Education and engagement

The lack of training or outright lack of interest of managers is the main obstacle encountered by companies that want to increase the level of commitment to their employees. According to Martin Vickers argues, the Institute for Corporate Productivity, promote commitment in times of economic uncertainty we live is key for organizations. Manea to inculcate the best, he says, is that companies are serious about training their managers in this regard.

The commitment the company is always a matter of prime importance, but in a moment of uncertainty as we live it is even more. When the faltering labor and employees are asked to do more for less, their stress levels rise and fall of commitment. As suggested by Mark Vickers, Institute for Corporate Productivity, in an article published by the American Association Manager, develop effective strategies for workers to have a good level of commitment is key today.

According to a survey conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity, late last year, only one third of American workers were very committed to your business. The level of commitment of nearly a quarter did not exist.

The survey, which involved 776 people, also revealed that four out of five workers, the commitment was important or very important. What happens then? According to Vickers, the problem is that many organizations do not know how to deal with this issue. "Commitment", in fact, can be seen as an unclear term that is so difficult to measure as to inculcate. Still, the author argues that there are several practical things that can be carried out to increase that commitment.

Culture and leadership

What the survey shows the Vickers referred to is that companies in which there is a higher percentage of workers involved are different from those where this percentage is lower in strategic areas that have actively promoted it. It also suggests that one of the best ways of strengthening it is to make sure that managers, including immediate supervisors are adequately trained in this area. In fact, a good relationship between employee and supervisor is seen as the main lever for which the worker agrees.

Still, most managers fail in this area. Less than a third (29%) of respondents to that survey said their officers were carrying out actions in this regard. 79% said their companies should. Only 15% agreed that their managers were well qualified to build commitment among its workforce.

Many leaders and managers must improve their skills. His lack of knowledge is a major barrier to get the employee's commitment. Therefore, companies should train their managers and make them responsible for actively apply their knowledge.

Interestingly, the highest levels of commitment are closely linked to good market performance (earnings growth, customer satisfaction, profitability ...)

Learning Culture

On the other hand, the article says, companies with more engaged employees rely on communities of practice drive or extending the powers of its employees. In short, they put emphasis on what can be termed "learning culture."

By contrast, organizations with lower levels of commitment does not take actions to avoid it, show ultimately passive. Moreover, when they have financial difficulties, many managers are tempted to overlook this issue for a second term.

It is true, on the other hand, stressful working conditions are an almost insurmountable barrier to generate commitment among workers. A third of respondents in the study referred Vickers said that such conditions inhibited to commit. These situations are not seen, however, as a major impediment in comparison with the fact that we mentioned before, ie, lack of skills (or interest) between management

Vickers argues, finally, that the commitment levels can be increased even in bad times, in which organizations can address and make the right decisions. A high level of commitment is linked to an improvement in customer service, improved productivity, is, in short, "healthy."

The future of HR: Key Challenges for 2015

According to a study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group in conjunction with the European Association for Personnel Management under the name "The Future of HR: Key Challenges for 2015," Talent management is the great challenge of European firms for the year 2015. Obviously not the only challenge.

Among the 17 items considered, five emerged as more important in coming years. According to officials of this study, these five themes also represent gaps that human resource departments of European companies have today.



1. Talent management

It is about a shortage of talent, and companies will have to take some steps to address that shortage. To exploit all sources of highly qualified professionals, HR departments should be used to find new talent anywhere in the world. Also be obliged to ensure that their offerings meet the needs and aspirations of different ethnic groups and nationalities, women and older workers.

2. Population management

With the aging workforce in Western Europe, European companies must mitigate two risks: the loss of capacity and knowledge as workers retire and lost productivity as the workforce ages.

To solve these problems, the report recommends that companies introduce a family working structure to lower the average risk population and to identify specific initiatives to recruit new employees.

3. A learning organization

Another of the challenges that will face companies 2015 is the training of their employees. Specifically, human resources departments will have to train their workers to enable them to cope with the speed and complexity of the global economy.

However, spending on training programs will not result in an automatic increase in productivity. HR executives will have to assess very well the ROI they expect to achieve with the training programs to achieve tangible results.

4. Management of work-life balance

While the boundaries between public life and private life are blurred, workers tend to choose their new jobs on the basis that the balance between their professional and private lives is the most appropriate. To "catch" and retain highly qualified talent, companies have no choice but to relax the conditions of employment of its workers.

5. Change Management

Predictably, the companies will be recruiting more workers from different countries and cultures or new markets quickly. Change management becomes an essential capability of enterprises. The survey shows that executives expect their companies to be able to develop tools and methodologies to help them communicate to employees the need to address this new multicultural horizon.

Making decisions is a great effort

Executive function is exhausted after the difficult decisions.

The so-called executive function is actually a set of subfunctions cognitive skills including concentration when performing a task, decision-making, short-term memory and inhibitory control. It is therefore a core function of many regulatory and other various mental activities and plays an important role in reasoning ability, hata the extent that is necessary to take into account in any attempt at evaluation or measurement of intelligence, as evidenced research published in 2007 in the journal Child Development.

The effort involved in these processes, the job of keeping the mind alert in case of concentration, not to distract us from the object we have to focus, or the need to not give in to the temptations of the worst option in the case of decision-making, and this effort is to turn a tired and a depletion of executive function, just as weight lifting muscles tired and exhausted arms.





Important decisions

He describes a collaboration of Amir On in Scientific American: Tough choices: making decisions tired your brain. To better understand executive function as a construct that underlies the decision-making on matters that may not have anything to do with each other, the author proposes the illustrative example of someone who discusses the options somewhat irrelevant or not eating a cookie .

Later, that same person has to take a decision more important, relative to a completely different area and will affect very relevant to your life, as is the choice between two possible jobs that have been offered. Well, that decision may be affected by the earlier efforts on the issue of the cookie, since the effects of such efforts are persistent and may have exhausted the instrument-executive function, which now is required to make a decision transcendent.

The fact that the decision merely tired and even exhausted executive function, and it has an effect on subsequent cognitive tasks, seems confirmed by the research and field studies conducted by psychologist at the University of Minnesota Kathleen Vohs and colleagues .

In one of them, for example, some students took to the mall, where they were making purchasing choices. Subsequently were given the simple algebraic problem solving, and students who had made a greater number of choices at the mall had a considerably more difficult to solve.

Mental exhaustion

The decision-making process includes, among other things, the consideration of different options, the sacrifice of the advantages of one of them in exchange for what it offers the other, the transition from one state to another mental evaluative decision-making, and are these mental activities that require effort that ends up straining to executive function.

Especially stressful, as the findings of a parallel study conducted by Nathan Novemsky professor at Yale University and colleagues, is facing the need to sacrifice something to make other, and here it should be noted that the greater similarity maintain between If the different options that you need to choose, it is more strenuous efforts.

Another study, published by the psychologist at the University of Maryland Anastasiya Pocheptsova and colleagues in 2007, also confirms the effects of tiredness and fatigue on executive function, in this case by experiments on concentration and attention regulation, which also require the use of it. Subjects with the tired brain for this activity took the worst decisions in the matters put to them later.

Cognitive tools

On the other hand, many of the tests and tests used in this type of research, also serve to assess the extent to which the performance of certain cognitive activities tired, fatigued or exhausted at the "muscle" brain, can also be used as training for same, as noted by Clancy Blair, associate professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Pennsylvania State University, and author of the first of the studies cited in this article.

All these results and conclusions are extremely relevant, because executive function is something that we continuously throughout the day. They can challenge the idea that the multi-functionality in the workplace increases productivity, because only the transition time between them and other tasks by an employee would rather low, especially when it comes to complex tasks. This aspect has been investigated.

They are also clear implications of the same in many other areas (including economic) of our lives and take account of these studies and their findings may help at least identify when it is not a good time to take an important decision. For example, after having been assessing the advisability of eating or not a cookie.

40% of executives who are promoted perform less

Over 40% of managers pay less if they change their position or role within the company. However, according to a study conducted by the Corporate Executive Board, these managers can succeed if they manage clearly what they call "the paradox of success quickly."

In the business world today, the pressure for new managers to produce a quick contribution is enormous. According to a survey of more than 5,400 new officers, 40% of them pay less or worse when they are in full transition to a new position, affecting the productivity of nearly half the workforce of an organization in a year.

These managers were asked about what they were focusing on, what behaviors exhibited and how they fared in their first month of work. They were also asked to rate the performance of their teams. The result has been a series of patterns that distinguish managers who thrive in his new position of those who do not.




Although this study has shown that getting a "quick win" is perceived as critical, managers who achieve a "victory" in his new post early are more likely to "derail" in the future. Fall into what the study calls "the paradox of success quickly."

According to an article in Harvard Business Review, the most common behavior associated with the failure of the new position is the tendency to choke at the minute. In this carreblankra unbridled success, the manager seeks to highlight a component of his new job. By putting the focus so intently on a single purpose, neglects broader responsibilities.

These managers feel the urgency to prove their worth to their new roles, they can succeed, but lost in destructive behaviors, such as focusing too much detail, react negatively to criticism or jump to conclusions. These behaviors undermine their long-term success at his new job.


Collective work

CEB's research shows that the best managers avoid the risk of paying little success trying to get that fast collectively, and not their own risk. These managers work with your team to achieve immediate results. To do this, managing change or help the people in your team to thrive within the organization.

The pattern of those to succeed in his new position agrees on one thing: his ability to manage change. As new leaders, want things to move, but also understand that as a result of its rise, its new teams have to deal with change, like himself. The study of CEB believes that the transitional stages are not just the manager, but organizations as a whole. Organizations, he says, have to invest in leadership development.

To help new managers to successfully overcome the paradox of rapid success, companies must redefine their expectations for immediate success. Recognizing the uncertainty in these transition periods for these managers and their teams, companies should develop their capacity for change, make it possible for the loyalty of those working with management in pursuit of that success desirable.

The key, says the report, be realistic. Both the one hand as the other. Managers must know their limitations. Companies, meanwhile, should define reasonable goals and make sure the person knows blindly promoted the work that has to play.

Training and coaching

In this sense, training and coaching play a very prominent place. The transition process should not begin when the new manager takes his new post, if not earlier. Then there should be a support phase in which the manager would have to handle more detailed information about how the company is from that new position.

On the other hand, is key to detect failures at the same time taking place, and finish them sooner. The cost for a company that has a manager who performs below its potential is enormous.

A few months ago, the magazine Tendencias 21 contained a study of the Instituto of Executive Development which claimed that a third of managers who change employers have the feeling that they have not met expectations two years after recruitment.

Then the 150 managers interviewed considered that the average time to acclimate to the new position takes between 6 and 9 months. According to the authors of the study, companies devote resources to facilitate this transition that does not serve much of anything. Other actions, such as coaching, which have a high effectiveness rate (42%).

New ... "Leadership?

During periods of crisis can assess many factors that change according to the nature of the crisis conditions, and become that make the management decisions of the present and the future.

One factor is the behavior of managers of companies, which currently are under great pressure and have to make decisions that will determine the future of their employees, their organizations and society in general.

The new global survey by McKinsey & Company, called "Leadership Through the Crisis and After" (The leadership during the crisis and after), investigated the way in which individual leaders are leading and the changes that their styles of leadership have suffered during the economic crisis.

The study found that executives actually have significantly changed their styles of leadership during the past year, with the exception of their views on the aspects that can help companies in the long term, and also revealed that many of the styles leadership is most needed at present and in the future, like having inspirational leaders and have a clear direction for the company, are used more by women than by men.

Leaders without much leadership


The global survey emphasizes the positive in the majority of participants said they had not cut into programs for recruitment, retention and development of women, but also states that this is overshadowed by the fact that only one third of respondents consider gender diversity as one of the ten priorities of their companies, as well as relatively few are taking specific actions to promote it.

Moreover, there are some very encouraging figures in the leadership of managers: only 48% of the executives surveyed believe they should inspire and only 46% considered it their responsibility to provide leadership during the crisis. Moreover, these figures drop to 45% and 39%, respectively, if the questions are framed in the form of lead in post-crisis times.

John Baldoni, leadership consultant and author of several books, publishes a Article survey on Harvard Business Publishing, and believes that "A majority of managers just do not understand what it means to be a leader."

And is that only 30% of managers felt they needed to motivate their employees during the crisis, and 23% felt during the post-crisis, only 23% expressed the need for accountability during the crisis, and 18% during the post- crisis, and only 33% of them said they believed that innovation is needed now, while 46% said they believed it was necessary during the post-crisis.

In the words of Balconi, "If a majority of managers do not feel the inspiration and direction are needed to manage corporate performance, and that motivation and accountability are essential, then our companies are in a much worse than the imagined ".

Leadership is more to do to fulfill the tasks

The author of the article explains that the leadership can not be alone in getting things done, because that would have a very short view that the company would not far away, but that this ability to execute must be accompanied by provision for reach the company to achieve the objectives and have the foundation for growth.

Finally, it is important to note that a leader should inspire and be admired, and that inspiration is not about to give the most sophisticated speeches, but set an example and explains Balconi "The word inspiration can be confusing and even overwhelming, for most managers because they can feel that need to be speakers as Winston Churchill or leaders like Colin Powell. No, the inspiration is rooted in the personal example. Managers can inspire employees to put in a position to succeed .... "

The e-learning revolution

The concept of Information Society was created from the central role that was taking the information into the new routines of individuals, companies and countries, driven also by new technologies and the potential of internet and various electronic media.

The e-Learning has become a real and very valuable option for many companies and universities as well as employees and students in the world who have found a way to continue their education costs and saving time and allowing greater flexibility better suit their lifestyles.

To this is added the possibility for people to interact with other cultures and to build web content, which means that there is an enormous wealth of sources and a relatively quick update content.

It is, on the one hand, distance education self-directed, which is one in which there are separate training materials, when the user logs on and is content, materials and assessments, and, second, distance education directed that is where we exploit different tools such as chats, forums and video, and built various learning activities.



estartegia de elearning
In the U.S., for example, according to a study by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the growth of American student incorporating online education exceeds 10% annually.

Save time and money

In times of economic crisis many companies and universities have to cut expenses while working and, therefore, what they should do is get a lot less. The e-Learning becomes easy for the student because it is in their own time and less cost, but at the same time, for companies and universities and that means training and education, respectively, of an easier way for people who are hiring and receiving throughout the year, virtually without removing them from their jobs or their country of residence.

On one side are the universities, who are increasingly migrating towards providing most of its distance learning programs and even have races now face that have online activities, and, secondly, there are enterprises in which there are different forms of e-Learning as the company's own content that are closed to the public and administered by human resources, continuing professional development of employees, and courses of welfare for workers and their families.

He explained to Tendencias21 Bodil Maul, manager of corporate accounts Netting Solutions with extensive experience in implementing e-Learning solutions for multinational companies, "Today, many multinationals have e-Learning programs as part of its training strategy and some have their own platforms (LMS) and content developed internally and others choose to outsourcing. "

Ninette Gaxiola, corporate education coordinator Netting Solutions company that provides solutions for audiences in Latin America, North America and Europe, said in turn to Tendencias21: "The e-Learning, understood as the possibility of incorporating new information technologies and communication in the processes of production, transmission and management of knowledge gives us the opportunity to perform this task in a more effective, cost effective and tailored to the needs of a society in which 2.0 technology allows us to cooperate actively. It is not only to make available to staff online courses, but to identify and build, with the support of experts, the strategy that meets the needs of each group integrating the most useful technological elements for each goal and each occasion. "

"Something fundamental is to have a strategy that you know exactly why you want to use this medium of education and training, and, likewise, have clear metrics to evaluate their impact on the organization and its users," says Maul.

The mobile world

And is that e-Learning is part of a set of technologies, media, tools and strategies in today's world, a "mobile world" in which people are "on the go, do not stop, but continue their work from wherever they are. Many large companies globally accepted and even offer their employees the option of working from home, and expected everything to be faster and more efficient, no matter where or how.

Keep in mind that a large variety of these electronic tools not only work on computers, but also from mobile devices, which really makes many people to access them and can work in their training from the most unexpected places.

Today, people want flexibility and speed, you have the option to bring all its business at the leading lifestyle, work and take advantage of free time while traveling, and being able to simultaneously combine personal and educational activities that contribute to the improvement.

In short, there are many choices you have those who really are willing to learn without being affected daily activities and free time. It's a moving world where more and less important where, when and how.

Age is not an obstacle to undertake

Over 30% of the Initiative in Spain entre Came From entrepreneurs aged 40 and 55. The Reasons? Layoffs, INCREASED revenue or Fulfill a dream.

The entrepreneurial business Whose primary Initiatives WAS entre 40 and 55 years account for 30.7% of total entrepreneurial activity in Spain in 2007, According To the GEM report made in this country and Coordinated by the Instituto de Empresa Business School, Which Analyzes the situation of entrepreneurship .

The Reasons for embarking on a business Are Not very variedBut age is an obstacle to Become your own boss. "There Comes a Time When You Are thinking of how you see yourself in a while. And if you feel Able and willing, you rush to build your business. It's now or never," says Miguel Angel Oroquieta, deputy director of franchise consultancy Tormo & Associates.

Specifically, 76.6% of entrepreneurs Survey for the GEM 2007 Report Decided to launch your company to exploit a business opportunity, According To an article published by the Spanish half and Employment Expansion.

Of These, 21% did so to raise more revenue and 28% to Be Independently working. Those Who are self-employed out of Necessity, Ie, Because no alternative employment screening, account for 15%.

"It's a decision That May Come derived by a layoff or Because this is When the entrepreneur is sufficiently preparedWith experience and solvent to create His own company," Said Patricio Rodríguez-Carmona, president of the Spanish Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs Association (AJE Confederation) .

Thus, embarking on a venture That age Become an option for the future alternative to Dismissal, early retirement or Simply to realize the entrepreneur Who Carries Within, as Emphasize Expansion and Employment.

Forced entrepreneurs
However, Paco Alvarez, consultant Incyde Foundation of the Chambers of Commerce, and Suggests That goes weitere people with 50 years Decided to start a business Are entrepreneurial work.

"On one hand, we find the negative side, it is fired and the person Who Have to start from scratch and convert. And the Other part is positive, What Is Called management buy out (MBO) ie People Who Leave Their Company Because They Because You Are Not comfortable or the company failed, and Decided to create a business similar to Them That employed. "The Latte Have the Capacity, experience, a project, But Lack of capital, According To Alvarez.

The financial situation to undertaker Better or Worse depends largely on age Not. Expansion slogan. "The Economic Situation of These People is Not Disastrous, But the important thing is how much and how much You Have You Can borrow," Recommends Oroquieta.

In Any case "requires a Substantial Financial backing to Succeed s, such as micro-credit lines, loans, grants or subsidies," Said Rodriguez-Carmona. However, Alvarez, president of the Spanish Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Madrid (ASEM), Advises Having a good business plan: "More than Funding, it is important to know What you like, What is Needed and how much it costs."

Labels: Entrepreneur, General Information, Human Resources