Welcome to the August 8, 2007 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. Liar, Liar - Resumes on Fire!   

Employers these days must be asking themselves, "What's Next?"  The media is filled nearly every day with stories about current or impending skilled worker shortages. To add to the pain, more red flags are popping up in background checks than ever before.  

The annual Hit Ratio Report and Industry Analysis, published by Kroll, the risk consulting company, revealed another annual increase in criminal record hits, discrepancies in past employment verifications (from 36.5 to 49.4 percent) and education verifications (from 14.1 percent to 21.6 percent).  

Some of the hardest "hit" industries are:

• Nearly 50% of candidates in Construction, Automotive, and Retail had positive DMV (Department of Motor Vehicle) information hits.
• Over 50% of candidates in Business Services, Real Estate, and Automotive had hits on their credit history.
• Over 50% of candidates in Transportation, Construction, and Non-Profits had hits on their employment verification.
• And over one-third of non-profit and construction candidates had hits on education verification.

One industry hit particularly hit hard by high rates of background failures is law enforcement.  In Santa Fe, recruiters are attempting to fill 15 vacancies this year but more than 60% of applicants are routinely found to be unfit after background investigations.  In Las Vegas, the background failure rate is almost 70% creating a formidable challenge for recruiters attempting to fill 2,000 positions over the next five years.  Candidates have concealed a range of criminal activities, from prostitution to fraud and drug use.  

In Phoenix, more than one-third of the police recruits are failing polygraph examinations.  In Orlando, about half are not surviving pre-polygraph interviews. One candidate was recently dismissed after listing two fraudulent college degrees that the candidate purchased online.  

The problem isn't only failed background checks.  In Las Vegas about 23% of candidates never get past a mulitple-choice basic knowledge test. Another 40% fail the physical training workout. But that's a drop in the bucket to the 70% failure rate when it comes to background checks and polygraph exams.  

To give you a sense of the challenge facing employers, the Las Vegas Police Department has to fill 400 available jobs this year. That means its recruiting strategies need to attract over 600 applicants a month.

The Las Vegas Police Department is not alone in their recruitment challenge.  The FBI had to change (lower?) their standard because too many candidates were being rejected. The FBI is now accepting recruits who smoked marijuana in the past but have not smoked it recently.   

What's next in this ongoing saga: Where Have All The Workers Gone?  Keep reading.

2. Perfect Labor Storm Indicators

Jobs are changing.

     Workforce growth is slowing.

           Educational attainment levels are lagging.

                Skill gaps are rising. 

The Perfect Labor Storm is imminent.

Where Have All Your Workers Gone?  Learn more about The Perfect Labor Storm: why skilled worker shortages, aging populations, education and skills gaps will change the way all people do business.  

Watch these brief Perfect Labor Storm videos now:  

Where Have All The Workers Gone? Skills Gaps  (6:33)
Where Have All The Workers Gone? Skilled Worker Crisis  (5:19)
Then please forward these links to co-workers, colleagues, bosses, reports, and customers.  Thanks.  

The videos are also available on The Perfect Labor Storm website.  

Comments? Please leave comments on the YouTube.com site or email: comments@perfectlaborstorm.com

3. No Shortage of Participants at PA Chamber Skilled Worker Shortage Crisis Roundtable  

"Fabulous, Outstanding, Absolutely Tremendous, and Compelling" were the comments I've received about my keynote presentation delivered last week at the PA Chamber Skilled Worker Shortage Crisis Roundtable.   

Following my 30 minute opening remarks (and the first public viewing of "Where Have All The Workers Gone" video), I was joined by Stacey Wagner, Executive Director of the National Association of Manufacturers, followed by senior executives from Sheetz, Amorre Group and JFC Staffing.  Each presenter offered updates about what is happening in their respective industries, providing best practice solutions in recruiting, hiring and retaining workers.  

Over 200 presidents, business owners, HR professionals, supervisors, department heads and other business executives, in addition to local chamber executives and state association executives, attended this special half-day event.   

The three-hour roundtable was televised by PCN Cable, which serves as the commonwealth's version of C-SPAN. To order a DVD or VHS tape of the Skilled Worker Shortage Crisis Roundtable, you can contact PCN directly at www.pcntv.com or call 717-730-6000.  

Now scheduling Where Have All the Workers Gone? keynotes for fall 2007 and 2008. To schedule or more information, contact: iwolfe@perfectlaborstorm.com or call 717.291.4640

4.  Order your advanced copies of Perfect Labor Storm 2.0 (soft and hard cover versions)- release set for September 2007. 

Save 25% off retail by ordering now.

Hard Cover: $29.99         Soft Cover: $19.99  

Read the pre-publication reviews:  

Below you will find just a sampling of the trends, stats, and facts that will change the way you do business.

If you took every single job in the U.S. today and shipped it to China . . .       

                                                                                                       .......China would still have a labor surplus.  

China's Generation Y accounts for nearly one-sixth of the Chinese population, equivalent to two-thirds of the entire U.S. population.   

By 2025 more than 75% of the workforce in India will be from Generation Y and younger generations.  

In the United States, Gen Y and younger will make up just less than 60%.

Trends and stats like this are just an inkling of the information you'll find in the revised, updated and expanded Perfect Labor Storm 2.0, including several chapters about managing generational clashes.  

Keep reading future issues of this newsletter for more announcements about the book release and updated Perfect Storm Indicators.  

Perfect Labor Storm e-book published earlier this year is still available.

You can order a download copy of PLS, a great value at $9.95. 

5. A Solution to "I hate performance reviews":

Introducing KeyneLinktm Performance Management System

KeyneLink is a revolutionary performance management system that links your organization's vision, values and operating objectives with the daily activities of your people.   

KeyneLink is part process, part software, part roadmap, and all about successful performance.  

KeyneLink motivates your employees to align with your organization's operating objectives, achieving results and heading off performance problems before they become problems or distractions.  

For more information visit KeyneLink Performance Management System or call 800.803.4303 to schedule a web meeting demo.

6. CriteriaOne Certification Workshop: October 31-November 2, 2007

Learn to build a competency-based selection and performance management system to align employees with the right skills to meet the competitive demands of your business.

"Light years ahead of the competition" says one CriteriaOne participant.

"A must for anyone interested in lowering turnover and improving productivity," says another.

Don't miss the only certification workshop in 2007.

More about CriteriaOne Certification, the whole person approach to selecting and managing employees

7. Quotes from Hire Authorities

"As much as we tell'em not to lie, they come in here and lie, and think we're not going to find out."

Las Vegas police Sgt. Dan Zehnder explaining why 70% of candidates fail the required background checks

Permission is granted to consultants, managers, business owners and HR professionals to reproduce content from this newsletter for your internal publications, or to distribute copies to your workforce, on the condition that you reproduce the credits and contact information as follows: "Reprinted with permission from Ira S Wolfe and Success Performance Solutions. Copyright 2007 Ira S Wolfe." We also hope you will forward the newsletter in its entirety and recommend to others that they subscribe.

Ira S. Wolfe Copyright 2007 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission