Businesses: Cut Costs? Yes. Layoffs? No.
Liz Wheeler
Businesses: Cut Costs? Yes. Layoffs? No.
“Layoffs don't seem to be the first choice for a lot of companies," said Kevin Oakes, CEO of i4cp, which recently conducted a survey of 265 companies about cost-cutting this year. "In this uncertain economic environment, it's clear companies are intent on not being caught flat-footed," Oakes said, "but so far it's looking more like careful surgery than a bloodbath.
According to the study, 88% of companies surveyed plan to implement cost-cutting measures within a year. Most of them are considering improving efficiency. Seventy-one percent said they are considering cutting discretionary spending, and 65% are considering seeking lower costs from vendors. By contrast, just 33% said their organizations are planning to reduce head count to the same degree.
The most likely cutback targets are operations, with 49% of companies reporting they are looking at reducing costs in this area. That's closely followed by administration, at 48%, and the use of external vendors/outsourced partners, at 43%. More than a third (35%) said they'd look to HR as a place for reducing costs. The least likely areas for cost-cutting measures are research and development, with just 19% of respondents saying their firms are - to a moderate, high or very high extent - planning to reduce costs in this area.
Nominations Sought for Pike’s Peak Award by June 1
Has your company or learning colleague produced dramatic results in the last two years? Nominate them for The Bob Pike Group’s Pike’s Peak Award. This award is given annually to recognize trainers and their companies who make a commitment to implementing participant-centered training. Nominate them! Winners receive complimentary conference registration along with half-price registration for up to three participants for the Fall Conference. Winners will be officially recognized at BPG’s Fall Conference in Minneapolis on Wednesday, October 1, 2008. Deadline to nominate is June 1, 2008. More information and nomination form are at
http://www.bobpikegroup.com/web/pageid/56242/pages.asp .
More Brain Study: More Breaks Increase Retention
New brain research shows employees retain more information if trainers train for an hour a day over an extended period of time versus single day trainings, according to an article in the March issue of HR Magazine. Other tips mentioned in the article? Sleep, of course, helps in retention as does decreased stress and 10 minutes of exercise daily.
For the full article, click http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0308/0308fox.asp .
News of the Extreme: Waterboarding as Team Building?
In a lawsuit brought by a former employee, a supervisor at Prosper Inc. is accused of using waterboarding as a motivational training tool. Chad Hudgens says he volunteered for a teambuilding exercise in May 2007 only to be held down by co-workers as his boss poured a gallon of water over his nose and mouth. As Chad recovered, his boss used this analogy, according to the Washington Post, "You saw how hard Chad fought for air right there. I want you to go back inside and fight that hard to make sales." The full article can be found at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/12/AR2008041201739.html .
Thunderous Applause for Mobile Gaming
Remember those big klunky car phones from back in the 90s? Gone are the days of portable phones that only did one thing. Now, there is a website dedicated to gaming on your Blackberry. Bplay.com also is promoting Guitar Hero for your phone. Who’da thunk it? As I still don’t have a high-tech phone, I couldn’t tell you if it’s worth it—but the concept alone is fascinating! The game plays with three buttons and the game purchase starts you off with 15 tracks and each month you receive three more.
