2012
New interview with Laurie Bassi
World HR Net recently interviewed Good Company co-author Laurie Bassi about the origins of Good Company, measurement of human capital, employee productivity, and much more.
You can read the full interview here.
2012
Yes, it does pay to be good
If you remain unconvinced by our evidence that the “good guys” finish first, the beating that Wal Mart is currently taking should push you a little closer to that point of view.
My rough calculations indicate that the New York Times’ recent exposé on Wal Mart’s cover up of corrupt activities in its Mexico division has cost its shareholders over $19 billion in the last few days (which doesn’t even include losses from Wal Mart de Mexico, which trades separately).
Combine that with the $2 billion loss that Goldman Sachs’ shareholders incurred in the immediate aftermath of Greg Smith’s op ed piece on “Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs” and the ongoing loss that BP’s shareholders have incurred relative to the industry following the Gulf of Mexico disaster, and the picture seems pretty clear.
Greedy behavior is being severely punished, and by default, good behavior has its just rewards.
2012
Who knew my matchmaking would lead to the Workforce Educational Organization?
There’s a new professional group on the scene, and I’m proud to say I played a small part in its arrival.
The group, the Workforce Educational Organization, is focused on the smart use of scheduling software and other workforce management tools. I’m hopeful the WEO will do good things for both employers and employees. So I’m glad I figured into its origins.
Even that modest phrasing, though, risks giving me too much credit. All I did was connect a couple of people passionate about people management.
The back story: several years ago I wrote a story about sophisticated scheduling applications, including the way companies could take the tools too far. That is, they could try to match staffing levels so closely to customer demand or profitability that they gave workers highly variable schedules and even sent employees home midshift. This causes havoc in personal lives and leads to high turnover and absenteeism—which ultimately bites companies in the bottom line.
One of my major sources was Susan Lambert, a professor at the University of Chicago who has examined the hidden costs of just-in-time scheduling. Another source was Lisa Disselkamp, a business consultant who has specialized in workforce management technology. In the wake of the story, Disselkamp asked me for research about hourly workers in the retail field. I suggested she contact Lambert.
I didn’t realize then that this referral would lead to a lot of promising collaboration. Disselkamp went on to spearhead the formation of the WEO, making Lambert the head of its academic advisory council.
The WEO, as we discuss in our upcoming May cover story for Workforce Management magazine, opened its doors last year and is launching a new professional certification next year. Industry groups and technology credentials are widespread. But unlike some professional groups related to people management, the WEO is making employee concerns central. Lambert is writing parts of the book that will serve as the basis of the organization’s new Workforce Asset Management Professional certification. The WEO also has been in talks with the U.S. Labor Department and plans to reach out to organized labor.
Let me state for the record that I have no financial stake in the WEO, nor do I have any official role in the organization.
But to me, the WEO is a good example of an all-win approach. Workforce management professionals improve their skills and knowledge; companies get more value out of their software; vendors get happier customers; scholars get a chance to affect the real world of work; and workers get schedules that work for them. We need more business and professional organizations with this sort of inclusive vision.
So I’m proud of my little matchmaking contribution to the WEO. May it go on to do big things.
A version of this post originally appeared at Ed’s Work in Progress blog at Workforce.com.
2012
Three things you must get right to be a good employer
I just posted a blog over at ASTD.org discussing the three things we describe in the book that your organization MUST get right in order to be a good employer.
2012
Proposed human capital reporting standard released
Are you an investor who’d like more (and better and more comparable) information about companies as employers? You may indeed have more to chew on in the coming years.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Investor Metrics Working Group has released a proposed voluntary standard for what information publicly-traded companies should release about their human capital. It is now open for public comment.
Good Company co-author and McBassi & Company CEO Laurie Bassi is chair of the workgroup, and discussed the standard in an article on CFO.com.