Welcome to the February 21, 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:

"Choose the Best Employee Assessment Test and Put the RIGHT Person In the Job" Audioconference.

Click here to order the CD or transcript or call 800.803.4303 for information.

1.  Worker Shortages Getting Worse: Is the sky falling?

According to an email I received last week, the answer is a resounding YES. Lou Adler, the respected author and recruiting veteran, says "the talent shortage is real and getting worse." In his message, Adler explained ten obvious factors why the gap between skilled workers and demand is increasing. (I'd like to hear your thoughts and comments on this as well. Please respond to the short survey below.)

A few of Adler's factors are:

1.  Everybody is competing for the same talent pool.
2. The demographics are for real.

     (For those of you following The Perfect Labor Storm, you shouldn't be surprised. Read below for

     news about Perfect Labor Storm 2.0)
3. The hidden job market is no longer hidden.
     Today just about everyone can be a free agent recruiters know how to find anyone in just few hours,

     thanks to ZoomInfo, LinkedIn, FaceBook, MySpace, Yahoo! 360 to name a few.
4. Jobs are changing faster than people are being trained to fill them.
5. The shift to hire more corporate recruiters has worsened the problem.

     The more recruiters, the more turnover you'll get as everyone is stealing the best employees from

     everyone else.

I can't agree more with Adler. For those of you who have read "The Perfect Labor Storm" or heard me speak, you know I've been preaching the same story since 1999.

Just a few hours after reading Adler's email, two economists being interviewed on CNBC posed this question: "Is there really a skills shortage or are businesses just too cheap to pay for talent?" What a great question. The two interviewees presented compelling arguments defending their positions. For those skeptics who feel media is the problem in hyping the shortages, it doesn't really matter.
The short term result of both arguments is the same: wages for skilled workers is going up, up, up.

An important note: the wages for semi-skilled and low-skilled jobs are creeping up but not keeping pace with the growth of the economy. Wages however are exploding for skilled workers and for any job whose demand is outstripping supply.

The following day I interviewed the Vice-President of Sales for a regional staffing firm about his take on staffing shortages. He shared with me that it was costing his firm hundreds of thousands of dollars more to find and screen enough workers to fill all the orders his company receives. "For every three candidates who apply with us," he said, "only one of them is qualified. Soft skills are almost non-existent." He estimated that in 2006 his firm interviewed nearly 14,000 candidates but was able to hire less than 40 percent of them.

In addition to a lack of professionalism, he cited convictions including retail theft, unexplained absences and poor work ethic for just a few of the reasons he rejects one-third of the candidates. Ironically he blamed his Gen-X peers as a major reason for the "attitude" problem.
(The VP is only 29 years old,)

What do you think? Is the sky falling? Is it getting harder to find qualified and dependable workers? Is it costing your business more? Is it taking longer to hire workers?
Tell us what's going on. Share your comments. It will take you less than five minutes to complete this short nine question survey. Forward the survey to a friend, boss, or colleague.
The more responses we get, the more valuable the survey.
Results will be shared in the March 7, 2007 newsletter and on our HR Blog.

Click here to complete the survey.

2.  Perfect Labor Storm Alerts # 619 and Pre-release Special: 2.0 is here

Pre-release Special! The Perfect Labor Storm 2.0 has landed.
The year 2007 will see an increase in skilled worker shortages and more competition. The result will be higher salaries, more training and career advancement opportunities, and more flexible work cultures. How prepared is your company to find skilled and dependable workers?

Perfect Labor Storm 2.0 is the newly updated and revised 2007 edition of best-selling book first published in 2005.

You can now download an advance copy of PLS 2.0. a $10 value with every purchase of the original Perfect Labor Storm, still a great value at $7.95.

Fact #619:   Nearly 30 percent of the U.S. State Department employees based overseas in "language-designated positions" are failing to speak and write the local language well enough to meet required levels. A spokesman for the General Accounting Office noted that "if people do not have the proper language, it is difficult to influence the people and government and to understand what they are thinking. It just doesn't get the job done." Four out of 10 workers in posts requiring Arabic, Chinese and Japanese fail to meet the requirements. Nearly sixty percent of personnel in San'a, Yemen and Cairo do not meet the requirements. According to the GAO, "speaking and reading levels were not high enough and that staff in these positions were not sufficiently fluent to effectively perform their jobs."

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

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.  Free Mini-Course: Building the Best Hiring Tool Kit

February 28, 2007 - 11 AM EST

Pre-employment assessment tests have been around for ages.
Some are pinpoint accurate and will help you make smart hiring decisions. Others deliver only a surface-level look at a candidates personality traits ... and little else.

Attend this 60-minute web-event on to learn about how good employee assessments work and how to make sure you are using the right ones.

Registration is limited to 10 participants. Don't delay - register now.

For those readers living in Central PA, join us for a live presentation on February 27 at 7:30 - 9:30 AM.
Call 800.803.4303 to register.

4.  Downloadable Skillbuilder Series: Part 6 - Decide

A successful selection interview is not a matter of luck or even effective conversation skills. Neither is it an opportunity to look for personal empathy with the candidate or to guess whether their qualifications or experience mean that they will be able to do a certain job. A typical interview is short, but we will look at a rigorous and structured process, in six phases:

Part 1: Prepare
Part 2: Evaluate
Part 3: Question
Part 4: Listen
Part 5: Observe
Part 6: Decide

Like what you see? Order Skillbuilders Interview/Selection in print or downloadable pdf format for all your managers.
Call for pricing and information about our our unlimited use license at 800.803.4303.

In this issue of the TotalView, you can download the section on "Decide" for the interview. If you missed the previous phases published in prior newsletters, click here or call 800.803.4303.

Like what you see? Order Skillbuilders Interview/Selection in print or downloadable pdf format for all your managers. Call for pricing and information about our our unlimited use license at 800.803.4303.

5.   A Better Trained Workforce.....at your fingertips.

It's never been easier to provide your team with all the training tools you'll ever need. We are pleased to introduce the Self-Development Solution: a total training resource expertly aimed at getting the most out of your business's most valuable resource: your people.

Self-Development Solutions includes four parts, each worth the cost of a Self-Development license. The four-part solutions includes:

- Learning Profiles: Building the Skills that Matter Most
- SkillBuilder Booklets: Professional Training, To-Go
- One-Page Coach: Knowledge at a Glance
- Managers' Pocket Guides: In-Depth, Expert Insight, Anytime

We've really made it easy. You can receive unlimited use, hassle-free, with online distribution and the ability to print unlimited quantities for the next twelve months for as little as $2 per employee. (Actual costs based on the total number of employees in your business.)

Empower your team today. Call us at 800.803.4303 to learn more or to schedule an online demo.

6.  Assess 360 for Sales and Leadership

This web-facilitated multi-rater survey component of the ASSESS platform utilizes dimensions and behaviors populated directly from the organization's competency model. A participant can rate multiple people at a time and the system allows for comparative ratings. Reports provide detailed individual feedback on:

- Competency Rankings
- Behavior Ratings
- Developmental Suggestions
- Action Planning Guidance

View a Sample ASSESS 360 Degree Report

7.   Quotes from Hire Authorities

'If two men agree on everything, you may be sure that one of them is doing the thinking.'
Lyndon Johnson

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