USA Reshored

It is welcome news that some US clothing labels are dipping their toes in our own waters.  A USA Today article reports that Brooks Brothers now makes 70% of its suits in Haverhill, Mass -- and that Designer Karen Kane of LA moved 90% of its manufacturing to the US.  ("Sewn in the USA" by Paul Davidson - 7/3/13)

While the trend is still a glimmer in Uncle Sam's eye, some think that 25% of the 800,000 lost jobs could return to the US over the next ten years.  Factors driving the "reshoring" include increasing foreign labor costs, shoddy products and long or late delivery times.  Fshion fads require fast turnarounds!

Seems that machine mechanics and seamstresses are now lacking in our talent pool, which could hamper this trend.  Career counselors and parents, take note.

On this July 4th weekend, remember to look for the "Made in the USA" label!

Retain Talent

Retaining talent is the #1 concern of CFOS in a recent Robert Half survey.  Losing key people costs hard dollars, including searching for and then training replacements.  Also, company morale takes a hit and others get encouraged to think about packing their bags, too.  And what will your customers think?

Check out ways to persuade people to stay -- before its too late.  Visit www.gettothepointbooks.com.  Search by title or author - The software reader for this ebook is quick and safe.  The format is user-friendly, and can be read in 2 hours.  I distilled 35 years of HR experience and am proud to offer this for your management toolkit.

Job Jam

Work sure ain't what it used to be -- and that's not just because I am an HR Crone.  Hearing pundits praise an economy that is filled with the long-term unemployed makes my head hurt.  I'm not alone --Paul Krugman, in a NYT OP-ED titled "The Big Shrug" (6/10/13) makes a compelling case that other economists and policy makers are fiddling while Rome is burning. 

2 million fewer American jobs than 6 years ago?  Shrug.

7.6 % unemployment?  Shrug.

Scores of underemployed people with low wages?  Shrug.

Krugman says an acceptance of a 'New Normal' seems to create a powerful sense of inertia, and that the unemployed do not have a political voice.  Krugman also says there is nothing normal or necessary about mass long-term unemployment.

Meanwhile, in other news, a judge has ruled that Fox Searchlight Pictures violated labor laws by not paying production interns, which is likely to have a ripple effect on other industries who have come to extract free labor from desperate job seekers. 

On the flip side, Greece,the poster child for flawed economic policies, just laid off 3,000 people from a state-run tv and radio broadcaster, under pressure from the IMF for failing to make 'politically difficult decisions' -- ie, reduce the public sector.   But existing policies make it very difficult to fire people - and cases can spend years in courts, while idle workers continue to get paid. 

Someone has to be smart and powerful and determined enough to restore the value of jobs in the good old U.S.A.  Anybody?

Workplace Wisdom

 

Millennials are in the news for behaving badly during job interviews -- texting, surfing the net, parking their cat carrier on the interviewer's desk -- and then playing with the cat!  Earth to applicant:  This is an audition!

How about hiring proven, hard-working Boomers, along with all that promising talent?  In my book Growing Talent Through Cross-Training I recount a wonderful experience of doing just that - three Millennials and 3 Boomers were selected for a stimulus-backed management development program.  All were stars -- and yes, the Boomers did influence the young-uns about workplace etiquette. 

This e-book is one of many insightful reads offered by Get To The Point Books   (www.gettothepointbooks.com).  Check them out, they apply to all generations!

The Goodness of Green

'Going green' is culturally correct these days, whether in construction, conservation or simply eschewing plastic water bottles.  Green is also being touted as the color that encourages creativity and calms jittery brains. 

A NYT article by Gretchen Reynolds, Brain Fatigue Goes Green, cites scientific evidence that strolling through a park, or even just looking out at a green scene through an office window, can help restore our brains.  Termed 'involuntary attention', natural environments keep us engaged, but with space to reflect and rejuvenate.  (4/2/13)

In an online episode of "Lunch Break", a WSJ show, Sue Shellenbarger and Tor Myhren (the man behind the etrade baby ads) shed light on inviting creativity.  Again, green was credited with helping us conjure up new connections  - even  by only viewing a green computer screen!  Tor also shared some techniques for generating 'inspiration overload" -- and bemoaned the 'daydreamer dilemma' -- a lack of work environments that provide time and proper nuturing of the creative spirit.

Maybe Mother Nature really does know best!