Welcome to the January 12, 2005 issue of The Total View

Published by Success Performance Solutions, Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Visit our Human Resources Blog and Perfect Labor Storm Blog where we can post daily (and more often) human resource updates, news, and Perfect Labor Storm facts. 

What's Inside

1. Who Will Cover The Cost of Keeping Aging Workers Healthy?
2. A quick peek at how an aging workforce affects the bottom line
3. New Book!  The Leader Within - Save 25%
4. Checklist for Handling A Disciplinary Situation
5 . Useful Links, Helpful Tips - 100 Activities and Actions for Customer Service Excellence and Background Checks

1. Who Will Cover The Cost of Keeping Aging Workers Healthy?

A 1995 survey conducted by Eckerd College Human Resource Institute predicted that in 2005 the top five concerns for human resources staff will be the skill level of the available work force, managing change, information technology, an aging work force, and management issues. With the exception of rising health care costs, this forecast is nothing short of remarkably accurate. How is it that a problem predicted 10 years ago still leaves business employers with their collective back against the wall? Were such obvious signs ignored or just poorly managed?

The answer is buried in this demographic reality: aging baby boomers represent a greater segment of the general population than has ever been recorded and it is still growing.

The statistics are stunning. Twenty percent of the population, 71 million people, will be 65 or older in 2030. This means healthcare will be an even bigger challenge than a lack of skilled workers for employers in the 21st century workforce. Traditionally, lifelong healthcare and retirement for older Americans has been funded through taxes and increasing worker productivity.

Again, statistics illuminate the problem. Since 1900, the number of older adults has increased eleven-fold, from 3.1 million in 1900 to 35 million in 2000. Four of every 10 people in the work force will be older than 45 in two years. By 2010, one of every five employees will be aged 55 or older. By the middle 21st century, there will be more seniors than children. That statistical milestone is less than 50 years away. Who will pick up the tab for a growing population of dependent seniors? Can we expect that of a shrinking workforce?

Let's look at social security. When social security legislation was enacted in 1945, the ratio of contributing workers to each beneficiary was 41.9:1. That ratio dropped to 16.5:1 in 1950. The current ratio is 3.4:1. Social security trustees predict the ratio will drop to 2:1 in 2040. These numbers reduce the issue to this: how will we afford to keep an aging population healthy?

Then, there is the issue of “replacement workers.” The ratio of entry-level wage earners to retirees has dropped from 9:1 in 1955 to 4:1 in 1995, with projections that the ratio will further decline to 2:1 by 2020. The labor market, which grew at approximately 1.2 percent a year in the 1990s, is expected to decrease to 0.8 percent from 2000 to 2010, and 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent in subsequent decades. Are you beginning to get the picture?

The buzz from “Perfect Labor Storm” detractors, who call the impending crisis more hype than fact, is baby boomers won't retire. That's true. Many boomers strive to stay active and, frankly, many of them aren't financially able to retire. But, boomers will continue to work only if they receive ample compensation and benefits including flexible schedules to allow for leisure activities such as traveling and visiting grandchildren. For employers, it means dishing out mucho bucks for compensation and insurance coverage for the graying workforce. Employers who think health care costs are high now ain't seen nothin' yet.

Effective and efficient business management has never been so important. All inefficiencies will be magnified on the bottom line. That means zero tolerance for poor performing employees. This means only the “best places to work” will survive. As for health care costs, my advice is to build higher costs in the budget until there is a societal solution to caring for an unprecedented aging population.

2. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts  -

A quick peek at how an aging workforce affects the bottom line.

Don't miss day-to-day updates on Perfect Labor Storm. Save the Perfect Labor Storm blog to your favorites.

Chronic conditions are the major cause of illness, disability, and death in the United States . Among people 45 years and older, hospitalization rates are higher for those with arthritis and hypertension—the two most common chronic conditions for that age group—than for the general population. Almost 100 million Americans have chronic conditions, with projections that, by 2040, approximately 160 million people will be so afflicted. The cost for treating chronic conditions was $470 billion in 1995. By 2040 that cost could be as high as $864 billion.

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of premature, permanent disability in the United States ' labor force. More than one-fifth—22 percent—of workers with heart disease have work-related limitations.

Diabetes, an insidious disease, breaks down the body's systems. Diabetic workers use more health care services and are less productive than non-diabetic workers. Diabetic workers incur more than twice as many physician visits every year. Twenty-four percent of workers diagnosed with diabetes report being hospitalized in the past year.

Don't be caught in storm without all the facts. "The Perfect Labor Storm Fact Book: Why Worker Shortages Won't Go Away" is a must-read leading edge forecast that predicts workforce trends for decades to come. Order your copy today - Only $7.95.

3.  NEW Book! The Leader Within
by Ken Blanchard, Michael O'Connor and others.

Best-selling authors and Fortune 100 consultants, Dr. Drea Zigarmi, Dr. Ken Blanchard, Dr. Michael O'Connor and Dr. Carl Edeburn reveal the results of an in-depth, seven-year statistical study of leadership in Corporate America. Their new book, The Leader Within, Knowing Enough About Yourself To Lead Others, shows how leaders exert influence and how disposition, values, beliefs, and persona contribute to their very success—or failure.

The Leader Within explores the following:

Which of the four unique management styles of
Situational Leadership® II: directing, coaching, supporting,
deleating—is most—and least effective.

The difference between being a manager and a leader—and how
one cannot fundamentally lead unless he or she knows what his or
her values are.

Identifies the 4 classic DISC dispositions for a boss—direct
controller (D), direct acceptor (I), indirect acceptor (S) and
indirect controller (C)—and shows us the guiding principles that
govern all bosses.

Contrasts how famous leaders compare with one another, based on
their values-inspired leadership styles: traditionalists;
challengers, in-betweeners, and synthesizers.

Order "The Leader Within" and save 25%.

4. Checklist for Handling a Disciplinary Situation

Handling A Disciplinary Situation is one of the most dreaded activities a manager has to do. What's worse many managers aren't very good at it either.

In a recent Gallup Management Journal article, the author noted that in one business, 95 percent of all employees exceeded their managers' expectations. That would be excellent news except that the company isn't doing very well. In another organization, almost all employees received year-end bonuses. They too are not performing very well in the market.

A similar situation occured just recently with one of the key people. Just before his departure, a vice-president actually increased the base salary of one of the poorest performers to get him to agree to improve his performance. At the same time, the VP reduced the salaries of his two top performers.

Managers fall into dozens of traps when evaluating employees. Most performance management systems are significantly flawed and yet nearly everyone agrees that performance management is essemtial for productivity and profitability. That's exactly why Janus Performance Management System was developed.

Janus Performance Management System is tailored to match individual needs by developing the competencies that are most relevant for every job. Janus provides a comprehensive, step-by-step planning desing to help manage this process effectively. Janus not only provides a suite of goal setting and appraisal forms and templates but also helps ensure that all written language are in plain language, complete, comprehensive, and easy-to-use.

In addition, online 360 assessments (and self assessments, too) are now available.

"Traps Managers Fall Into" is just one of hundreds of pages of reproducible facts, tips and free evaluation forms included in Janus Performance Management System Volume 2.

5. Useful Links, Helpful Tips - 100 Activities and Actions for Customer Service Excellence and Background Checks

NEW!
100 Activities and Actions for Customer Service Excellence

In our increasingly competitive business world, it is beoming more and more important to provide the best possible service to customers. Your customer service representatives are in a unique position to keep your customers happy and coming back.

With Learning Points: 100 Activities and Actions for Customer Service Excellence, you can be sure your employee know exactly what they need to do in any situation to provide the quality of service your company expects. And your customers deserve.

These fun, engaging, and easy-to-use activities take only minutes to complete. They contain a wealth of insights, tips, and guidanc that will create employees who....

a. Understand the principles of customer service and how to apply them to build rapport, solve problems, and treat the customer with respect.

b. Know how to keep customers by removing obstacles to customer service, really listening, finding the root causes of problems, and never taking short-cuts.

c. Bring to the job knowledge of new ways to do business - from the Internet and voice mail to cellular phones, virtual meetings, and beyond.

d. Add value to everything they do by providing extra touches, making things right, continuously improving and delivering outstanding service - even when they're busy.

Order 100 Activities and Actions for Customer Service Excellence
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To learn more about Success Performance Solutions or read back issues of The Total View, stop by our website at www.super-solutions.com.

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Ira S. Wolfe. 2004 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission only.

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