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The Indiana Chamber is partnering with the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and the governor’s office on a grant from the Lumina Foundation for Education to enhance the performance of the state’s public colleges and universities. A recent productivity report, video success story in Richmond and much more can be found at the Achieve Indiana website.
It seems EFFICIENCY may be the name of the game in 2011. Businesses are running lean at the moment, and looking to get the most out of their new structures. An e-mail release from Robert Half Technology explains the top IT jobs in the coming year will be geared around streamlining efforts.
Finding a job may be high on many professionals’ list of New Year’s Resolutions. To narrow the search for those in the IT industry, Robert Half Technology has identified the hottest IT positions for 2011. Among them:
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Technical Developer – Base compensation for these professionals is projected to increase 5.2 percent next year. ERP enables organizations of all sizes to improve efficiency and cut costs. Since no two companies are alike, developers are in steady demand to customize software according to specific organizational needs.
Business Intelligence Analyst – Average starting salaries for business intelligence analysts will rise 5 percent. Companies need analysts who can guide decision-making processes in a constantly changing business environment, and help reduce costs and better evaluate internal and external clients.
Data Modeler – As firms analyze more complex data and create custom applications, they require skilled modelers who can design methods for handling, processing and evaluating material. Data modelers can expect base compensation to rise 4.5 percent over 2010 levels.The common thread among these jobs is that they help businesses improve efficiency and profits, and foster a more positive customer experience.
I know, I know. This is likely one of umpteen articles you’ll encounter on this subject, but it’s from the Wall Street Journal so I figure it warrants mentioning. Though Mike Pence is now considered by many to have a firm grip on the 2012 Indiana Governor’s race should he choose to enter, some speculate he may not be such a longshot to earn the GOP nomination for President.
A former radio personality, the 51-year-old Mr. Pence became a darling among fiscal conservatives for opposing two of President George W. Bush’s signature initiatives, the 2001 No Child Left Behind education act and the 2003 Medicare Part D drug benefit. He saw both as violating his party’s small-government principles.
Mr. Pence favors reducing the size of the federal government, and even the power of the presidency. He wants to amend the Constitution both to ban abortions and to allow marriage only between men and women. He says increased security along the Mexican border must precede any immigration overhaul.
Mr. Pence was also among the first congressmen to jump on the tea-party wave in early 2009, speaking at rallies across Indiana and in Washington.
It was his speech at the Values Voter Summit, a marquee annual event among social conservative groups, which did the most to rouse support. The speech, with its calls to ban all federal abortion funding and stem-cell research, drew standing ovations and chants of "President Pence."
When summit attendees cast ballots in a straw poll for president, Mr. Pence came in first, ahead of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and others.
For many conservatives, Mr. Pence holds much the same allure that Mr. Huckabee did in the 2008 campaign. Mr. Huckabee tapped into support from home-schoolers and evangelicals to pull off a surprise win in the Iowa caucus, though could never catch Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.), the eventual nominee.
"The big question with Huckabee is whether he can raise enough money to be a real contender in 2012," says Tom Minnery, head of public policy for Focus on the Family. As a fresher face, he says, Mr. Pence "is someone who could generate a lot of enthusiasm" in Iowa and other early nominating states and possibly show more durability in the long presidential campaign.
The Indiana lawmaker, who first won election to Congress in 2000, also has the backing of budget hawks such as Chris Chocola, a former Indiana congressman who is now president of the fiscally conservative Club for Growth. "Mike has the retail appeal of Huckabee but is an across-the-board conservative with all the credentials. There is no one else like that," says Mr. Chocola.
Feeding speculation about his presidential ambitions, Mr. Pence has visited Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina in the past year, all states with early roles in the nominating process. And yet Mr. Pence and others in his camp continue to drop hints that he’s shying from a White House run. The thought of a presidential campaign, Mr. Pence said in an interview, "is more humbling than tempting."He says he’s weary of Washington. "I prefer the Flat Rock River to the Potomac River, and the Flat Rock is about a half a block from my house," he said.
Feeling very Crosby, Stills & Nashish today, so you’ll have to excuse the headline.
Ragan offers some basic, yet valuable tips on treating your staff well. So if your New Year’s Resolution is to make your employees a priority and improve morale, stay on track and make your goal easier to reach. Here are the things to avoid:
1. Playing favorites—Favoritism shouldn’t exist in the workplace. When you constantly give opportunities only to your favorite employees or apply the rules only to certain employees, you’re going to create a work environment that’s filled with jealousy and resentment. All employees should be treated equally.
2. Taking sides in employee disputes—This usually goes hand in hand with favoritism. You should never jump to conclusions nor take sides when two or more employees have a dispute. Always look at the facts, and make decisions based on company rules and regulations.
3. Not giving employees clear performance expectations—If employees don’t know what’s expected of them, how can you expect them to succeed? You need to have clearly defined standards, and employee performance should be measured against those.
4. Not giving employees a forum for voicing suggestions—You want your employees to feel like they’re valued members of your company. That’s why you need to encourage them to make suggestions for improving the company or the way their job is handled. When you get good suggestions, make sure you actually do something with them. Talk is cheap; implementing the good ideas is what counts.
5. Hiding the bigger picture from employees—Employees that find some sort of deeper meaning in their work are likelier to take an interest in doing a good job and being proud of what they do. Let your employees know what the company’s goals are and how their performance plays into that.
6. Knee-jerk reactions to disputes—Before you react to a situation based on your emotions, take some time to calm down and evaluate the situation rationally. This could save you from doing something stupid like firing a good employee or alienating a worker by overreacting to a simple mistake.
7. Lack of communication with employees—Just like every other relationship in your life, communication is essential to maintaining a healthy relationship with your employees. Be present. Be easy to contact. And take the time to get to know your employees by speaking with them regularly.
8. Ignoring the law—Too many companies forget that there are laws governing how you can interact with and treat your employees. Before you take any action—such as firing an employee—you need to make sure there are no laws prohibiting your actions.
9. Not trusting your employees—You can’t create a positive work environment if you treat employees as though they’re untrustworthy. If you’re constantly over their shoulders, monitoring their every move, tracking their actions, and questioning them, you’re going to produce a lot of bitter employees.
10. Never rewarding or thanking employees for their hard work—Your employees work hard for you. They’re helping your company succeed, and without them, you’d be out of business. Showing your appreciation for their hard work can go a long way to keeping them happy and motivated. Check out these 10 ways to reward your employees.
Surely, there are other big employee relations mistakes worthy of making this list. Share your favorites below.
Though still in the comment period, it appears there could be a new mandatory federal posting looming. As always, you can trust the Indiana Chamber to keep you informed and to release new sets if this new posting is adopted. HRWatchdog posts:
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) proposed the new posting requirement in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking submitted for publication in the December 22, 2010, Federal Register.
The new posting requirement would cover all employers subject to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), and would require posting of employees’ right to unionize under the NLRA. This posting would be mandatory in most all workplaces, regardless of whether union employees are present in the workplace. The posting requirement is similar to one that is now required for government contractors.
Employers may comment on the proposed rule during a 60-day comment period.
The new posting, as proposed, would include information on employees’ right to:
Organize a union;
- Discuss terms and conditions of employment;
- Take action to improve working conditions; and
- Strike and picket.
The posting would also have to include conduct prohibited by the NLRA, such as:
- Prohibiting employees from soliciting for a union during non-work time;
- Firing, demoting or transferring employees because of their support for a union; and
- Threatening to close the workplace if employees unionize.
Finally, the new posting, as proposed, would require information on activities that the NLRA prohibits unions from undertaking:
- Threatening loss of job unless the union is supported;
- Refusing to process a grievance because of union criticism by an employee; and
- Taking adverse action against an employee based on whether or not the employee has joined or supported a union.
Be sure to sign up for our poster subscription service so you never have to worry about tracking poster updates again. The service is free; you just pay for the posters.
Some good advice here. Many Hoosier businesses likely now have Facebook pages. While it’s a great way to reach out to customers and supporters, you’ll also get the occasional basher who uses your page to constantly "refudiate" (that’s Palinese) everything you try to do. The blog Journalistics takes a stab at how you can deal with it:
Few things are as gratifying as positive feedback from your Facebook Fans. Unedited commentary from your viewers can be both the greatest gift social media has to offer and your worst nightmare. While all the story ideas and friendly interactions make it worth all the effort, there are always those fans who find pleasure in being argumentative, disruptive, disagreeable and otherwise as negative as possible.
Some might argue that you need the negativity to balance things out in your social community. I think there’s an obvious difference between offering your honest opinion and being negative. Regardless of how you feel, if you manage your Facebook Page or another social community for your newsroom, you need to know how to deal with negative feedback from haters, potty mouths, know-it-alls and more. I’ve categorized the most-common negative personality types I’ve seen across a lot of different Facebook pages and have provided some suggestions for how to deal with each one.
The writer then dissects each category (below) further, so read the entire post:
Though children might shriek “Disneyland” when asked where they want to go on vacation, the “adult play land” of Las Vegas is the top choice for travelers in 2011, according to results from Travel Leaders’ 2011 Travel Trends Survey.
Vegas earned the top ranking once again, following a dominance from 2003-2009. But the children aren’t far off in their desire for Mickey and Minnie Mouse as Orlando narrowly missed first place by 0.36%, with travelers choosing the bright lights of Vegas over the magical world of Disney. Orlando edged out Las Vegas as the top destination spot for 2010.
The survey, which was conducted from November 3-30 and used actual booking data and responses from Travel Leaders owners and agents, determined the top ten domestic destinations for 2011. The list also includes (in descending order): an Alaskan cruise; Honolulu and Kahului (Maui) – tied for fourth place; New York City; Washington D.C.; a Hawaiian cruise; San Francisco; and Chicago and Phoenix – tied for tenth place. International vacation destinations included spots like Cancun, Rome, London, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and several Mexican and Caribbean cruises.
Survey results also point to the fact that people are spending more on travel than they did last year, highlighting an optimistic outlook for 2011. The findings show that just over half of Travel Leaders clients will spend more this year on travel than they did in 2010, while about 38% will spend the same amount. That’s good news for the oft-struggling travel industry.
Let’s hear your top travel destinations for 2011: Will your children be successful at pestering you into taking them to Disneyland? Or, will what happens in Vegas, stay in Vegas?
While some government services are at risk due to budget cuts, one that will always continue (where necessary) is winter snow removal. But a Massachusetts community has a new approach – paying per inches plowed rather than number of hours worked.
Under the new program, contractors are required to set aside a specific number of plows – both large and small – to cover the full neighborhood and get paid based on the size of the snowstorm. That eliminates the costly idling time that have traditionally been charged by contractors, especially considering weather forecasts can very substantially, Prendeville said.
Most importantly, Prendeville said, the new system has a created a "tremendous level of accountability," that has cut down on the number of resident complaints and streamlined the overall operation during snowstorms, he said.
"This is performance-based, so the incentive is there for the contractor to do the best job possible, which is critical to us," Prendeville said. "We saw a marked difference in the number of calls from residents. There’s always room for improvement, but we think we are making great progress."
This blog was originally posted on Indiana INTERNnation:
Attend one of three nationally recognized recruiting seminars about successfully implementing internship programs to utilize affordable college talent. Indiana INTERNnet has partnered with Intern Bridge to deliver the Indiana INTERNnet Total Internship Management Roadshow in the following locations:
January 18, 2011: Fort Wayne, IN
January 19, 2011: Indianapolis, IN
January 20, 2011: Evansville, IN
The workshops are designed to help employers build world-class internship programs that have a direct impact on your organization’s bottom line. The workshops will introduce attendees to best practices for building a talent pipeline through the use of effectively managed internship programs. Whether your organization is considering hiring one college student, or one hundred, these workshops will demonstrate how to do it creatively and efficiently. Based on just-released data from over 100,000 students attending 500+ universities nationwide, the programs will provide key data and metrics surrounding topics such as supervisor selection, work structure, compensation, working with universities, legal issues and much more.
Intern Bridge is the nation’s leading college talent consulting and research firm. Over 10,000 employers have participated in professional development events nationwide, a testament to the team’s ability to help employers build effective and meaningful college recruiting programs. These recruiting strategies provide a unique opportunity to tap into an educated workforce at a fraction of the cost of a full-time or temporary employee.
Don’t miss out on your chance to participate in this nationally recognized program! To learn more, visit the following location specific web sites:
January 18, 2011: Fort Wayne, IN – www.InternBridgePrograms.com/ftwayne
January 19, 2011: Indianapolis, IN – www.InternBridgePrograms.com/indy
January 20, 2011: Evansville, IN – www.InternBridgePrograms.com/evansville
We look forward to meeting you during one of the three stops on the roadshow. Thank you for helping reduce Indiana’s “brain drain!”
Mentioning the Indiana Chamber’s support of the movement, this Evansville Courier & Press editorial argues that townships simply aren’t very convincing when it comes to demonstrating their usefulness for Indiana:
Although the case for downsizing or eliminating township government remains a hard sell to the Indiana Legislature, the case for local government reform remains ever more compelling.
Yes, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce came out this past week in support of either the elimination of township government or of at least the elimination of advisory boards in each of Indiana’s townships. But that is no surprise. The organization that lobbies for issues favorable to businesses has long supported the downsizing of local government, particularly of township government, as a way of reducing local government costs.
Of more interest, we found news reports this past week of two more issues involving specific townships elsewhere, as reported in other news media. They stand as further evidence that townships have too much time and tax money on their hands.
Also, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, whose legislative agenda includes local government reform, will come to the January session armed with what we would call compelling information in support of ending township government in Indiana.
Of course, locally we had the case of former Knight Township Trustee Linda Durham, who allegedly misappropriated $70,000 in township funds. She awaits trial, and if the charges prove true, it will be one more indication that township government is woefully lacking in oversight.
Also, Eric Bradner of the Courier & Press Capital Bureau reported about a year ago that township governments statewide were sitting on $215 million in surpluses, much of it intended for emergency poor relief.
More recently, according to the Associated Press, via the Indianapolis Star newspaper, the Wayne Township trustee in Marion County earlier this month was found planning to give $200,000 in poor relief funds to the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library to allow for longer hours at four library branches.
The trustee, David Baird, said his plan fit in with the township’s mission for poor relief in that the poor use the libraries’ computers and other resources to look for jobs.
This is not the intended purpose of poor relief. It should be utilized to address urgent needs, such as preventing electricity from being turned off, or for filling urgently needed prescriptions. But township trustees seem to take tremendous latitude in deciding how to spend tax-financed poor relief.
The Indianapolis Star reports on a State Board of Accounts audit of Jefferson Township in Sullivan County, which resulted in the trustee and his wife, working as the office clerk, having to give back $42,366 to the township for payments they should not have received.
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