Recessional impact on talent management

Whilst some commentators note that the recession is a time to acquire talent, this post by Professor Tammy Erickson at HBR highlights how measures taken by some companies to handle the impact of the recession may have unexpected impacts and consequences on the relationships between employees and their employers.

She comments:-

most of us in professional or managerial roles have viewed the work we do as only loosely related to any particular hours. We work nights and weekends. We grumble about work-life balance. We accept that the deal we have had with our employers was all encompassing.

But the idea of furloughs, particularly for managers and professionals, is planting the seed of a new way of looking at work in our minds. Suddenly companies have asked us to work, say, 32 hours a week rather than 40. Hmmm. What does that really mean? Most of us were never working 40 hours — we might have been working 50 or maybe even 60. We were answering emails at odd hours, writing in the early hours, calling Singapore at night. Does this mean that we should now work 20% less than we were before . . . or does it mean we should work literally 32 hours?

For many, I believe the conclusion will be that we should work the hours specified by the company and perhaps do other things — start new businesses on the side perhaps, sell stuff on eBay, take another job, go back to school, whatever — with the other time.

Loyalties and commitments will undoubtedly change.

There are some interesting comments on the post as well.

Personally I think this change was underway before the recession, but the recession/downturn is accentuating the trend and making it much more noticeable.

Airbus could ground all long range planes

The Times reports that Airbus could be asked to ground all it’s long distance airliners.

Apparently there have been other incidents similar to that involving the Air France airbus which went down off Brazil.

Suspicion over the air data systems on the Airbus 330 and 340 series has increased after the disclosure that the aircraft had experienced 36 episodes similar to the one that brought Flight 447 down as it flew from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.

Airbus first reported problems with the speed sensors — known as pitot tubes — in 1994, it emerged this week. The company advised remedies, but no mandatory action was taken.

Why was no mandatory action taken? Where were the regulatory authorities? It has been my belief that airplanes and airlines were subject to stringent governance protocols because of the safety issues. Is there a weakness in the process?

Peter’s Tips #2 – Keep track of time

Much can be and has been written about time management in the context of a PSF.

Yet time cannot be managed, nor a PSF run successfully, in my view unless how time is spent is tracked – accurately and comprehensively. A critical first step in running a PSF whether with 1 person or many is to ensure time spent is recorded.

In later posts I will discuss a number of other issues and matters related to time.

If your PSF is just 1 person initially then keeping a very detailed diary may be sufficient, or a spreadsheet.

As your PSF grows a more sophisticated approach will be needed.

Seizing the upside in the downturn

The video is by Professor Donald Sull of The London Business School and speaks to seizing advantage by Managing in the Downturn.

There is a related article at the FT, which opens with:-

In a downturn, most managers fixate on the abundant bad news: demand is down, prices are falling, credit is scarce, and lay-offs are likely. Obsessing over threats obscures a surprising but crucial truth about downturns: the worst of times for the economy as a whole can be the best of times for individual firms to create value for the long term.

In past downturns, some companies, including Toyota, Nokia, Cisco, Samsung and Emirates, emerged from an economic crisis stronger than before. Like the mythological Libyan wrestler Antaeus who regained strength when thrown to the ground, these companies derived strength from economic hard times. Many of their competitors,in contrast, languished or failed. Part of the difference is down to having managers who understand how to create value during a downturn, as well as their effectiveness in acting on these insights.

Personally I find Professor Sull talks and writes a lot of sense. The video and related article are well worth consideration in my view.

Rather than treat where we are at as a disaster Sull focuses on 4 key areas of importance:-

1. Instil ongoing cost discipline
2. Force hard choices
3. Accelerate fundamental changes
4. Seize golden opportunities

Telecom broadband plan caps speed, not data

For NZ$60 per month Telecom is now offering an ‘all you can eat’ broadband plan. However, they will throttle back speed in periods of high demand – 3 pm to 10 pm for downloads such as movies, music.

I think the concept is reasonable, but will the throttle back impact more general use such as for internet browsing, email and small downloads?

Not sure if I would want to make the trade-off.

Personally I find the pricing strategies in NZ poor and behind the times.

Musings on Twitter

Gideon Rachman, Chief Foreign Affairs columnist for the FT, discourses on Twitter and it’s relevance in an enjoyable article.

I enjoyed his imaginings of what Tweets in the past might have been like, e.g. from Karl Marx:-

The problem is that Twitter simultaneously encourages extreme brevity and endless communication. Each shot is short but you can keep twittering all day if you want – and many addicts seem to do just that. If Marx really had lived in the age of Twitter, he would probably not have been sending out thunderous political messages. It is more likely that his Twitter feed would have read: “Just arrived at British Museum. Going for a cup of tea.”

Enjoy, as Rachman notes, tongue in cheek I suspect:-

Marx never got a chance to consider the importance of Twitter to a successful revolution. But my feeling is that it is mainly hype. The French revolutionaries somehow managed in 1789, without being able to tweet to each other: “Big demo planned outside Bastille.”

Rachman is I think of the view that Twitter may be useful, but is over hyped.It could be a fad, or it might just be with us for the longer term. Some see it as a whole new communication and marketing medium.