U.S. revises hiring numbers: 453,000 more jobs added in third year of recovery

The nation probably created 20 percent more jobs in the economy’s third year of recovery than previously estimated, with businesses hiring nearly half a million more workers than earlier thought.

In its latest employment revision, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday that the economy added 386,000 more jobs than its earlier estimate, bringing total hiring from April 2011 through March 2012 to 2.3 million. The private sector added more than 453,000 jobs, the report said.

In the previous calculation, based on a survey of businesses and government offices, the government said the economy had added 1.9 million jobs. The latest revision comes after the agency conducted a routine and more-thorough analysis based on far more detailed data.

Read the full story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/us-revises-hiring-numbers-businesses-added-453k-more-jobs-in-third-year-of-recovery/2012/09/27/d2c7e29a-08bf-11e2-a10c-fa5a255a9258_story.html

Why culture is more important than strategy

It can be tempting for businesses to over-emphasise the focus on strategy whilst inadvertently underplaying the power of culture. I would argue that culture is in fact more important than strategy. Culture is all about the psychology, actions and beliefs of a group of people.

I believe there are two definitions of the kind of culture that creates momentum for any business. The first one is that "culture is what happens when the CEO leaves the room". The second definition is "the way we get things done around here." It is all about the attitude of those working for your company. The most important thing about culture is that it's the only sustainable point of difference for any organisation. Anyone can copy your strategy, but nobody can copy your culture. So why would you leave it untended?

Read the full story:

http://www.management-issues.com/2012/9/20/opinion/why-culture-is-more-important-than-strategy.asp

Top tips from the most engaged workplaces

It’s a high level concept with bottom line consequences, so how are some of Canada’s most engaged workplaces making it work. HRM talked to some of the finalists about why and how they focus on engagement.

Read the full story:

http://www.hrmonline.ca/article/top-tips-from-the-most-engaged-workplaces-124352.aspx

Is it a Mistake to Pick an Employee of the Month?

From NYTimes.com small business blogs

I recently met a management consultant and business author who asked me if I had an “employee of the month” program. I said I did, at which point he reprimanded me for the error of my ways. His argument was that it was a waste of time and was actually counterproductive; only one person wins, and the rest are resentful. My managers and I actually considered that before we started the program, but the conversation with the consultant, Aubrey C. Daniels, got me thinking about it again. As I have gotten older, I have become more open-minded about recognizing that my way might not be the best way.

We name an employee of the month in only one of my companies, the custom framing factory, where I have the most employees working together in the same place at the same time. I have about 30 employees at the factory who do everything from making frames and cutting mats to working in shipping and receiving. We have a meeting every Friday morning for 10 to 15 minutes to announce birthdays and anniversaries, review the progress of the week and discuss what is happening in the company. On the first Friday of the month we also give out the employee-of-the-month award.

Read the full post here

8 Ways to Successfully Onboard Young Workers

There has been no lack of frustration in the workplace when it comes to onboarding young workers.

Managers find themselves irked that some of these new employees seem to think nothing of showing up late for work, texting friends during meetings or “dropping in” on the CEO to chat about upcoming vacation plans.

Alexia Vernon has heard many of the stories, and as a member of the Millenial generation herself understands how some young professionals can take such wrong turns in the workplace.

But she believes much of the pain of bringing young workers up to speed could be alleviated if managers understood the role they needed to play in successfully training and developing this generation.

Read the full story:

http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2012/09/04/8-ways-to-successfully-onboard-young-workers/