes muster and is actually consummated.” Microsoft and Yahoo! are dominant Web portals and top players in free email, groups, and content delivery. “How is this NOT an anti-trust violation”?
Friday, February 1, 2008
Job shock: U.S. lost 17,000 in January; unemployment rate slips to 4.9%.
Job shock: U.S. lost 17,000 in January
Employers trim payrolls, as government report shows first drop in four years; unemployment rate slips to 4.9%.
By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
February 1 2008: 4:18 PM EST
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) --
Employers trimmed jobs from their payrolls in January, according to a government jobs report Friday that showed the first decline in employment in four years. That raised new concerns about the risk of recession for the weakening U.S. economy.
There was a net loss of 17,000 jobs in the month, according to the Labor Department reading. That was partly balanced by a sharp revision higher for the December reading to a gain of 82,000 jobs from the original reading of only an 18,000 increase.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had looked for a gain of 70,000 jobs for January.
The figures showed January as having the first decline in payrolls since August 2003. But the drop was based on the preliminary reading, which is subject to revisions. There have been a few months in the last four years, including August 2007, when the preliminary payroll reading showed a decline was later revised to a gain.
The unemployment rate slipped to 4.9%. Economists had forecast it would remain at the 5% rate reported for December. The drop in the unemployment rate, which is based on a different survey than the one used to calculate U.S. payrolls, was partly due to updated population figures used at the start of the new year.
Rising recession fears
Despite the upward revision in the December payroll reading and the slight decline in unemployment, there was more weakness than strength in the report. The government made its annual revision to all 2007 employment readings and found a 191,000 drop in jobs, even with the big adjustment higher in December.
The report also showed the average hours worked in the private sector declined in January to 33.7 hours from 33.8 in December. That drop, coupled with only a narrow 4-cent gain in the average hourly wage, resulted in the first drop in weekly wages since April.
The weakening state of the labor market has become a growing concern for economists, policymakers and Wall Street in recent weeks, as well as the general public.
Federal Reserve cited evidence of a "softening in labor markets" when it announced both of its rate cuts late last month. Congress is rushing to pass a $150 billion stimulus package that the Bush administration said should add 500,000 jobs to the economy.
President Bush, speaking to employees of Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, Mo., said the employment report is a reason that Congress needs to act quickly on the proposed stimulus package.
"The sooner we can get money into our consumers' hands, the more likely it is that this economy will recover from this period of uncertainty," he said. "The fundamentals are strong, we're just in a rough patch, as witnessed by the employment figures today."
"I'm confident we can get through this rough patch," he added.
Some leading Democrats were quick to seize on the jobs report as a sign that the administration needs to do more about the economy.
"This report underscores why it is absolutely critical that we include in any stimulus package extended unemployment insurance for those who are losing their jobs and looking for work in our ailing economy," said a statement from Sen. Hillary Clinton, one of the two leading Democratic presidential candidates. "We need more than tax rebates and business incentives to fix our ailing economy."
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., chairman of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, said at a panel hearing that "any doubts that we are heading into a recession should be erased with today's employment report."
"I'm concerned that the last few years of lower-than-expected job growth will look good compared to the job shrinkage we may well see in the coming months," he added.
Testifying at the hearing, Keith Hall, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, agreed that the employment situation is worrisome to the overall economy.
"We have seen job losses fairly widely spread," he said. "We've had periods like this before. We don't want this to continue."
Will Fed step in again?
Still, some economists say after cutting interest rates by 1.25 percentage points in just the last two weeks, the Fed is unlikely to take any immediate action to boost the economy, even with this new sign of weakness. The central bank's policymakers will have another employment report to consider before they next meet March 18.
"I do not think this report compels the Fed to do anything," said economist Robert Brusca. "The Fed has eased a lot. Monetary policy works with a lag. The Fed knows weak data will continue for a while after its cuts. It will need to see something much weaker than this to get itself hopped up for another rate cut."
Other economists said they do expect the Fed to resume making cuts at its upcoming meetings.
"I think we're seeing some actual job loss. I'm not surprised by the number," said David Kelly, chief market strategist for JPMorgan Funds. "There is weakness in the payroll numbers and we're wobbling on the edge of recession."
"But America is not overstaffed today," he added. "That should limit job losses in the future."
Wachovia senior economist Mark Vitner said he doesn't believe the economy will fall into recession, but he conceded there is weakness in hiring. But he said it's more a matter of businesses not hiring than making steep job cuts.
"There's no question businesses are more cautious in their hiring plans," he said.
That view was echoed by Jeff Kaye, CEO of executive recruiter Kaye Bassman International.
"I don't think we're heading to layoffs other than the obvious sectors that are being pounded," he said. "But we're seeing companies on hold on hiring; they're in a wait-and-see posture to see what happens with economy."CNNMoney.com staff writer David Goldman contributed to this report
Employers trim payrolls, as government report shows first drop in four years; unemployment rate slips to 4.9%.
By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
February 1 2008: 4:18 PM EST
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) --
Employers trimmed jobs from their payrolls in January, according to a government jobs report Friday that showed the first decline in employment in four years. That raised new concerns about the risk of recession for the weakening U.S. economy.
There was a net loss of 17,000 jobs in the month, according to the Labor Department reading. That was partly balanced by a sharp revision higher for the December reading to a gain of 82,000 jobs from the original reading of only an 18,000 increase.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had looked for a gain of 70,000 jobs for January.
The figures showed January as having the first decline in payrolls since August 2003. But the drop was based on the preliminary reading, which is subject to revisions. There have been a few months in the last four years, including August 2007, when the preliminary payroll reading showed a decline was later revised to a gain.
The unemployment rate slipped to 4.9%. Economists had forecast it would remain at the 5% rate reported for December. The drop in the unemployment rate, which is based on a different survey than the one used to calculate U.S. payrolls, was partly due to updated population figures used at the start of the new year.
Rising recession fears
Despite the upward revision in the December payroll reading and the slight decline in unemployment, there was more weakness than strength in the report. The government made its annual revision to all 2007 employment readings and found a 191,000 drop in jobs, even with the big adjustment higher in December.
The report also showed the average hours worked in the private sector declined in January to 33.7 hours from 33.8 in December. That drop, coupled with only a narrow 4-cent gain in the average hourly wage, resulted in the first drop in weekly wages since April.
The weakening state of the labor market has become a growing concern for economists, policymakers and Wall Street in recent weeks, as well as the general public.
Federal Reserve cited evidence of a "softening in labor markets" when it announced both of its rate cuts late last month. Congress is rushing to pass a $150 billion stimulus package that the Bush administration said should add 500,000 jobs to the economy.
President Bush, speaking to employees of Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, Mo., said the employment report is a reason that Congress needs to act quickly on the proposed stimulus package.
"The sooner we can get money into our consumers' hands, the more likely it is that this economy will recover from this period of uncertainty," he said. "The fundamentals are strong, we're just in a rough patch, as witnessed by the employment figures today."
"I'm confident we can get through this rough patch," he added.
Some leading Democrats were quick to seize on the jobs report as a sign that the administration needs to do more about the economy.
"This report underscores why it is absolutely critical that we include in any stimulus package extended unemployment insurance for those who are losing their jobs and looking for work in our ailing economy," said a statement from Sen. Hillary Clinton, one of the two leading Democratic presidential candidates. "We need more than tax rebates and business incentives to fix our ailing economy."
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., chairman of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, said at a panel hearing that "any doubts that we are heading into a recession should be erased with today's employment report."
"I'm concerned that the last few years of lower-than-expected job growth will look good compared to the job shrinkage we may well see in the coming months," he added.
Testifying at the hearing, Keith Hall, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, agreed that the employment situation is worrisome to the overall economy.
"We have seen job losses fairly widely spread," he said. "We've had periods like this before. We don't want this to continue."
Will Fed step in again?
Still, some economists say after cutting interest rates by 1.25 percentage points in just the last two weeks, the Fed is unlikely to take any immediate action to boost the economy, even with this new sign of weakness. The central bank's policymakers will have another employment report to consider before they next meet March 18.
"I do not think this report compels the Fed to do anything," said economist Robert Brusca. "The Fed has eased a lot. Monetary policy works with a lag. The Fed knows weak data will continue for a while after its cuts. It will need to see something much weaker than this to get itself hopped up for another rate cut."
Other economists said they do expect the Fed to resume making cuts at its upcoming meetings.
"I think we're seeing some actual job loss. I'm not surprised by the number," said David Kelly, chief market strategist for JPMorgan Funds. "There is weakness in the payroll numbers and we're wobbling on the edge of recession."
"But America is not overstaffed today," he added. "That should limit job losses in the future."
Wachovia senior economist Mark Vitner said he doesn't believe the economy will fall into recession, but he conceded there is weakness in hiring. But he said it's more a matter of businesses not hiring than making steep job cuts.
"There's no question businesses are more cautious in their hiring plans," he said.
That view was echoed by Jeff Kaye, CEO of executive recruiter Kaye Bassman International.
"I don't think we're heading to layoffs other than the obvious sectors that are being pounded," he said. "But we're seeing companies on hold on hiring; they're in a wait-and-see posture to see what happens with economy."CNNMoney.com staff writer David Goldman contributed to this report
Microsoft Bids $44.6 Billion for Yahoo!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/business/01cnd-yahoo.html?ref=technology
In related news:
From Marketwatch.com - Shares of Google Inc. (GOOG) fell 8% in premarket trading after the Internet search giant posted quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street analysts' expectations.
10:35 (Dow Jones) Deutsche Bank cuts Monster (MNST) to hold from buy, based on declines in job postings in January, increased concerns about a recession, execution risk ("management looks focused on reinvesting") and managing its sales operations. "We think the stock is likely to remain rangebound as we need to see stability in recruitment activity," firm says. Cuts price target to $27 from $47 - a level it hasn't seen since May. MNST down 3.9% at $27.50.
In related news:
From Marketwatch.com - Shares of Google Inc. (GOOG) fell 8% in premarket trading after the Internet search giant posted quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street analysts' expectations.
10:35 (Dow Jones) Deutsche Bank cuts Monster (MNST) to hold from buy, based on declines in job postings in January, increased concerns about a recession, execution risk ("management looks focused on reinvesting") and managing its sales operations. "We think the stock is likely to remain rangebound as we need to see stability in recruitment activity," firm says. Cuts price target to $27 from $47 - a level it hasn't seen since May. MNST down 3.9% at $27.50.
Next in Line for Reinvention: The Art of Selling
Consultant Ram Charan Says Focus Is All Wrong; What a Customer Needs
By PHRED DVORAKJanuary 28, 2008; Page B3
Ram Charan is known for his platinum clients and his relentless schedule. The business professor-turned-management consultant says he's worked seven days a week for 30-plus years, advising executives at the likes of General Electric Co. and Verizon Communications Inc. on such topics as improving results and execution.
In his spare time, he has written or co-written 16 books, mostly on strategy and leadership.
MAKING THE SALE
Ram Charan's tips for better sales:
• Know how the customer makes money.
• Learn the customer's decision- making process.
• Build many relationships with the customer, not just through sales.
• Focus on the customer's business needs, not product features or price.
• Show how your offerings meet customer needs.
Recently, Mr. Charan turned his attention to sales, particularly from one business to another. He doesn't like what he sees. In "What the Customer Wants You to Know," published last year by Portfolio, he argues that companies need to "reinvent" the way they sell, to focus on their customers rather than product features. Mr. Charan talked to The Wall Street Journal about the problems with sales and how to fix them. An edited transcript follows.
WSJ:Why a book on sales now?
Mr. Charan: Around 2003, I began to see companies with good strategies, good technology, good costs asking, "Why are we not getting better results?" I found many companies had focused on the back end of the business: operations, accounting, finance, overhead. But the sales force had been neglected. I got horrified.
WSJ:What was wrong?
Mr. Charan: The sales function has traditionally been about execution. Most sales people are very good at connecting with the purchasing customer. They get training to know the product. And they beat the competition on price.
Now the world has changed. Copying a product became very quick. You now have competition on the Internet to beat down prices.
It has become very hard to differentiate yourself in the eyes of the customer, for business-to-business sales. So salespeople should not sell the product any more. They should find out what the customer needs, which will be a combination of products and services and thought leadership.
WSJ:Can you explain this new approach?
Mr. Charan: Salespeople need to work backwards from what the business need of the company is. Let's say I'm going to sell you this BlackBerry. I come to you and I say, "I've done some homework on your company. I think you're going to need 1,000 BlackBerrys. And in order to make your BlackBerrys fruitful, I'm going to need some information. How many users are in selling, how many in manufacturing, how many in research, how many in finance, how many on the road?"
With that information, I can design something that is useful to them. That information is proprietary. If you don't trust me, I will not get that information. Salespeople need to learn the business of the customer. They need to learn how to ask the right questions. They need to have analytic skills to diagnose a customer's business. They need to figure out who makes the decisions in a company.
WSJ:Don't most companies do this already?
Mr. Charan: No. They say how their products will reduce customers' costs. They don't touch on improvement of revenues, margins or brand image.
At [packaging company] MeadWestvaco Corp., one sales team studied the frozen-food business of a potential customer. They looked at freezer shelves in stores, and saw there was spoilage in that customer's products, partly because of the condition of the package. Shoppers were turned off.
So they redesigned the package and pitched it to the customer. They got the business, and the customer's margins and image improved.
WSJ:How does the sales force have to change?
Mr. Charan: The old salesperson: gregarious personality, very sociable. Plays golf. Goes to ballgames. Quick to link with people. Highly motivated. Long hours. Very perceptive in reading other people. The more successful ones know how to close the deal. It's still useful.
Going forward, the salesperson must build trust with the customers' people that's deeper than before and sustained over time. You cannot design a solution without information from the customer. And if the customer does not trust you, he or she will not give you information.
WSJ:What else has to change?
Mr. Charan: In the old game, one person could do the selling. In the new game, you need a team from your company. The reason you need a team is the solution you're going to create is going to come from different parts of your company.
That means salespeople have to be good leaders, to lead their team, and also persuade the customer team. Because customers also buy in teams.
By PHRED DVORAKJanuary 28, 2008; Page B3
Ram Charan is known for his platinum clients and his relentless schedule. The business professor-turned-management consultant says he's worked seven days a week for 30-plus years, advising executives at the likes of General Electric Co. and Verizon Communications Inc. on such topics as improving results and execution.
In his spare time, he has written or co-written 16 books, mostly on strategy and leadership.
MAKING THE SALE
Ram Charan's tips for better sales:
• Know how the customer makes money.
• Learn the customer's decision- making process.
• Build many relationships with the customer, not just through sales.
• Focus on the customer's business needs, not product features or price.
• Show how your offerings meet customer needs.
Recently, Mr. Charan turned his attention to sales, particularly from one business to another. He doesn't like what he sees. In "What the Customer Wants You to Know," published last year by Portfolio, he argues that companies need to "reinvent" the way they sell, to focus on their customers rather than product features. Mr. Charan talked to The Wall Street Journal about the problems with sales and how to fix them. An edited transcript follows.
WSJ:Why a book on sales now?
Mr. Charan: Around 2003, I began to see companies with good strategies, good technology, good costs asking, "Why are we not getting better results?" I found many companies had focused on the back end of the business: operations, accounting, finance, overhead. But the sales force had been neglected. I got horrified.
WSJ:What was wrong?
Mr. Charan: The sales function has traditionally been about execution. Most sales people are very good at connecting with the purchasing customer. They get training to know the product. And they beat the competition on price.
Now the world has changed. Copying a product became very quick. You now have competition on the Internet to beat down prices.
It has become very hard to differentiate yourself in the eyes of the customer, for business-to-business sales. So salespeople should not sell the product any more. They should find out what the customer needs, which will be a combination of products and services and thought leadership.
WSJ:Can you explain this new approach?
Mr. Charan: Salespeople need to work backwards from what the business need of the company is. Let's say I'm going to sell you this BlackBerry. I come to you and I say, "I've done some homework on your company. I think you're going to need 1,000 BlackBerrys. And in order to make your BlackBerrys fruitful, I'm going to need some information. How many users are in selling, how many in manufacturing, how many in research, how many in finance, how many on the road?"
With that information, I can design something that is useful to them. That information is proprietary. If you don't trust me, I will not get that information. Salespeople need to learn the business of the customer. They need to learn how to ask the right questions. They need to have analytic skills to diagnose a customer's business. They need to figure out who makes the decisions in a company.
WSJ:Don't most companies do this already?
Mr. Charan: No. They say how their products will reduce customers' costs. They don't touch on improvement of revenues, margins or brand image.
At [packaging company] MeadWestvaco Corp., one sales team studied the frozen-food business of a potential customer. They looked at freezer shelves in stores, and saw there was spoilage in that customer's products, partly because of the condition of the package. Shoppers were turned off.
So they redesigned the package and pitched it to the customer. They got the business, and the customer's margins and image improved.
WSJ:How does the sales force have to change?
Mr. Charan: The old salesperson: gregarious personality, very sociable. Plays golf. Goes to ballgames. Quick to link with people. Highly motivated. Long hours. Very perceptive in reading other people. The more successful ones know how to close the deal. It's still useful.
Going forward, the salesperson must build trust with the customers' people that's deeper than before and sustained over time. You cannot design a solution without information from the customer. And if the customer does not trust you, he or she will not give you information.
WSJ:What else has to change?
Mr. Charan: In the old game, one person could do the selling. In the new game, you need a team from your company. The reason you need a team is the solution you're going to create is going to come from different parts of your company.
That means salespeople have to be good leaders, to lead their team, and also persuade the customer team. Because customers also buy in teams.
They Ponder Layoffs, But Executives Still Face Gaps In Talent
Companies typically shed talent rather than search for new or additional employees during periods of economic slowdowns. That could change, though, as hiring managers prepare themselves for an uncertain year.
Even as they contemplate layoffs, many companies also are hunting for new hires to fill management gaps.
One reason for the hunts: Companies haven't been grooming and training enough employees for promotions and now have a mismatch of talent for open positions. In the past, top managers would plan far ahead to fill a position. Today, every vacancy seems to be treated as unique -- and even as a surprise, despite the long-term trend of frequent job changes by employees.
"Workplaces are filled with frustrated people who want to advance but haven't gotten training or broad enough experience," says Peter Cappelli, a management professor at the Wharton School and director of Wharton's Center for Human Resources. "In coming months, we'll likely see companies laying off employees but also crying that they can't find people with the skills they need."
Instead of complaining, they should acknowledge that they've dropped the ball on talent development. Some 60% of companies have no succession planning of any kind, according to a survey by the Society of Human Resources Management of several thousand of its members.
There are newly named outside chief executives at financial-services giant Merrill Lynch, telecommunications firm Sprint Nextel and retailer Zale, and CEO searches are under way at H&R Block, Marsh & McLennan and Children's Place. Other companies are looking outside their ranks for top finance executives or managers who can oversee business units.
Nearly half of 20,000 employees surveyed at 100 large global companies by YSC, a London-based corporate-psychology consultant, said they don't receive enough feedback from their managers to help them improve their performance. At one large financial-services company that YSC worked with, a senior executive talked with his eight staffers about their performance just once a year, says YSC director Miriam Javitch.
Employees who lack guidance and opportunities to advance are more likely to quit and look for jobs elsewhere, even during shaky economic times when as the last hired they may be the first fired. A marketing manager at a New York consumer-products company plans to make a lateral move to another employer where he thinks he has more chance of getting promoted in a year or two. In three years at his current job, "my boss has never talked to me about what job I might do next, or encouraged me to learn anything new," he says.
No manager, of course, has time for constant hand-holding, but that isn't what is required to nurture future managers. The most important need is to identify which subordinates want to advance and keep them growing by rotating them through jobs -- trusting that if they've done one thing well, they'll be able to learn something entirely new.
Bob Zito, communications chief, Bristol-Myers Squibb, encourages the 250 employees he supervises to raise their hands when openings occur and change jobs frequently to get more experience. He recently had an employee from Singapore spend several months at the company's New Jersey office and suggested that an employee in a corporate staff position swap jobs with someone who had spent several years working in the pharmaceutical business.
"I want to keep people excited -- and to be nimble and grow we need lots of employees who have had lots of different experiences," says Mr. Zito. He thinks managers who claim they're too frenzied to groom employees are misusing their time. "The more I delegate to employees and ask them to stretch, the more I have time to work with them."
Jeff Henderson, finance chief for Cardinal Health, Dublin, Ohio, last year reshuffled more than 20% of his top 230 finance managers within the department to create new learning opportunities for them, which resulted in improved performance and strengthened loyalties. He does succession planning for his staff twice a year, "looking at the entire talent pool and seeing who is best for what job," he says.
Until four years ago, Cardinal was a holding company with disparate units and little employee mobility. Now, as one integrated operating company, executives want employees to shed their "silo-based mentality" and be willing to move between staff and line jobs in various departments and at different locations.
"If we go elsewhere to find talent whenever openings occur, we're telling our people to be free agents, too, when we need their loyalty," says Mr. Henderson.
Cardinal still has had to search outside to fill some key spots, such as the head of its health-care-supply unit. But this should change as veterans advance up the ranks.
Next to the stock market, what CEOs talk about most is their lack of bench strength, says executive recruiter Peter Crist of Crist Associates. "Their inefficiency at succession planning is keeping me very busy," he says.
Email me at inthelead@wsj.com3. Join a discussion about guidance and training on the job, at WSJ.com/Forums4. To see past columns, go to WSJ.Com/Careers5.
Even as they contemplate layoffs, many companies also are hunting for new hires to fill management gaps.
One reason for the hunts: Companies haven't been grooming and training enough employees for promotions and now have a mismatch of talent for open positions. In the past, top managers would plan far ahead to fill a position. Today, every vacancy seems to be treated as unique -- and even as a surprise, despite the long-term trend of frequent job changes by employees.
"Workplaces are filled with frustrated people who want to advance but haven't gotten training or broad enough experience," says Peter Cappelli, a management professor at the Wharton School and director of Wharton's Center for Human Resources. "In coming months, we'll likely see companies laying off employees but also crying that they can't find people with the skills they need."
Instead of complaining, they should acknowledge that they've dropped the ball on talent development. Some 60% of companies have no succession planning of any kind, according to a survey by the Society of Human Resources Management of several thousand of its members.
There are newly named outside chief executives at financial-services giant Merrill Lynch, telecommunications firm Sprint Nextel and retailer Zale, and CEO searches are under way at H&R Block, Marsh & McLennan and Children's Place. Other companies are looking outside their ranks for top finance executives or managers who can oversee business units.
Nearly half of 20,000 employees surveyed at 100 large global companies by YSC, a London-based corporate-psychology consultant, said they don't receive enough feedback from their managers to help them improve their performance. At one large financial-services company that YSC worked with, a senior executive talked with his eight staffers about their performance just once a year, says YSC director Miriam Javitch.
Employees who lack guidance and opportunities to advance are more likely to quit and look for jobs elsewhere, even during shaky economic times when as the last hired they may be the first fired. A marketing manager at a New York consumer-products company plans to make a lateral move to another employer where he thinks he has more chance of getting promoted in a year or two. In three years at his current job, "my boss has never talked to me about what job I might do next, or encouraged me to learn anything new," he says.
No manager, of course, has time for constant hand-holding, but that isn't what is required to nurture future managers. The most important need is to identify which subordinates want to advance and keep them growing by rotating them through jobs -- trusting that if they've done one thing well, they'll be able to learn something entirely new.
Bob Zito, communications chief, Bristol-Myers Squibb, encourages the 250 employees he supervises to raise their hands when openings occur and change jobs frequently to get more experience. He recently had an employee from Singapore spend several months at the company's New Jersey office and suggested that an employee in a corporate staff position swap jobs with someone who had spent several years working in the pharmaceutical business.
"I want to keep people excited -- and to be nimble and grow we need lots of employees who have had lots of different experiences," says Mr. Zito. He thinks managers who claim they're too frenzied to groom employees are misusing their time. "The more I delegate to employees and ask them to stretch, the more I have time to work with them."
Jeff Henderson, finance chief for Cardinal Health, Dublin, Ohio, last year reshuffled more than 20% of his top 230 finance managers within the department to create new learning opportunities for them, which resulted in improved performance and strengthened loyalties. He does succession planning for his staff twice a year, "looking at the entire talent pool and seeing who is best for what job," he says.
Until four years ago, Cardinal was a holding company with disparate units and little employee mobility. Now, as one integrated operating company, executives want employees to shed their "silo-based mentality" and be willing to move between staff and line jobs in various departments and at different locations.
"If we go elsewhere to find talent whenever openings occur, we're telling our people to be free agents, too, when we need their loyalty," says Mr. Henderson.
Cardinal still has had to search outside to fill some key spots, such as the head of its health-care-supply unit. But this should change as veterans advance up the ranks.
Next to the stock market, what CEOs talk about most is their lack of bench strength, says executive recruiter Peter Crist of Crist Associates. "Their inefficiency at succession planning is keeping me very busy," he says.
Email me at inthelead@wsj.com3. Join a discussion about guidance and training on the job, at WSJ.com/Forums4. To see past columns, go to WSJ.Com/Careers5.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Employment Branding: the Only Long-Term Recruiting Strategy
Almost every action and process in recruiting is designed for short-term gain. Despite talk about being strategic, most recruiters and recruiting managers alike respond only to requisitions, placing ads, visiting job boards, attending job fairs, and mining social networking sites in an effort to fill today's job openings.
There is lots of talk but little effort placed on building out truly long-term recruiting tools and strategies designed to impact the business. If all the talk were true, nearly every recruiting function on the planet would have dedicated resources to employment branding, the only long-term recruiting strategy that is designed to bring in a steady flow of high-quality applicants over a period of many years.
Employment branding stands alone as the only approach corporate recruiting managers can leverage to guarantee an end to their talent shortage problem. Unfortunately, most corporate recruiting managers spend less than 5% of their budgets on this powerful long-term solution. In direct contrast, firms that have taken the time to invest in building a great employment brand like Google and Southwest Airlines have not only dominated their industries, but they have also turned the common talent shortage problem into a more desirable talent "sorting" problem. If you're tired of constantly fighting fires and of being continually bashed year in and year out by your managers for failing to produce a high volume of high-quality candidates, it's time to shift your focus to the only solution that can reduce your job stress and make you a hero.
Professor, Author and Advisor to Management
There is lots of talk but little effort placed on building out truly long-term recruiting tools and strategies designed to impact the business. If all the talk were true, nearly every recruiting function on the planet would have dedicated resources to employment branding, the only long-term recruiting strategy that is designed to bring in a steady flow of high-quality applicants over a period of many years.
Employment branding stands alone as the only approach corporate recruiting managers can leverage to guarantee an end to their talent shortage problem. Unfortunately, most corporate recruiting managers spend less than 5% of their budgets on this powerful long-term solution. In direct contrast, firms that have taken the time to invest in building a great employment brand like Google and Southwest Airlines have not only dominated their industries, but they have also turned the common talent shortage problem into a more desirable talent "sorting" problem. If you're tired of constantly fighting fires and of being continually bashed year in and year out by your managers for failing to produce a high volume of high-quality candidates, it's time to shift your focus to the only solution that can reduce your job stress and make you a hero.
The Many Benefits of Employment Branding
I have found that the primary reason why corporate recruiting managers under appreciate and under utilize a corporate branding strategy is because they have done a poor job in making the business case for investing in their firm's employment brand. You can't make a compelling business case unless you first know the possible benefits of the branding strategy. Over the years, I've advised dozens of firms on building a compelling employment brand (including a Fortune #1 Best Place to Work winner) and, as a result, I've identified the many benefits that a successful employment-branding program can provide. When demonstrated, these benefits can help sway even the most cynical nonbelievers:
- A Long-Term Impact. Once you have successfully built your employment brand, you can expect the positive impacts on recruiting to continue for at least five years baring any major PR issues surrounding your company.
An Increased Volume of Unsolicited Candidates. You will significantly increase the number of applicants that your firm receives each year. In some cases, applications will increase by 500%. - Higher Quality Candidates. Not only will you get more applicants, but the quality of your candidates will improve dramatically to the point where you will start getting applications from individuals who never would have considered your firm in the past. A great employment brand that highlights your firm's focus on innovation is necessary in order to attract game-changers, managers, and innovators who demand it!
- Higher Offer-Acceptance Rates. As your employment image becomes better known and more powerful, your offer acceptance rates will improve dramatically.
Increased Employee Referrals. The percentage of hires from employee referrals will increase as a result of your employees' increased pride and knowledge about what makes their firm superior to others. Increasing the number of referrals has added benefits in that it increases employee ownership in the recruiting process, while simultaneously reducing recruiters' workloads. - Improved Employee-Retention Rates. A compelling employment brand increases retention rates among your current employees because they will better know why working at your firm is a superior opportunity. In addition, their pride in your firm will grow as colleagues and friends routinely ask them, "Do those things really happen at your firm?" Unfortunately, the positive impact will be somewhat tempered by the fact that more firms will target your employees because of your strong employment image.
Increased Employee Motivation. Employee motivation will be easier to maintain because of your employees' increased pride in the firm and the better management practices that are required to maintain an employer-of-choice status. - Improved College Recruiting. Because college students are highly brand conscious, employment branding is especially effective for intern recruiting and college hiring.
A Stronger Corporate Culture. Because one of the goals of employment branding is to develop a consistent message about what it's like to work at your firm, employment branding can help strengthen your corporate culture. This consistent message can reinforce corporate values and guide behaviors while a consensus develops across the enterprise among managers and employees with regards to what it means to be a part of the organization. - Decreased Corporate Negatives. Effective branding programs identify and counter negative comments about your firm. This effort can decrease both the number and the severity of the negative comments that appear in the media and online.
Ammunition for Employees and Managers. Most employment-branding efforts include elements that gather and centralize information on your firm's best practices and its compelling stories. As a result of this effort, it is much easier to provide every employee with an arsenal of information and stories they can share with colleagues in the media about what makes working for the organization the best possible opportunity. - Increased Manager Satisfaction. The resulting higher quality of candidates and higher offer-acceptance rate means that hiring managers will have to devote less time to interviews, and they will be more satisfied with the recruiting function.
- Increased Media Exposure. As a result of winning awards, being placed on "best places to work" lists, and having managers give presentations at industry events, the amount of media exposure that your firm will receive will increase dramatically. Having the media brag about your firm's excellent people-management practices adds a level of external credibility that no recruitment ad can provide. As a result of this initial exposure, the number of times that reporters and benchmarking individuals will call your firm for future stories will also increase.
- A Competitive Advantage. Because employment branding efforts include extensive metrics and side-by-side comparisons with talent competitors, you ensure that your talent-management approaches are differentiated and continually superior. This superiority over competitors not only impresses senior managers, but it also improves your chances of winning over candidates who also apply for positions at your competitors.
- Increased Shareholder Value. The Russell Investment Group has demonstrated that being listed on Fortune's Best Places to Work list and the resulting improved employer image can positively impact a firm's stock price. Google, for example, has noted in its SEC filing the important role that recruiting and retention play in its continued business growth.
Support for the Product Brand. An employment brand can support the corporate brand and your related product brands because many consumers mentally make the link between attracting quality employees and producing a quality product.
Additional Branding Benefits
Some additional benefits of an employment-branding program might include:
- Increased knowledge and competitive intelligence, as more employees from top competitors join your organization.
- The increased focus on excellence in people-management programs brought about by the branding effort will result in the continuous improvement of those practices.
- Getting talked about in the press reinforces the stories you have already spread to your employees.
- The increased notoriety might also have a positive side effect on the business by making it easier to attract strategic partners who are willing to link with your firm.
- Employment branding works not just for large corporations but also for smaller firms and for government agencies as well.
- A great employment brand makes it easier to attract top recruiters and branding experts.
The high impact and ROI of the employment-branding program will help build HR's image as a bottom-line contributor.
Final Thoughts
If you are part of recruiting management at an organization that has been facing continuous talent shortages, it's time to get out of that rut and focus your resources on the areas that can have the highest business impact. Almost universally, that means shifting your recruiting talent, time, and budget towards the programs that will have the most impact, starting with employment branding (other high-impact programs include employer referrals, professional event recruiting, prioritizing jobs, bringing back key former employees (boomerangs), and making your corporate careers page compelling). Yes, I know it's hard to find the time to step back from fighting fires but, at some point, you have to realize that you can't just talk about being strategic. You have to act strategically by investing in the only long-term recruiting strategy that's available.
Professor, Author and Advisor to Management
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