CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE

--THOUGHTS WORTH THINKING ABOUT
--PERSONAL NOTE FROM THE "CAPTAIN"
--WHERE ARE THE JOBS GOING?
--QUALITY MANAGEMENT RELOADED
--ABSENT EMPLOYEES CUT PRODUCTIVITY
--LEADERSHIP TELESEMINAR-SEPT 25
--ENGLISH-ONLY RULE COSTS CASINO $1.5 MILLION
--NEW ASSESSMENTS--WILL THEY PERFORM THE JOB?
--RETENTION TIPS
--NURSING SHORTAGE--METHODIST HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS

THOUGHTS WORTH THINKING ABOUT

A bank is a place where they lend you an umbrella in fair weather and ask for it back when it begins to rain. --Robert Frost

Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them.
--Bill Vaughan

Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.
--Unknown

Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else.
--Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)

" You must forgive those who transgress against you before you can look to forgiveness from God..."
--The Talmud

PERSONAL NOTE FROM THE "CAPTAIN"

It has been a slightly over a month since I returned from our great sailing adventure. Thanks to all my fellow "Navigators" out there who have emailed their comments and requests for more information. I was hoping to complete a summary of the trip, but alas I have been "swamped" with work. Sorry. I plan on returning to the ocean soon.

For those who want to see the photos make your way to this webpage.
http://www.chartcourse.com/photosailing.htm
 

Welcome to the new "Navigators" who have become part of the Chart Your Course family. Just in the past few weeks not only have many folks from the U.S. joined, but also from Mexico, Indonesia, Pakistan, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Philippines, Canada, and Singapore. Current membership stands at 14,200. Welcome aboard!

Other Tidbits

• NEED JOB in Bristol, England--My daughter is heading to Bristol for a six-month, work abroad program in October. She is a recent college grad and spent one year at Plymouth University. If you know of any positions, please let us know by sending an email to greg@chartcourse.com. Thank you!

• National Bosses Day is Oct. 16.

• Last chance to contribute your Icebreakers and receive a complete list for free.
  Please go to this URL to place your submission or email to
  info@chartcourse.com.
  http://www.chartcourse.com/meetingmotivators.html

IF THE U.S. ECONOMY IS GETTING BETTER, WHERE ARE THE JOBS GOING?

President George Bush says the "economy is showing signs of promise."
Productivity — the amount an employee produces for each hour of work — increased at an annual rate of 6.8 percent during the April-to-June quarter. This was "stronger" than the government’s first estimate of a 5.7 percent growth rate according to MSNBC news.

At the same time the labor department said new applications for jobless benefits rose by a seasonally adjusted 15,000 to 413,000 for the week ending Aug. 30. The reason productivity rates have increased is because there are fewer people working in the U.S.

Economists appear pleased, but many of your friends have been laid off-- still trying to find work. What gives?

Hear the Sucking sound? Forester Research estimates by 2015 over 3.36 million jobs will be exported overseas. It goes without saying that along with the evaporation of these jobs so goes $136 billion dollars worth of annual wages. Poof--never to return. In fact, the Conference Board this past June sponsored the 2003 Strategic Outsourcing Conference. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, (June 27, E1) over 125 executives attended this conference to learn how to export jobs to other countries.

I don't pretend to be an economist, but you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see a storm on the horizon. As a management consultant, I am all for cutting costs, training and development of your talent and streamlining to increase productivity. However, I am concerned---I am torn because in order for this country to stay competitive we need to readjust our expectations, maybe even our wages--yes, even for CEO's. Pay raises are going to be harder to come by.

Crisis or opportunity? We live in a global economy. When it comes to commerce, territorial borders disappear. Great opportunities lie within other countries. China and India are growth markets. Businesses in this country must improve productivity or face the consequences. If you are not improving, you are regressing.

For those who end up in the "wrong" career field there is going to be a long-term impact on your wallet, not to mention your quality of life. In the "old days," good skills, good education meant you could get a good paying job. That is changing for many industries. Does this concern you?

The opportunities overseas are helping my business expand toward China, India, Singapore, and other countries as well. As we speak, I am working with a partnership to establish a human resource management training program in China.

I would appreciate your comments on this issue. I would also like to know how many jobs in your company have been exported overseas. Send comments to info@chartcourse.com

QUALITY MANAGEMENT RELOADED
According to Dr. W. Edwards Deming

I have read, studied, and observed hundreds of management fads, management philosophies, and gurus during my lifetime. I am old enough to remember the 70's and 80's when this country faced a worse economic condition than today. All at the same time, America was reeling from the competitive onslaught of less expensive, but better made products from Japanese companies. This crisis triggered a reaction forcing a revolutionary change in how this country conducts business. I think we have forgotten some of those lessons. Few management philosophies have more influenced the business world as widely than quality management.

Go to this link for the rest of the story. . .
http://www.chartcourse.com/articledeming.html

MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD

Sixty-eight organizations have sent NIST their application for the 2003 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's Presidential award for excellence. Last year, 49 businesses, schools, and health care organizations applied.

The 68 applicants for the 2003 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality award include 10 large manufacturers, eight service companies, 12 small businesses, 19 education organizations and 19 health care organizations. This is an increase in all categories compared with the previous year. Since 1988, 49 organizations have received the Baldrige Award.

Even though you are not interested in applying for the award, all organizations should strive to become a Baldrige organization by at least following and using the criteria. You can download the criteria for free by going to http://www.chartcourse.com/articlebaldrige.html

Greg is a national examiner for the MBNQA. Please let us know if we can help you start your journey.
 

ABSENT EMPLOYEES CUT PRODUCTIVITY

Employers are paying more than ever for no-show employees, as absenteeism costs per employee reached $789 in 2002 despite a slight decrease in the rate of absenteeism.

New research by CCH Inc. shows that even though absenteeism rates over the past two years actually declined one-tenth of a percent to 2.1%, direct costs increased dramatically— from $610 per employee in 2000. Direct expenses include costs for overtime and replacement workers.

“The cost of complacency is substantial,” warns Lori Rosen, CCH workplace analyst. “Employers have been clinging to traditional sick leave policies and disciplinary action for years. But the status quo is costing them more each year.”

Personal illness, cited by one-third of absent workers, is the most common reason given for absenteeism. Other causes listed by CCH include family issues (24%), personal needs (21%), stress (12%) and entitlement mentality (10%).

Source: BENEFITNEWS.COM

LEADERSHIP TELESEMINAR-SEPT 25

Understand and Improve Your Leadership Style
Using Assessments to Hire and Develop Managers and Others for Professional and Personal Growth

In this economy, leadership and management skills are more important than ever before. Successful individuals and organizations realize personal development is integral to sustaining their leadership and growth in the marketplace.

Thursday Sept 25, 2003
3:00-4:00 p.m. EST (Atlanta time)
60 minutes
Early bird rate is $49
Prices increase to $79 Sept 19
http://www.chartcourse.com/teleseminar_outline.html

ENGLISH-ONLY RULE COSTS CASINO $1.5 MILLION IN EEOC SETTLEMENT

A rule barring Hispanic workers from speaking Spanish in the workplace has cost a Blackhawk, Colo., casino $1.5 million, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced last week. The lawsuit claimed that Colorado Central Station Casino unfairly singled out its predominantly Latino housekeeping department with its English-only rule.
http://www.shrm.org/hrnews_published/archives/CMS_005129.asp
 

NEW ASSESSMENTS AVAILABLE--WILL THEY PERFORM THE JOB?

The Attribute Index is the newest instrument in the CYC
lineup, and as such it works best when used in conjunction with other existing instruments we provide.
By combining the Attribute Index with other points of
view (e.g., Behaviors or the PIAV), and forming a more
complete picture of an individual we gain insight into
the individual not achievable by any other means in
existence today.

The Attribute Index differs from the other instruments in
two significant ways.

Firstly, the Attribute Index is not a personality test.
Whereas personality tests are a systematic way of categorizing
and stating a person’s likes, dislikes, preferred environments,
social behaviors, and the interrelated aspects of all of these
factors. In short, rather then looking at who we are to the outside
world, and what we do, the Attribute Index measures WHY
we are who we are, and WHY we act, behave and think the
way we do. This allows us to then predict how we might tend to
act in a given situation in the future.

The Attribute Index comes is several varieties:

--Sales Version
--Sales Manager version
--Leadership (Male/Female)
--Emotional Intelligence
--General Employment
--General Management
--Customer Service

You can view all of our assessments at this link to our website
http://www.chartcourse.com/ttiassessmts.html

RETENTION TIPS

New hire “boot camp.” To train new people on the
company culture as soon as possible, Prentiss Property
Services puts new property managers through an
intensive weeklong boot camp. Customized for managers,
engineers, development officers, facilities managers,
and administrative assistants, the boot camps help
12 to 16 new hires learn all aspects of their job from
paperwork to customer service and technical aspects.
While the boot camps have improved communication
and employee retention, their main goal is to improve
customer service. The results are paying off big time.
Prentiss has won numerous awards and has been
voted as the best in its industry on customer service.
.
Employee scavenger hunt. Managers from the Peasant
Restaurants break into teams of five and go on a scavenger
hunt in the corporate office. But instead of looking for
things, managers look for people. Using a sheet of names
that includes a little-known fact about each corporate
office worker and his or her job responsibility and hobbies,
managers must track down and get to know the employee.
New managers also share information about themselves,
which begins a personal relationship between the manager
and employee. Employees share in the process by
providing the managers with cookies and other refreshments.

On-line retention training program
http://www.chartcourse.com/online_educationprogram.html

NURSING SHORTAGE-HOUSTON, METHODIST HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS

One of the most ambitious efforts in the nation to deal with chronic nursing shortage:

Measures: aggressive recruiting, setting up a pool of staff nurses that could be relied on when there was extra demand, asking temp and agency nurses to commit to staff jobs, focus on less tangible factors: working conditions

--Pay-off: lower nursing costs, improved care and patient safety, higher standards through familiarity with hospital procedures and routines, 20% increase in patient satisfaction.
--Recruitment: Visits top nursing schools, employee bonuses for referring nursing candidates.
--Retention:

• Teamwork among various parts of the hospital staff

• Improved nurse-patient staffing ratios

• Emphasize education and promotion opportunities

• Giving nurses more authority

• Making nurses and nursing supervisors' part of the hospital’s governance process

• Offering career progression incentives to reward nurses for remaining with the hospital
   

  ---

  GREG'S SPEAKING SCHEDULE
  
  You wow'd them as usual! It is always a pleasure to read the positive feedback and comments, because we realize how much time and effort you put into your presentations."

  Carolyn Mills--International Pizza Expo™
  
  Don't forget to check with us when looking for speakers,
  planning you training programs, and retreats. 770-860-9464
  
  Sept 5-6--Doors and Hardware Institute--Tampa--"Here Today Here Tomorrow"
  Sept 10-Greenville SHRM--Greenville, SC--"Employee Recognition"
  Sept 19-Employee Involvement Association--Ft. Lauderdale--"Zip, Zap, Zowie"
  Sept 23-NY State Healthcare Association--Albany, NY--"Here Today Here Tomorrow"
  Oct 9-Matrix-Dallas--"Performance Appraisals"
  Oct 17-National Retail Association--Chicago--"Employee Retention"

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS, PROGRAMS, & NEW ADDITIONS

Here Today Here Tomorrow now available in E-book format

http://www.chartcourse.com/HereTodayHereTomorrow.htm

Special Sale: THE NEW LEADER: BRINGING INNOVATION

AND CREATIVITY TO THE WORKFORCE

Whether you are in the public or private sector, government or industry, The New Leader offers something for those who want to improve their leadership ability and design and energize their businesses for success.

We have just recently published a soft-cover version of Greg's first book, The New Leader. Amazon is still selling the older, hardcover version for $34.95, but the newly updated, soft cover version is available to you for the unheard of price of $14.95.

http://www.chartcourse.com/newlead.html

Who Is Greg Smith?

Greg Smith is a nationally recognized author and business performance consultant. He has written numerous books including his latest, Here Today, Here Tomorrow: Transforming Your Workforce from High Turnover to High Retention. Greg has been featured on television programs such as Bloomberg News, PBS television, and in publications including Business Week, USA Today, Kiplinger's, President and CEO, and the Christian Science Monitor. He is the President and "Captain of the Ship" of a management-consulting firm, Chart Your Course International, located in Atlanta, Georgia. He also is an Examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Phone him at 770-860-9464.

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