Workopolis gets into Web 2.0
Workopolis has gotten into Web 2.0 by launching a channel on two popular social networking sites, Youtube and Twitter. On YouTube, the video-sharing site, publishes video clips of advice and testimonials for jobseekers, employees and recruiters.
The latter have access to tips for drafting their job ads, optimizing the productivity of their staff or keeping their employees happy.
On microblogging site Twitter, has a space to publish job ads. In this way, it hopes to increase the visibility of its postings to both active and passive job seekers.
Canadians particularly engaged at work
Canadians are among the world’s most engaged employees, according to a new global survey by Right Management of workers in 15 industrialized countries. More than 40% of the 2,000 Canadians polled said they were engaged and committed to their jobs and their companies vs. a worldwide average of 34%. Reasons for these positive results included being rewarded for their work, and working with good leaders.
OECD: Increase in labour costs
Unit labour costs grew 0.8% in OECD countries in the second quarter of 2009. The strong growth was largely driven by falls in real output due to the crisis. Concretely, this means that employees’ salaries surpassed the growth in productivity for this period. The increase will impact production prices, which are subject to greater pressure.
A strong corporate culture synonymous with profitability
Waterstone Human Capital has released its annual ranking of Canada’s 10 Most Admired Corporate cultures. According to Waterstone, such firms are more likely to perform better. Three quarters of senior executives polled by the firm say they prioritize corporate culture to drive profitability. The complete list of this select club includes Acklands-Grainger Inc., Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, Ceridian Canada Ltd., Corus Entertainment, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, GoodLife Fitness, Medavie Blue Cross, Starbucks Coffee Canada, Telus and Walmart Canada. Several hundred companies were analyzed for this ranking.
Recovery in the air
According to a Watson Wyatt study of 72 Canadian employers in September 2009, Canadian firms have already started to prepare for the economic recovery and are expecting their results to improve by the end 2009 or during 2010. Some of them are even considering lifting their hiring or salary freezes over the coming months: 53% of respondents planned to unfreeze salaries within 12 months, while 35% said they would lift the hiring freeze during the same period.
Intergenerational conflicts: watch out for prejudices
Perceived differences in behaviour at work between boomers, Generation X and Generation Y have more to do with prejudice than fact. According to a study released in mid-November by the Conference Board of Canada, most stereotypes about the different generations (e.g. boomers uncomfortable with new technologies or not open to change, Generation X cynical and selfish, and Generation Y lazy and unmanageable) are largely unjustified. In reality, the three generations are on the same wavelength most of the time.
Toyota culture for dummies
During an interview with LesAffaires.com in mid-November, Michael Hoseus, a former plant manager for Toyota in Kentucky, explained what he thinks prevents most companies from copying the very popular Toyota culture. Three key factors, he said to columnist Jean-François Cloutier: an almost obsessive insistence on leadership, too much of a short-term focus and confusion between a “lean” approach and required staff cuts.
View selected excerpts of the interview.