October 1, 2003
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-- Don't Take This The Wrong Way but >>>>>>
-- New Feature! Perfect Labor Storm Alerts
-- Recruiting No-Nos
-- Save these dates! Employee Selection and Job Benchmarking Workshop - Get Certified October 30 - November 1. Register today and save $500.
-- Get Insight - Understand yourself and others
-- Online Personality Screening for as little as $15
-- Reduce no-shows, theft, aggressive behaviors with the Best Pre-Employment Tool for Hourly/Entry-Level Employees
-- Marching to a Different Bucket
-- Take the heat and misery out of employee evaluations.
-- The Perfect Books for Energizing People and Exploring Values

Welcome to this week's issue of The Total View. We are very pleased to announced the release of the newest generation of employee behavioral assessments, CriteriaOne DISC and Business Values and Motivators Assessments. Read more >>>>>>

The Total View is written and published each Wednesday by Ira S. Wolfe, founder of Success Performance Solutions. (Yes, Ira writes every article, every week!)

Ira S. Wolfe ©2003 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission only.

To learn more about Success Performance Solutions or read back issues of The Total View, visit our website at www.super- solutions.com.

Have a comment? Disagree? Need advice? Visit our Free Discussion Board.

Don't Take This The Wrong Way but >>>>>>
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How many times in your life have your heard that line? Were you offended with his/her candor?

Or worse, have you ever been on the receiving end of "What the @#$& were you thinking" or "They were right, I should have never hired (or married) you in the first place."

This of course is immediately followed by "see that's why I never tell you anything. You always take it the wrong way" or "no hard feelings, right?"

Even if what was said was true and factual and it needed to be said, does the recipient respect the messenger for his/her honesty? Hardly.

Instead of listening to what was said, the receiver likely focuses on how it was said. He or she hears but rarely listens. Without listening, mistakes happen, rumors spread, conflicts result and stress increases.

Interpersonal skills is near the top of every employer's wish list for employee competence. The first step in communicating effectively is understanding HOW your style turns other people's styles on - and off.

Success Performance Solutions are experts in helping individuals and organizations HOW to communication, HOW to build teams, and HOW to select the right employees for the right job on the right team in the right organization.

To order your CriteriaOne DISC Behavioral Styles Indicator, click here.

New Feature! Perfect Labor Storm Alerts
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A shocking thing happened on the way to the 21st century. The Perfect Storm Labor Storm developed.

During the 1900s , our economy moved from farming to smokestacks to microchips. The required workforce skills transitioned from brute force to brain power.

Our country survived world wars, cold wars, and conflicts. We managed to reverse economic recessions and depressions and turn them into unprecedented years of prosperity.

The unpredictable nature of life in the United States became almost predictable. Even a terrorist attack in the first year of the new millennium, which crumbled two powerful symbols of our strength, barely even knicked our foundation.

The economic bubble of the late 1990's finally burst as the ball fell to welcome the 21st century. And all the skeptics rose up and shouted, "we told you so". To these nay-sayers low unemployment and job creation were always followed by layoffs and high unemployment - and this was no exception. The labor storm was following a predictable path. Unemployment drifted higher and the labor storm seemed to be blowing itself out.

But then a shocking thing happened. Help wanted signs in many organizations kept springing up. Despite many more applications and resumes from both out-of- work job seekers and dissatisfied employees, qualified workers are still few and far between. From the clerk in a convenience store to the registered nurse and radiologist to accountants and engineers, the vacancy rates and the time to fill these positions is only increasing, not decreasing.

Why is this happening -----and what more can you expect? In coming weeks as a regular feature of The Total View, I'll "track" The Perfect Labor Storm with workforce trends, demographic forecasts, and compelling updates about The Perfect Labor Storm.

Fact #1

In 1978 our workforce growth rate was 3.5 percent. By 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistices projects the rate to be 1 percent.

Fact #2

By 2008 the number of young adult workers, from 25 to 40 year olds, will DECLINE by 1.7 million. That's 1.7 million less workers to replace the nearly 77 million baby boomers who will be eligible for retirement.

Fact #3

We now add fewer 25 and older workers to the labor force each year than we did through the 1980's.

Fact #4

The population of the 60 year and older group in the developed world will expand from 99 million in 1950 to 248 million at the turn of the century to 298 million in the year 2050.

Fact #5

The 50 and older population from 2000-2050 will grow at a rate 68 times faster than the rate of growth for the total population

Source: Beyond Workforce 2020, Hudson Institute

Schedule Perfect Labor Storm Expert, Ira Wolfe, for your next meeting or keynote.

Recruiting No-Nos
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The emergent workforce will represent more than 50 percent of the U.S. workforce by 2007. Meanwhile the pool of traditional workers has shrunk from 33 percent to 21 percent in 2003.

Yet many employers still cling to traditional recruiting and management practices. The result is huge potential turnover. Estimates in turnover expenses for an organization of 100 employees reach as high as $1 million and as much as $128 million for a 10,000 - person employer.

In a summer survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion Corp. 52 percent of respondents want to change job within the next year. Fifty-four percent of respondents also have confidence in their ability to earn a stable income outside of conventional work structures.

What's an employer to do ----or not do. Five No- Nos are:

Don't ----