The Navigator is published by Greg Smith, "Lead Navigator
& Captain" of Chart Your Course International.
"We show businesses how to attract, retain and engage
their workforce."
770-860-9464
http://www.chartcourse.com
http://www.HighRetention.com
http://www.BehaviorProfile.com
See the bottom of this newsletter about your subscription.
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PERSONAL NOTE FROM THE CAPTAIN
The approaching signs of the fall season are starting to show
here in my hometown of Conyers, Georgia. I enjoy watching
the leaves change colors. The bad part of the process is
someone has to rake them up. Oh well!
The next two weeks are really hectic with several speaking
engagements and training programs in San Antonio and
Raleigh, NC. While in San Antonio, I will also get to play
golf with my old Army buddies.
I am excited to announce I am co-authoring a new book
with a working title called, "Proven Recruitment and Retention
Strategies for Top Nurses." My co-author is Kathy Lumpkins, RN
who has responsibility for recruitment and retention at Emory
University. We are looking for contributors. If you have ideas,
suggestions, best practices or tips on nurse retention and recruitment,
please let us know or go to this link on our website. All accepted
contributions will receive a copy of the book once completed.
http://www.chartcourse.com/nurse_retention.html
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EDUCATION ASSISTANCE
64% of HR professionals said their organizations offer education
assistance benefits for undergraduate and graduate study.
Another 6 percent said their organizations offer assistance
for undergraduate study only, and 3 percent indicated their
organizations plan to offer education assistance benefits
during 2008.
Source: Society for Human Resource Management's Weekly
Online Survey on education assistance, March 2007.
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AVOIDING FLAME OUTS: WORKLIFE BALANCE
Proof of the importance of flexibility can be seen in a story
from consulting firm Ernst & Young. Not long ago, they
were battling very high turnover. Of its 34,000 professionals,
23 percent of its women and 18 percent of its men left each
year. Many of these departures, which cost thousands of
dollars to fill, were blamed on the struggle to balance work
and home life. Since more women than men quit every year,
the struggle was assumed to be a "woman's issue."
To combat the problem, the company formed solution teams
to evaluate and question Ernst & Young's work culture. Teams
quickly discovered unwritten rules demanded employees work
weekends, stay late, and check e-mail on vacations—demands
impacting the life-balance equation for all employees, not
just women. Demanding work schedules caused frustration
and marriage difficulties especially when professionals were
married to professionals.
To get a handle on the situation, Ernst & Young created and staffed
an Office of Retention to improve the worklife of all employees.
Next, it put together a steering team to tackle the problem. During
initial brainstorming, the team debated opening a day-care center.
Some thought this was only a "band-aid" approach. Further
discussion yielded three key changes:
1) People were allowed to telecommute.
2) Leaders were asked to set the example by working the same
reasonable schedules and not working weekends, staying late.
3) An evaluation and feedback process was launched.
In addition, every day was declared casual day, and employees
were told not to check voice and e-mail while on vacation.
While these changes sound minor, they had a major impact
on the demanding work culture at Ernst and Young. Estimates
show retention improved by 15 percentage points in offices
located at Palo Alto and San Jose.
Ernst & Young's experience proved a point I've seen again
and again in my many years as a management consultant.
Yes, pay and benefits are important. But for some people,
family friendly benefits, worklife balance, and job flexibility are
just as important, if not more so, than the money they make.
Ernst and Young is listed #57 on the "Top 100 Best
Companies to Work For" in 2008.
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UPCOMING TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
HOW TO ATTRACT, ENGAGE AND RETAIN YOUR WORKFORCE
Thursday, October 9, 2008
3:00-4:30 p.m. EST (Atlanta time)
90 minutes/$149 per person
Register Online or call 770-860-9464
No matter what direction the economy is going -- you can't
afford NOT to have a great place to work. Learn how to attract,
retain, and engage your workforce. Discover the groundwork
that builds employee motivation, increases productivity, and
gives people PRIDE in what they do. This session will show
managers, business owners, and human resource professionals
not only how to retain and motivate their most talented
performers, but also how to transform your workplace into
a high-retention culture—saving organizations countless
thousands of dollars. This session is jam packed with tips,
ideas, and easy-to-implement advice for creating a great place to work.
We will provide both healthcare and non-healthcare examples
http://www.chartcourse.com/teleseminar_retention.html
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FEATURED WEBSITE
There is a really cool company called Graffiti Zoo not far from
my office. If you like chocolate, you will love this company.
They make everything at their kitchen and ship worldwide.
Next time you have a craving for Pink Flamingos, check
them out.
www.graffitizoo.com
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FAT FRIDAY
Just about everybody loves to eat, right? At Texas A & M
the first Friday of each month is celebration time. Everyone
brings food to share, and they celebrate birthdays for that
month as well as work anniversaries. Surprise Celebrations
Often it's the unexpected and informal that employees enjoy
as much as formal awards. Conduct frequent, unannounced
recognition and award celebrations, such as having a
pizza party. If you don't know of a reason to have a
get-together for the work force, invent one.
Source: TNT: Dynamic Ideas to Reward, Energize and
Motivate Your Teams
http://www.chartcourse.com/employee-recognition-tnt.html
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ONLINE ASSESSMENT CENTER
BehaviorProfile.com is one of our websites dedicated to a
host of online assessments including the ones listed below.
There are assessments customized for key industries
such as healthcare, banking, and call centers. Take time to
see what is available for your talent management needs.
-Sales
-360 Feedback
-Pre-hiring
-Integrity/honesty
-Customer surveys
-Job benchmarking
-Leadership
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FORWARD TO YOUR FRIENDS
If you find our information interesting, please
send it to your friends. The Navigator newsletter is
received by over 27,000 subscribers in 49 countries.
Click here to join the Navigator
http://www.chartcourse.com/emailnavnews.htm
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Copyright 2008, CYC International
This publication and the Navigator Newsletter
is provided by Chart Your Course International.
Published by Greg Smith
Chart Your Course International Inc.
Phone: 770-860-9464/800-821-2487
Address: 2814 Hwy 212, Conyers, GA. 30094
Sign-up for Greg's Navigator Newsletter by visiting
http://www.chartcourse.com/emailnavnews.htm
To unsubscribe go:
http://www.chartcourse.com/navigator-unsubscribe.html
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