Yea, I’m falling back into bad habits.  My business coach is gonna yell at me some more.  I’m trying to figure out if I can change her voice in my head to the sounds of birds singing, instead of the stinging sarcasm I often get.  It hasn’t worked yet, but I will keep on trying.

Anyways…

Jumping Through Hoops… Literally

Yesterday, the local women’s professional basketball team, the Indiana Fever hosted a job fair at Conseco Fieldhouse.  Over five hundred attendees got the opportunity to talk to twenty-five of Indianapolis’ largest employers.  A great way to get people who are desperately looking for a job together with companies that are hiring.

What made this job fair different wasn’t the venue, or the fact that a local sports franchise was trying to provide help to people that need help.  The difference?

The $5 entry fee.

Yea, you read that right.  The Indiana Fever charged five dollars to each person who showed up.  But guess what?  This is only one-seventh of what the Indiana Pacers charge for their two job fairs where admission is $35.

I understand there are costs associated with putting on a job fair, but c’mon.  Did the Fever really need the three-thousand dollars in revenue?  When the spokesman for the Fever and Conseco Fieldhouse events  was asked where the money went he said “I couldn’t answer that.  I couldn’t tell you where it goes“.

Ouch.  Perhaps the Fever (and the Pacers) committed a flagrant foul.

Healthcare Done Right

Waynesboro Hospital was ranked as America’s #1 “Best Place to Work” in Healthcare, a pretty cool award.  A key factor in Waynesboro Hospital’s achievement is employee education. They provide more than 450 hours of training provided to employees annually.

More than eight hours a week, more than an hour and a half a day in training.   And guess what?

The “Best Hospital” ranking is one of several awards Waynesboro Hospital has earned including a ranking within the top 1 percent of hospitals nationally for customer service and the VHA APEX award for recognition for clinical excellence in the treatment of patients with pneumonia, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and in the area of surgical care improvement by VHA Inc.

Engaged employees make for loyal patients who receive better outcomes.

Training Done Right

As if you needed more data to prove the point… A new report from the Cranfield School of Management reveals

• 78 per cent see skills development as more beneficial to their organization compared to recruiting staff externally
• organizations that invest in their staff are best placed to save money (44 per cent); improve staff motivation (33 per cent); and increase employee retention (52 per cent).
• employers making strategic rather than operational staff development decisions are best placed to achieve these benefits. For example, successful organizations are typified by those that use formal training policies to nurture talent (45 per cent). While less successful organizations were more likely to train staff on an ad hoc basis (46 per cent).

OK, here is the kicker. And you know there is going to be one if it’s in my Bad Mingled Wryness blog…

Although the report highlights training and development can have significant benefits such as increased staff motivation and retention, only a third (34 per cent) of employers have a formal training strategy.

Dr. Emma Parry, Senior Research Fellow, Cranfield School of Management, who authored the report, said: “With training budgets arguably amongst the first to go in a recession, this research demonstrates that growing your own is an effective way for organizations to obtain the skills they need while saving money.

Improving talent.  Increasing retention.  Saving money.

Who wudda thunk it…?