February 9, 2011

Edited and Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Published by Success Performance Solutions.

What's Inside this issue of The Total View:

1. Watching TV:  The Super Bowl of Multitasking

2. Workforce Trends

3. What Motivates Employees

4. Annual Performance Reviews Simplified!

5. Leadership Guide and Workbooks for Managing Geeks, Geezers & Googlization!

Watching TV:  The Super Bowl of Multitasking

Millions of eyes were glued to the Super Bowl this past Sunday... sort of.

While watching TV is still a popular past time for most people, the experience is changing.

The days of the family gathering around the television with all eyes glued on Walter Cronkite delivering the news or Ozzie and Harriett entertaining us are gone - long gone.  While 74% of U.S. consumers still watch TV primarily on their TV sets, Americans are plugged in and multitasking.

A new survey from Deloitte found that a full 42% of American consumers surf the Internet while watching the television, 29% talk on their phones while the TV is on and 26% of consumers are texting or sending IMs. And let's not forget about checking on my friend's status on Facebook or writing emails.

This multitasking phenomenon has been propelled by the explosion of mobile technology.  Sixty-eight percent of participants in the survey own a laptop or a netbook and another 41% have Internet-enabled phones. Moreover, one-third of American households now own a smartphone, up from 22% in 2007.  In addition, 85% own a desktop computer, and like myself, many have a TV monitor sitting beside one or more computer monitors.

While the results are not surprising, they confirm that businesses that are hanging onto traditional means of advertising and marketing are quickly on the road to extinction. Not only is television viewership declining, but print newspapers are shrinking faster than a snowball on a hot summer day.

There is some good news for print media fans.  Deloitte suggests that print magazines may be "surviving the digital tsunami." Two-thirds of U.S. consumers have read a print copy of a magazine in the past six months, higher than newspaper and other forms of print media. Interestingly, 87% of U.S. consumers say that they prefer the print copy of magazines over the digital version. In fact, 55% of U.S. households still subscribe to at least one print magazine, up by 1% from 2009.

Workforce Trends

According to the Conference Board Inc., a nonprofit research organization, there were 4.3 million advertised job openings in January, 16% more than a year ago.

For more  workforce and hiring trends, visit Perfect Labor Storm website and Perfect Labor Storm blog.

What Motivates Employees

Business values and motivators determine the "why" of human behavior.  
 

For managers, Business Values and Motivators answers the nagging question - How can I motivate my employees?  
 

For employees and individuals looking to re-energize their careers, the Business Values and Motivators report helps them understand what they value most.  As people, we tend to value certain viewpoints positively and judge others negatively.   How we value or judge determines our motivations and provide us with our sources of energy or conflicts and stress in our personal and professional lives.
 

What are Business Motivators? Read more.

Annual Performance Reviews Simplified!

Save time, increase productivity, and eliminate hassles when administering employee performance reviews with HReviewer.

Ask any manager what he or she hates most about the job and you'll often hear "performance reviews."   That's why we've created HReviewer.

We recognized a huge gap in the performance evaluation market between paper forms and online performance management. 

HReviewer is a user-friendly, centralized online solution to streamline and improve the annual, semi-annual or periodic review for small to medium sized organizations. It's convenient and very affordable too.  Our goal was simple: to help take the hassle out of getting managers to complete performance appraisal forms and giving employees more frequent feedback. 

The system comes with a library of competencies, an easy to use form creator, at-a-glance dashboards and reports, and a built-in reminder system to help HR track down managers when reviews are due....or past due!

More about HReviewer or Email us to schedule a FREE demo. 

Just Released!  Leader Guide and Workbooks for Managing Geeks, Geezers, and Googlization

Start the New Year out right. The leading edge of Baby Boomers start turning 65 in just a few weeks. Make 2011 the year of managing successfully the wired, the tired, and technology!

For the first time in history, four generations are co-mingling in the workplace. Capitalizing on each generation's strengths is a must. Minimizing generational clash points is a necessity. Keeping each generation engaged and motivated is critical.

Learn more....

Consultants and Trainers?  Contact us about our reseller and certification program.