Welcome to the December 22, 2004 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.  Tis the season to be........stressed.

2. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #316 to #320

3. Useful Links, Helpful Tools - NEW!   Background Checks/Customer Service Excellence

4. In The News!  Major Labor Shortage

5. How to Hire Employees With A Positive Attitude

6. Setting the Right Climate For Coaching

7. You don't need a huge budget and staff to hire the best employees

8. Over 250 Supervisors Have Attended Managing to Excel Workshops

9. Fall Workshop and Speaking Schedule

10. Wondering if you have the right people on your team?

1.   Tis the Season to Be Stressed.

Bah , Humbug !  You have a few gifts to purchase and time is running out.  Your children need extra care because they're off school.  You're obligated to attend holiday parties but still have all your grocery shopping to do.  You planned to take off a day from work this week but several colleagues beat you to the punch - they either scheduled vacations or called in sick with the holiday shopping flu.

That may explain why two-thirds of full-time workers nationwide say they have experienced workplace stress around the holidays, according to a recent random sampling of 600 full-time workers for Accenture HR Services. Nearly one- quarter of the workers surveyed said they have taken at least one day off in the past because of holiday stress.

As for the major causes of holiday stress, 54 percent cited finding the time to shop for gifts, while 41 percent mentioned keeping up with day-to-day work responsibilities. Other factors include spending time with family and friends, 35 percent; balancing a manager's expectations against the employee's needs, 28 percent; and preparing for household guests, 26 percent.

Workplace stress is such a big factor during the course of a normal year that 37 percent of those surveyed said that at some point they have considered quitting their jobs because of stress.

It's well documented - stress increases health care costs and lowers productivity.  Start the new year out right.  One cause of stress is a bad job match or wrong choice of careers.  Find the right career for you - take the MAPP career assessment and received a DISC stress test FREE, a $69 value.  More Career Tests.

2.  Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #316 to #320
Visit our blog, too.

Fact #316: The percentage of US employers offering paid vacations dropped to 87 percent in 2003 from 95 percent in 1999,  (Source: SHRM)

Fact #317:  Americans receive 16 days off each year, but are so consumed with work that they take 14. Italians receive 42; the French, 37; Germans, 35, and South Korean and Japanese employees get 25 each. (Source: Expedia.com)

Fact #318: As many as 47 million adults may be putting themselves at risk for injury, health and behavior problems because they aren't meeting their minimum sleep need in order to be fully alert the next day.  (Source:  National Sleep Foundation)

Fact #319:  Nearly 40 percent of US employees working more than 50 hours per week. (Source:  National Sleep Foundation)

Fact #320: Two-thirds of older adults (67%) report frequent sleep problems, however only a small fraction, one in eight, says those problems have been diagnosed. (Source: National Sleep Foundation)

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.  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....

• Understand the principles of customer service and how to apply them to build rapport, solve problems, and treat the customer with respect.
• Know how to keep customers by removing obstacles to customer service, really listening, finding the root causes of problems, and never taking short-cuts.
• Bring to the job knowledge of new ways to do business - from the Internet and voice mail to cellular phones, virtual meetings, and beyond.
• 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

To provide our clients with one-stop shopping for employee evaluation from pre-employment to career succession, we are very pleased to introduce our new partnership with Information Architects, a leading provider of Employment Screening and Background Investigations.

Services include:

• Employment Verification
• Criminal Records Search
• Civil Records Search
• Workers Comp Search
• SSN Verification
• Credit Reports
• DMV Reports
• Bankruptcy Search
• Degree Verification
• Professional License Verification
• Drug Screening

Learn more about background checks here.

Fort Wayne Journal Gazette - October 31, 2004

Firms probing employees' pasts

4. In the News!

Coming Soon to a Location Near You: Major Labor Shortage -

Featured in HRWire, November 1, 2004

Business2Business - November 2004

What Is Keeping Human Resource Professionals Awake at Night?

(This original article written by Ira S. Wolfe was the November 2004 cover story.)

5.  Hire Employees With A Positive Attitude

SELECT Associate System is a pre-employment screening system to identify work-related behaviors such as Positive Service Attitude, Accountability, Frustration Tolerance, Acceptance of Diversity, Multi- tasking and more. It also includes a Validity Check and the Integrity Index. Each customized report includes a step by step interview guide including recommended interview questions. The following report versions are available:

Customer Service
Administrative Support
Retail Sales Associates
Entry Level Retail Management
Call Centers
Production & Distribution
Healthcare
Personal Service
Convenience Store Associates
Hospitality
Office Staffing

Learn how to hire employees with a positive attitude here.

6.  Setting The Right Climate For Coaching

We coach to help someone. It might be to help an individual learn something new, or help them
over some difficulties they have been having with their performance. It might be to help them
rise above their own expectations, but it’s never to embarrass, punish, or push them around. If
you’re not trying to help someone, you’re not coaching!   More on Setting the Right Climate for Coaching.

More tips for managers on completing successful employee evaluations. (Download a one page excerpt from the Janus Performance Management System.)

7. You don't need a huge budget and staff to hire the best employees

Eliminate The Hassles and Headaches Associated With Screening Candidate with Total APS.

The Total Applicant Processing System enables the small and medium sized employer to do online recruiting and screen applicants with customizable and scorable filtering questions with a click of the mouse.  Save time and money by qualifying candidates before you interview.

Use Total APS to recruit and screen applicants for your next job opening.

8. Over 250 Supervisors Have Attended Managing to Excel Workshops

Just announced!  M2E Team Building Workshops at Beard Miller Company (York, PA) beginning January 18, 2005.  Call Heather at 717.846.7000 for more information.

Ever since Success Performance Solutions introduced Managing to Excel in 2002, Central PA supervisors and managers have been learning and developing proficiency in the twelve competencies that highly effective managers and supervisors have that average performers don't. 

To read more about Managing to Excel, visit Managing to Excel - Management Competency Workshops.

Managing to Excel is also available for purchase by in-house trainers and human resource professionals.  The per participant cost per program is as low as $20!

9.  Fall 2004 Workshop and Speaking Schedule

January 16, 2005 - 2005 International Builders Show,  Orlando, FL

February 28, 2005 - IQPC''s Best Practices in Disease Management,   Las Vegas, NV

10.  Wondering if you have the right people on your team?

Everyone wants to build the High Motivation Employee Team. Do it with team building activities packaged exclusively for small businesses and home businesses.

Contact Information:
Success Performance Solutions 2481 New Holland Pike, Suite 2, Lancaster, PA 17601

email: tv@super-solutions.com
voice: 717.656.4632
web: http://www.super-solutions.com

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

Order your personal copy of Understanding Business Values and Motivators.


Order your personal copy of The Perfect Labor Storm


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

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