The Secret to Job Security

Not that long ago when somebody had a job, they kept the job for five or seven years or more. If your friend changed jobs more often than every few years, you'd say "Dude! Why do you keep changing jobs?" Now we don't ask our friends why they change jobs often, because everybody changes jobs all the time. Working people can't rely on keeping a job for years on end, even if they do a great job and even if their company is making money. There are conversations happening in far-flung conference rooms right now, in Hong Kong and Philadelphia and Dubai, that will put people reading this column out of work in a few weeks or months. 

Taking The Long Haul?

With the word “overtime” gaining roots in the vocabulary of workers, most workers now disregard nature’s demand of having, at least, 8 hours of sleep daily.  This is happening probably because of the requirements of the job, the pressure of workplace and industry culture, which may include completing the tasks involved and having a high workload and customer demands. The need for more income, being able to maintain a basic standard of living and “extras” cannot be downplayed. It is necessary, in some cases, to go beyond the normal hours of work but not when it becomes a habit. The big question is, considering the risks involved in spending longs hours behind your desk, is the long haul worth it?

According to the Ghana Labour Law Act 651, the maximum hours of work shall be eight hours a day, making up to 40 hours every week, although there maybe exceptions.  For instance, where shorter hours of work are fixed, the hours of work on the other days of the week may be proportionately longer than eight hours but shall not exceed nine hours a day or a total of forty hours a week.

Making a habit of working for more than 8 hours daily can affect a worker's long term health. The choice of a lifestyle, which includes the working life, has its consequences.  A person who lives a life which promotes stress, lack of sleep, bad eating and exercising habits, is at risk of heart diseases. A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine reveals that adults who work 11 hours a day or more have a 67% risk of developing coronary heart disease; placing the level of risk at the same level as smokers, those with high cholesterol and high blood pressure.  

“People who work long hours should be particularly careful in following healthy diets, exercising sufficiently and keeping their blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood glucose within healthy limits,” Kivimaki, a professor at University College London, advised.

Aside the health factor, long working hours with inadequate breaks affects, largely, a worker's productivity and increases the risk of accidents. This can increase the cost of sick pay and compensation for a company, thus, increasing the company's marginal costs. Bosses should be concerned when their employees begin to spend long hours at work. The effects of working beyond the prescribed hours do not only affect the employee but the business as a whole. Utility bills rise and the tendency of recording a lot of errors becomes prevalent due to fatigue. Employers should look at rewarding results as against efforts; this will deter employees from adding more time, which does not cover the loss of labour hours brought on by fatigue.

“I work long hours to earn enough to enable me keep the home.” That is the maxim now, however, in recent times, staying late at work seems to be tearing the family apart instead. It is widely believed that long hours of work can damage relationships, especially marital relationships. For parents, spending long hours at work can inhibit the development of the child.

A joint Reuter/Ipsos global poll finding records that sexual harassment in the workplace is at dangerous levels, a vice women especially have to contend with. One in 10 workers has been pestered for sex by senior employers. For humans, it is in privacy that our drive for sexual activities is at its heights, thus, staying late into the night at your place of work can insight sexual thoughts when left alone with a colleague of the opposite sex.

When a lot of time is wasted on things that do not matter, it drags our ability to meet deadlines thus, projecting the time we spend at work. We all have 24 hours to make the best of the day. For the worker however, 8 hours is all you have to make a difference at work; how best you use it is what will distinguish you from the rest.  Pick a system for managing your time that works for you and stick with it. It is important to keep ourselves accountable for how we use our time.

Outsourcing

Despite the success of outsourcing; grounded on good principles and ethics, many organizations haven’t seen the rosy picture yet. Some companies decided to outsource because of fear of being left out but the happier ones are those who properly conceived and followed the right principles and are making big gains.  Today, business success and outsourcing success are inseparable because outsourcing can give you the needed head-start to a great business.

Just outsource so that you can get the needed help.  Outsourcing basically means asking a third-party vendor to work for you on a contractual basis. By outsourcing to a third party, your business can focus on what it does best and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace.

Whether your organization is a large commercial or small business, providing products and services to customers, you can take advantage of this modern business process. Most organizations need to outsource one task or the other.  The goal is not just cost savings but a dynamic and continuous transformation that will keep your company healthy and competitive.  Companies outsource primarily to cut costs. But today, it is not only about cutting cost but also about reaping the benefits of strategic outsourcing such as:

·         Value addition and expansion

·         Access to skilled expertise

·         Staffing flexibility

·         Financial flexibility

·         Market flexibility

·         Focus on core business activities

·         Increased in-house efficiency

·      Better risk management because you share your risk with the outsource provider

·         You can run your business 24/7 when required

·         Reducing turnaround time

·         Improves service delivery and customer satisfaction

·         Gives your business a competitive edge

·         Reduces overheads

·         Increases in business and generating more profit

For example, most companies will only incur cost of certain set-skilled labour when it is necessary to respond to customers’ demand for products/service within a specified period without having to keep such workers on their payroll permanently but can have access to them as and when they need them through an outsource service provider.   If the workers were not outsourced the companies would have to pay wages and bear other related costs whether the employees work or not.  That is what we call flexible staffing in order to reduce costs and maximize returns.  By accessing the providers skilled expertise and taping all of the above benefits the companies add value to their products and services for greater efficiency and expansion.

Big companies like IBM, Dell, Microsoft, Accenture and others lower their costs and boost their profits when they outsourced to India, Indonesia, China, Singapore, Ghana, etc.   Outsourcing abroad helps create jobs and business opportunities in the destination countries but it hurts the workers who lose jobs and those who lose the prospect of jobs in the home countries.   In many cases the American working publics have called on the US government to put measures in place to stop US companies from outsourcing abroad.  However, Samuel Palmisano, the Chief Executive of IBM in the debate room said that “we have no choice; with globalization it’s critical to tap the lower costs and unique skills of labor abroad to remain competitive.”  

What is Ghana doing about outsourcing?

Comments like the one made by Mr. Palmisano above turn to favour outsourcing destination countries.  Ghana is one of the fastest developing nations for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) today and currently ranked 21 in the world and 2^nd in Africa after Egypt on world’s top outsourcing countries.  Ghana also serves as the central leader in the ICT sector of West Africa, but it has to do a lot more for its business process outsourcing like the way Indian (ranked 1^st in the world) has done in order to attract the world’s big companies to outsource to our homeland Ghana and provide jobs for our people.  Many countries will outsource to Ghana because of its stable democratic environment, low-cost labor, a strategic position on the equator sharing the same time zone with the UK, tax exemptions on customs duty for R&D, strong on patents and copyright legislation.  Despite this, Ghana needs to expose itself as a dynamic player in the global sourcing market by creating visibility for its BPO industry and improve infrastructure, increase the number of skilled workers, improve telecommunications, resolve ethnic issues, and improve education in order to boost foreign investments in the country. 

This year the Ghana government through the ministry of communication is now building some IT infrastructure (ICT Parks at the free zone enclave in Tema and Accra funded by the World Bank and the Rockefeller Foundation) as a way of getting ready to welcome more offshoring from abroad.  As part of this programme the ministry also trained some graduates in business process outsourcing through the Ghana Technology University College this year.  If Ghana is able to market its capability and provide infrastructure for outsourcing to the world and attract at least a quarter of what the world outsources to India it could employ well over 550,000 (¹/₄ X 2,200,000) people thereby raising standards of living of the people in its middle-lower income country status. 

Ghana has gold but benefit very little from gold.   We cannot be sure if our cocoa will ever perform the miracle either, and the least talked about our oil the better.  For all you know business process outsourcing could be the key to unlocking the gate to resource employment and economic prosperity.  Outsourcing has worked for India as it has for Indonesia, Philippines and China, and so it can for Ghana?

The case for indigenous companies

If the world’s big companies are outsourcing to tap lower costs and unique skills of labour from our country to remain competitive, one would expect our indigenous companies in the country to take advantage of these enabling opportunities to lower costs and get flexible staffing and skilled expertise from experienced outsourcing providers like L’AINE to expand and grow their business and be competitive in the market place.  While the multi-nationals like Coca-Cola, Guinness, Barclays, Ghacem, Tullow, and others are seriously building their books and benefiting from outsourcing, majority of our local companies are still sleeping and haven’t yet heard of outsourcing as an opportunity for them to benefit from.   There is nothing to be scared about outsourcing.  You only need to understand what task to outsource, select the right vendor and get the needed help.

How to outsource

It is worth mentioning that the simple statement -“outsourcing saves money” may be fatal and can lure businesses into outsourcing without considering both the faces of the coin. “Outsourcing saves money, but only if you get the deal right.” Like any other business venture proper planning and research is necessary before choosing an outsourcing partner.  The challenge is that any company that takes the strategic decision to make a move to outsource its business units must overcome the burning ethical issues by choosing a right service provider with the required experience.   One of the easiest ways to judge service providers is to look at their track record in providing outsourced services.   If the vendor has good record of meeting clients’ needs and keeping them happy then you should add them to your shortlist.  The provider should have the ability to forge good relationship and work with your business' goals.  

Also look out for outsourcing providers who employ world-class work environs and systematic HR processes because the environment counts a lot.   Solid infrastructure, data security and confidentiality of information on your core competences are some parameters one needs to look at when entering into an outsourcing arrangement.  Above all, do not ignore past customer references as this can give you insight into how risk-proof an outsourcing vendor might be.

Reference

Sourcingline.com, thecountriesOf.com and businessweek.com

By: James Laar

Performance Appraisal Software

From manpower planning, job analysis and descripting, determining salaries and wages, recruitment and selection, performance appraisal, training and development, etc. there is never a dull moment in the activities of HR. But technology has come to make life easy and that of HR’s too. HR has gone sophisticated, having its own technology that enhances the efficiency of its day to day activity. One of such technology is the performance appraisal software.

How it works

Performance Appraisal software has come to replace the frustrating and time-consuming paper-based employee performance appraisal processes with a genuinely effective performance review cycle.  These are some examples of software you can use depending on your business type.

Halogen Talent Management Suite

Halogen makes it easier for companies to build and maintain a world class workforce. Industry-specific solutions to address unique requirements and challenges in healthcare, professional services, the public sector and more.

Cornerstone Growth Edition

Cornerstone Growth Edition should be on the shortlist of software for anyone interested in making the most of their evaluation and review process. This engaging system is perfect for small to mid-size companies.

HRM Direct

Recommended as a solution for small to mid-sized companies, HRM Direct allows managers to easily post jobs and screen candidates. Its automated reporting ensures EEO and OFCCP compliance and assists with streamlining hiring.

TribeHR

TribeHR offers stand-alone personnel tracking, applicant tracking, recruiting, performance reviews, goal management, absence management, and more. Social, intuitive, flexible system designed for small to mid-sized businesses.

Sage HRMS (formerly Sage Abra)

When it comes to automating your evaluation and review processes, Sage HRMS knows just what you need. Developed for small and mid-sized businesses by expert HR professionals, this well-known, widely-used system delivers.

Social Media Takes Center Stage in Recruitment

Social media continues to grow and now has over 1.2 billion users worldwide. While it has become a great tool for companies to connect their brands with consumers, it has also become a valuable tool for recruiters and job seekers. 

Current studies show that social media use for hiring is at an all-time high with 92 percent of companies using platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook for recruitment.

LinkedIn is the top dog for social recruitment. The professional social network was used by 93 percent of companies in 2012, which is up from 78 percent in 2010. Facebook follows close with 66% whilst Twitter has 54% of recruiters using it platform.

Germany has been ranked the most successful country in Europe in terms of a social media based recruitment according to a survey conducted of 1,200 senior executives across Europe, having over 30 per cent of its companies recruiting using online networks.

Companies are now moving away from the traditional advertisement of job vacancies in newspapers and are now taking to social media as their mode of advertising jobs. Aside the advertisement of jobs, recruiters with a click of a mouse can scan through the profile of applicants on social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook before inviting them for an interview. 

Job seekers on the other hand have the opportunity to apply for jobs and send their CVs to prospective employers through social media for shortlisting. LinkedIn, as an example, has transformed the way people interact with recruiters. Candidates can now apply for jobs by simply using their LinkedIn URL rather than sending a traditional CV. Equally, candidates are using LinkedIn as their online CV and are investing time in developing online profiles to increase their marketability.

Soon there will be a complete shift from the traditional ways of recruitment towards a more technologically advanced method of recruitment with social media at the center of the process.

By: Sidney Arthur

Focus Media