1) NEWS - Finally Signs of A Pickup in Corporate Hiring Activity
2) FEATURE - Lean Training
3) OPPORTUNITY - Online Learner Assessment

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1) NEWS - Finally Signs of A Pickup in Corporate Hiring Activity
During the recent upswing in economic activity, most if not all the media have continued to label this market a "jobless recovery". And why not? All indicators support their story. The numbers everyone looks for which indicate a strong, or rising, labor market - including key indicators such as the payroll employment - have been disappointing at best. So where should we turn for help?

Look no further than Harvard University economics professor Lawrence Katz. Professor Katz, who many would agree provides the most useful economic picture of labor employment, consistently advises his closest colleagues to keep an eye on the temporary labor market. Why? Because temp employment was used reliably in the past two recessions as a leading indicator of real employment and sustained economic recovery.

The temp employment indicator started to rebound in May showing an increase of 58,000 jobs. By July, temporary help services employed almost 2.3 million workers, up 120,000 since April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By comparison, employment of temps peaked at 2.6 million in 2000 during a period when employers could not find enough workers to meet job demand. We hope once again that temporary employment will provide an early indication that this is, in fact, a sustainable job and economic recovery. To follow this trend more closely, reference "Temporary Help Services" at www.bls.gov/ces/home.htm.

2) FEATURE - Lean Training
Recently, we were struck by a compelling display that graphically illustrated performance in action. In fifteen years in and around various development environments, we have never seen such focus, determination and commitment leading to real on-the-job performance.

While the setting is not inside corporate America, it reminded us that we're surrounded by best practices in training and development every single day. We felt it was worth sharing these three important lessons with you.

LESSON #1 - RECRUIT PROPERLY FOR THE JOB
The performance we witnessed was by a highway patrol dog named Reggie. Reggie is not your ordinary police dog. The officers who train Reggie explain that he is a Belgian Shepherd Dog commonly known as Malinois. The reason they don't use German Shepards is because Belgians are simply better for the job they're tasked with doing.They're lighter than German Shepards, and have more endurance and stamina for long days and nights on the force.

LESSON #2 - PERFORMANCE COUNTS
Upon first glance, it appeared that Reggie was borderline malnourished. Skinny and slight he was far from intimidating. Was this pooch capable of bringing down a billion dollar drug bust? Unequivocally, YES - and, by the way, you didn't hear us call him a 'pooch'. As we soon found out, looks have nothing to do with performance. When queued, Reggie instinctively went to work. He reached amazing speeds within a few steps and attacked his target with forceful impact and relentless energy. He had precision aim and truly gave his all in pursuit of what he had been trained to do.

LESSON #3 - KEEP 'EM HUNGRY & HUMBLE
Several years ago, a president from Microsoft told me that the training delivery channel consisted of fat cats that we being spoon fed. Results: lackluster performance. Why? They obviously weren't hungry enough. Another antidote to support the cause of hunger and humbleness comes from Robert Redford, the epitome of success in the entertainment industry. R² was recently quoted in INC Magazine, where he made it clear that performance never rests on success, "When you have the good fortune to have success in your life," says Redford, "that is precisely the time you should reinvent yourself. Because you get real stale. You can fall in love with yourself."

Reggie's trainers told me one of the keys to his success was because he was hungry. Figuratively, he was hungry. He was born, bred and trained with an almost single-mindedness for the job. Literally, one could argue that he was hungry also. While the officers fed him and kept him well nourished and in top shape, he was neither pampered, given excess attention nor spoon fed. And, as we found out later when we went up to Reggie and he graciously allowed us admire his stature, we could tell that he was as humble as they come.

3) OPPORTUNITY - Online Learner Assessment
Several companies that are keenly interested in determining whether or not their employees will have success learning via the web before a program starts, now can assess if prospective students have the capability to learn online. The Online Learner Assessment - accessible from www.onlineuc.net - allows us to assist adult learners and demonstrate return on education investment to corporations that fund employee development. Custom licensing and assessment hosting plans are available by request. If interested, please call 435-649-2190 or reply via email for more information.

 
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