@Risk

Confirming results of an earlier study, a new survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found that employee morale and loyalty are still quite vulnerable as companies with tight budgets continue to ask over-stretched workers to do more with less.

PwC conducted the survey in early 2010, and a total of 5,746 employees from 113 countries participated. The survey results –compiled in a report titled Managing Tomorrow’s People: Where will you be in 2020? –suggest that employees’ attitudes may be changing to reflect a growing concern for work-life balance and business ethics. For example, the data showed that: (more…)

Have the recession and the constant pressure to contain costs changed the way companies handle their warehousing and retail storeroom operations? Is improving operational efficiency still the number one priority among warehouse managers?

According to new research by the Aberdeen Group, the answers to those questions are now more complex than ever before.

The study, titled Labor Management: Instill Accuracy, Efficiency, and Productivity in the Warehouse and Retail Store, indicates that while efficient warehouse processes continue to be important, there’s also now a growing appreciation for a skilled and engaged staff that can put those optimized operations into practice. In short,  Aberdeen found that top performers are focusing on comprehensive training, ongoing monitoring and performance-based incentives to drive down labor costs while still delivering business results.

Specifically, these Best-in-Class firms: (more…)

There’s a growing labor shortage in China, and analysts aren’t exactly sure why.

According to The Wall Street Journal’s blog “China Real Time Report:”

Various domestic media reports put the labor supply gap at around a million people in Guangzhou and neighboring cities such as Dongguan, legendary centers of China’s export boom in the past three decades. Numerous assembly lines and construction sites are sitting idle while anxious employers have raised salaries by more than 30% but still can’t attract enough applicants.

Shen Hong, the author of the post, suggests that at least part of the problem may stem from the fact that new-generation migrant workers aren’t interested in tough basic jobs like construction any more.  The Chinese government has reformed policies and modernized farming to such an extent that rural jobs now compete favorably with work in the city. In addition, second-tier inland cities are experiencing economic booms of their own, and workers may prefer these alternative locations simply because they’re closer to home. Lastly, China’s improved standard of living, in general, means that young workers are less apt to accept the hardships of working in the city, Hong says. (more…)

What’s one of the first things employees are likely to do once the economy starts rebounding?

They’ll be dusting off their resumes in hopes of finding a different position, according to new research from TopGrading Solutions, a leading executive search firm based in Florida.
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