How Can Companies take Advantage of an Economic Downturn

Could there possibly be any bright spots to the current economic downturn? In my opinion companies that have been fiscally responsible and have positioned their businesses to be in a solid cash position and to continue to post good results will emerge as next generation power houses within their industry. Of course, this will greatly depend on their ability to successfully navigate the the remainder of the recession while providing excellent customer service to their customers. Industries that have had multiple competitors prior to the "great" recession could eventually have just a handful or in some cases be the lone survivor and be well positioned to become an industry leader. Much will depend on businesses having a clear understanding of how their industries are changing specifically to accommodate the ever rapidly changing needs of their customers.

Companies define their industries very differently. While our business operates within the employment sector of the economy, we do not see all employment-related businesses as competitors. Even with our job board businesses, we do not view all job boards as our direct competition. In many cases job boards work collaboratively and can help each other by working together to provide a better experience for the end user. I am of the opinion that the more niche a business becomes the better positioned that business will be to enjoy long-term success. This is especially true due to the fact that the more targeted the business, the closer the business will be to their customer. We have learned this lesson well with the expansion of our business into both the healthcare and trucking industries with our portals HealthCareerWeb.com and CareersinGear.com.

Many facets of our business have changed over the last twelve months. One such change has been the fast-growing number of online users that are building a large audience when combined with our national print recruitment magazines. Not all job seekers are online. Many job seekers, especially in the hourly sector, still rely on print products to find their next job. While there is no doubting that the online audience is growing quickly, the same could be said of print. Just as online audiences are growing, so are pick-up rates. If employers want to reach the entire job seeker market, they still need to use the total recruitment solution of print and online.

Post-recession recruitment is going to look much different than it does today. Smart businesses will take advantage of the surplus talent on the market today to position their business well for continued innovation and growth in the future. If you could replace the 25% poorest performing employees on your staff with employees that possess the same skill set as your top performing 25%, would you do it? Of course you would. In the past could you do it? Highly unlikely. This is not necessarily true today. There are very talented individuals in the market for a new opportunity today. Businesses/employers would be wise to take advantage of the opportunity to make this a reality. My advice is to not simply go into an across-the-board cost-cutting mode. My advice is to cut the excess where possible, add increased talent, position your best people against your biggest opportunities, and invest in growing your market share and number of customers as your competition is either hanging on for their life or is only focused on self-preservation.

What kind of moves are you making to position your business or yourself to emerge from the recession in a more successful market position or capacity?

Time to Work on Plan B

Weekly initial jobless claims continue their rise, overall unemployment stays flat to last month, Congress just passed the "bailout" which the President has signed, so now what?

I have heard the statement "From Wall Street to Main Street" many times recently on the local and national news when reporters or "experts" are referring to the current economic crises. Just because we have an economic rescue package does not mean that the economy is going to quickly turn around. It is going to take a while for the impact of this economic "bailout" to help aid the economy. The main purpose is that it will remove the "toxic" assets from banks' balance sheets so they can start to lend money to other banks (at lower rates than the recent record high rates), small businesses (many that use short-term loans to make payroll) and ultimately to consumers. These economic crises took a while to develop. I was emailed an article this week by a senior manager in our organization that was from the New York Times in September of 1999 that reads as though the author of the article has channeled Nostradamus' predictive powers. In the article reporter Steven A. Holmes wrote, "Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits." Later in the article he declares, "In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's." Maybe I could call Mr. Holmes to find out when my beloved St. Louis Rams will win their first game!

Congress has taken a positive step in aiding the prospect of financial recovery, although it will be a while before we start to see the effects of the bailout make its way down to "Main Street." Congress should continue to work to find additional ways to help those on "Main Street." I read an advertisement in the Wall Street Journal today that was a letter from the CEO of Interactive Brokers Group, Thomas Peterffy, in which Mr. Peterffy recommended that the "bailout" be "fixed" so it would simply pay the first $250 of every home owner's mortgage in the US for the next five years (at a cost of about $10 billion monthly). I find this idea very intriguing. You would think that it should have at least hit the radar screen of CNN or Fox News? In the advertisement Mr. Peterffy points out that his idea is "progressive" and would cover a larger portion of the mortgages for those with "modest homes" verses high-dollar estates. Maybe Congress will be wise enough to continue to work on this issue and develop contingency plans in case our economy continues to slip, even in the face of passage of the "bailout." Let's hope we do not have to go there, but it would be refreshing, reassuring, if we knew that Congress was hoping for the best but planning for the worst. Plans such as that put forward by Mr. Peterffy need to be examined and considered when it comes to putting together the proverbial Plan B.

How do you feel about the "bailout" package, and do you see it as a positive or negative move by our leaders in Washington?

Two Steps Back

I am sure you have heard the old saying, "One step forward and two steps back." That is, in my opinion, what the United States economy has been doing over the last several months. It seems as though we start to witness improvements that create enthusiasm that our economy is showing signs of beginning to pull out of the downturn, and then... Wham!, more poor economic news such as last week’s release of the “Employment Situation,” which reported the national unemployment rate at a new high of 6.1%, on the heels of the most recent initial jobless claims report, which spiked back up to 444,000 (although all of the labor news wasn't bad given that in healthcare we have added 367,000 jobs year-to-date). Another good indication of how fast economic sentiment is changing is the fact that all last month experts focused on inflation, and now their concern has changed to deflation. So what are today's headlines, and how will today's changes impact on our economy, good or bad?

Today's headlines are all about the Fed bailing out mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Is this good or bad? Wall Street liked the news early as stocks rallied. Most of the articles I have read indicate that this will lead to lower interest rates for would-be homeowners. It would be even better news if it means that folks who are in a tough position given that their short-term rates have adjusted higher could refinance and stay in their homes. Unfortunately for these individuals, the lower rates are going to come with a much higher scrutiny over credit ratings, etc. There is also good news in the fact that folks who are currently living with an adjustable rate, interest only, etc., kind of mortgage who have maintained good standing and have not missed any payments will be able to capitalize on this move by the Fed to lock in a low, fixed rate. If you are in this position be ready to strike once the impact makes its way through your financial institution.

Could this move be the first step in solving the housing crisis after last week's report of foreclosures being at an all-time high? Not yet. It is going to take much, much more to recover, but as I mentioned earlier in this article, it was once again time for the "one step forward" after taking "two steps back" last week.

I personally think that lower interest rates will spur the purchasing of both new and existing homes. Yes, I said it, and, yes, I am an optimist at heart. Even with the high unemployment rate, there is still a group of would-be first-time home buyers that have been waiting for the perfect time to step into the wonderful world of home ownership. I also believe that there is another group, one that is focused on investing, who will also take advantage of the lower rates to scoop a deal on a second home or vacation rental to pad their portfolio with good tax advantages in planning for their future. If both of these scenarios come to fruition, it will be a nice "step forward" again for the economy which could even extend into the labor economy.

Keep a close eye on mortgage rates if you are a potential first-timer, or if you are in the market to refinance. All of the articles I have been reading foresee the 30-year fixed dropping below 5.5%. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

What kind of impact do you foresee the Fed's move to take over the mortgage giants having on your local economy and local labor situation?

Boomer... Wiser Worker

There has been a lot written over the last year about the emerging need among employers to tap into older workers as a resource to fill positions that require skilled labor. You do not have to look beyond the Boomer generation to understand this phenomenon. The Boomers, who represent the largest generation, are beginning to exit the workforce. Boomers are folks that were born between 1946 and 1964. They represent the most populous generation in the United State's history. When they begin leaving the workforce in masses, they are going to leave a big void in the workforce, and we are all going to feel it. Even in the face of a recession, it would be wise for employers who have or anticipate having a need for skilled labor to start figuring out how to tap into the Boomer generation. The Boomer generation has greatly influenced our culture and will end up being the generation that redefines what retirement means in America.

Okay, so we know this need is coming. So how can employers begin to tap into this valuable, skilled labor force. First of all you have to know what is important to the folks you are trying to recruit. For Boomers this is increasingly not monetary. Priorities for many of these folks are based on flexible work schedules, quality of life, being able to maintain benefits, etc. Many of these individuals will only want to work part-time. That being said, you can also expect that they will only be working in jobs or fields that they enjoy.

How would you define an older worker? Is it someone 40 or older? Does someone become an older worker at 50? One third of the workforce in America will be 50 or older by 2010. How about 55? Share your feedback with me via a comment. I have read that 50 is the new 40 and that 40 is the new 30. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects individuals 40 years of age or older from age discrimination. If the Fed recognizes that age discrimination begins at the age of 40, is that the age by which companies should gauge their older worker recruitment strategies? If 50 is the new 40, maybe Uncle Sam needs to update this bit of legislation.

We at The Employment Guide invite you to check out our newest job board designed for the "Boomer" or "Wiser Worker." Despite the fact that this demographic represents the fastest growing segment of online users, there are only a few other job boards out there as of today that target this valuable audience. We invite you to check out our latest offering http://www.wiserworker.com/ which is live for indexing purposes but has yet to officially launch to the masses (that is coming shortly). Be sure to let us know what you think. Thanks!

The New EmploymentGuide.com

Mark your calendars.

On February 23rd we will proudly present...

· Increased Usability
· Streamlined Application Process
· Video, Video, Video
· Local, Local, Local

Got the point?

Want to know more?

Be sure to tune in!

EmploymentGuide.com

What's New No. 2

So what else is going on at The EG that is new and exciting in addition to the recent introduction of video? Over the course of the later half of 2007, our talented product development team and programmers went to work on constructing a new solution for recruiters in the health care industry. Breaking from the platform of traditional job boards, our team, after researching the industry, decided to incorporate a social networking component into our new site. It was clear that people in the health care industry needed their own community online; therefore, we introduced our social networking section of the new HealthCareerWeb.com called, "MedCom."

After the soft launch of the site at the end of 2007, we started to see an influx of medical professionals starting to find their new networking space. As we near the hard launch date, more than 2,000 individuals have already created networking profiles in addition to uploading resumes and actively applying for jobs. We are also very excited to have Denise Tanner leading our HealthCareerWeb.com efforts in the capacity of business development manager. Denise has professional experience within the health care industry and has a great understanding on how to best position our products to meet the needs of both job seekers and recruiters. Denise has already contributed greatly to our efforts in preparing HealthCareerWeb.com for the upcoming hard launch.

At the rate new jobs are being created in the health care industry, we understand the importance of developing a product that can readily meet the needs of the industry. The aging population in the United States is the primary reason for the increasing health care hiring bubble, and when an economic trend is demographically supported, it typically come to fruition.

A large part of our motivation in developing this new product is to meet the needs of our customers (job seekers and recruiters within the health care industry). Another large part of our motivation is to be a partner in proactively meeting the health care needs of the aging population base within the United States. We have a large group of hourly job seekers that utilize our products and services that represent a great base for educational programs to tap into in order to re-career individuals for new careers in health care. As manufacturing jobs, construction jobs, etc., are on the decline, there are great opportunities for individuals within these respective professions to embark on a new rewarding career within health care.

We are very excited about our newest product offering! A special thanks goes out to all of the individuals who worked together to pave the way for our newest offering, HealthCareerWeb.com.

Our Strengths

I was recently forwarded a couple of links to comments on a competitor's blog that referred to our organization in a negative fashion. When you are the leader in your industry, you are going to be criticized, especially by your competition. If you were not the leader, you probably would not have anyone making any comments about your business because no one would really care that much. Being out in front of your competition means that you are the one with the target on your back. It is obvious, however, that if your business does not have a lot of strengths or positives things going on, your only way to attempt to build value in the eyes of prospects or to garner attention is to speak poorly of your competition. When secondary businesses within industries try to use this approach, clients either quickly lose interest in their message or are quick to identify a fleeting effort by a struggling business to nip at the heals of an industry leader.



I have always advocated and will continue to advocate taking the high road when it comes to addressing questions or speaking directly about our competition. As a business, we teach our folks to focus on talking about our strengths. Conducting a thorough needs analysis with a client or prospect will uncover specific requirements to which we can match the features we offer as a business (our strengths). This will result in our being able to quickly ascertain and then satisfy those needs to the benefit of that prospect or client. This approach followed by quality customer service has proven to be a recipe for success over the last ten years. We entered this industry with the approach of being a long-term recruitment solution partner for employers within each of the local 77 markets that we serve with print, online and job fair solutions. Ten years from now our products will have changed because the need of the job seeker and employer will change, but our purpose and focus to meet the ongoing needs of our clients (both job seekers and employers) will remain constant and our passion. As products continue to quickly change via emerging electronic media recruitment solutions, our approach of being focused on meeting our customers needs of today and tomorrow will remain the foundation for our success. We will make this a reality through the combination of quality products in the form of online, print and job fair recruitment solutions. (Did you know that The Employment Guide conducted its 1,000th job fair earlier this year?)



"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." -T. Jefferson



My advice is to always position your business based on your strengths. Know your competition and address questions as they come up while having conversations with your customers or prospects in a way that once again allows you to focus on the value proposition your organization brings to the table in meeting their needs. This is always a combination for success. Who wants to spend time talking about their competition? Especially by name! Leave their branding efforts up to their marketing department. Quite frankly, if you find yourself talking negatively about your competition, it might just mean that you don't have a whole lot of positive things to say about your own business or organization.



"A leader is one who sees more than others see, and who sees before others do." -Leroy Eims


How does your staff handle conversations with your customers about your competition?