Posted by Damien on Jul 1, 2009 in
Business,
Career,
Jobs and Careers 
Many companies are experiencing surges in the number of employees conducting their own surveys, customer interviews and other forms of market research. The catch? These colleagues are not trained researchers, which can spell trouble for research quality and customer confidentiality.
That said, many of the employees doing unsanctioned research are really acting as market research volunteers; they are taking the initiative to conduct market research without it being part of their official job descriptions. So now that so many people have become interested in gathering market insights, what can we do to leverage their passion while ensuring quality?
To help concerned managers determine how best to assess this situation, evaluate its risks, and create a realistic course of action, Research Rockstar has developed its newest online course, “Embracing Rogue Research: Turning Unsanctioned Market Research into Market Insight Gold.” This one hour, self-paced course covers:
- What activities might be going on, and what are their risk factors?
- How can our company leverage the unsanctioned research in ways that make sense?
- What sensible policies can we use to help manage this situation?
- What training should we provide to volunteer researchers, to help them be more effective?
“Thanks to the proliferation of amazingly easy and free-to-low cost tools like SurveyMonkey, Zoomerang, Wufoo and many more, lots of people are taking market research into their own hands.” says Kathryn Korostoff, President of Research Rockstar. “These unsanctioned surveys are proliferating, and without proper controls can really damage a company’s customer relationships, not to mention potentially leak confidential information.”
The initial reaction of some market research professionals is to try and stop rogue research. But with some planning, policies and training, the major risk factors can be addressed:
- Making sure valued customers are not over-surveyed, or subjected to bad questionnaire designs.
- Coordinating research efforts to avoid redundancies.
- Helping people understand what results are anecdotal versus reliably conclusive.
- Protecting confidential information (the company’s and the customers’).
- Ensuring suitable insights are shared, and shared appropriately
The program is available online, as a downloadable Flash file, for $180. Further details are here.
For organization’s seeking a more in-depth learning experience, on-site presentations of the material are also available, starting at $1,600.
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Posted by Damien on Jun 30, 2009 in
Business,
Career,
Jobs and Careers 
TalentDrive, the creator of the advanced SaaS sourcing technology, TalentFilterSM, just today released the results from the recent “What Steps Are You Taking to Leverage this Recession” April through June 2009 survey. The economic recovery survey found that 50% of HR Professionals surveyed are actively preparing for the return of hiring and “the other side” of the recession.
When asked what positions HR will be struggling the hardest to fill, 60% claimed Information Technology (IT) talent is anticipated to be the most in-demand, followed by Sales and Operations both at 30%. Although 50% claim to be proactively preparing for the hiring return, TalentDrive when on to ask how confident they are in their department’s readiness to handle the influx of open positions and hiring needs. 50% of the respondents said “yes”, they are prepared for future hiring needs, while the other 50% claimed “maybe”.
The survey went on to ask what areas HR plans to spend the largest portion of its budget, once the recession turns. 100% of those surveyed said they would invest in implementing new marketing tactics to help recruit new talent, while 50% said they would be investing directly in re-hiring full-time employees.
Over 8,000 F1000 Companies and HR Professionals were surveyed. This survey was conducted between April 23, 2009 and June 23, 2009.
In summary, the survey found these key points:
- 50% of HR Professionals are proactively preparing for employment recovery
- 60% anticipate Information Technology (IT) talent to be the most in-demand
- 50% of HR Departments feel confident they are adequately prepared for the influx of hiring; 50% said “maybe”
- 100% of HR Departments plan to invest in implementing new marketing tactics to recruit, while 50% plan to invest directly in re-hiring full time employees
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Tags: budget, economic recovery, full time, hr departments, hr professionals, human resources, information technology, june 23, marketing tactics, new marketing, open positions, recession, recruit, respondents, saas, sourcing technology, time employees
Posted by Damien on Jun 30, 2009 in
Business News,
Career,
Jobs and Careers 
Looking for a job just became easier with the launch of Philly Job Fest, the only job board that is concentrated completely on the greater Philadelphia area.
Jobs will only remain on the site for 30 days, and job posts will automatically be sent to the popular “Tweet My Jobs” service, which in turn relays them to the appropriate channels on Twitter. Users of “Tweet My Jobs” and Twitter can receive instantaneous job alerts on their cell phones based on their job search parameters. Listings on Philly Job Fest will be indexed by the popular job search engine Indeed. Basic Philly Job Fest subscriptions start at $99.
Site founder James Oley said he developed the idea for a new job board after his job search earlier this year led him to sites populated with multi-level marketing scams, investment “opportunities” and an inbox filled with junk mail as a result of creating accounts on various job boards. He found the big job boards too confusing and time consuming, with bells and whistles unnecessary in a legitimate job search.
Philly Job Fest includes counties around greater Philadelphia, such as Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia along with the New Jersey counties of Burlington, Camden and Gloucester.
The job board is different than other sites in that it is easy to navigate, doesn’t have pop-up ads or annoying clutter and only houses the best, most up-to-date job listings. Users can upload their resume and search jobs easily and efficiently.
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Tags: bells and whistles, concentrates, gloucester, greater philadelphia, investment opportunities, job listings, job search, junk mail, launch, legitimate job, multi level marketing, new jersey counties, new job, oley, philadelphia area, scams, search parameters, time consuming, tweet, twitter
Posted by Damien on Jun 10, 2009 in
Career,
Jobs and Careers,
Videos A report released today indicates that the decline in the stock market in the last six months of 2008 worsened the retirement outlook for middle-class Americans. The analysis, conducted by Ernst & Young on behalf of the Americans for Secure Retirement coalition (ASR), shows that the retirement assets of recent and near retirees decreased between 14 and 17 percent in the last six months of 2008 alone.
The study further finds that households with a guaranteed source of retirement income outside of Social Security, such as a lifetime annuity, have the greatest chance of having enough money in retirement.
The new report is an update to Ernst & Young’s 2008 Retirement Vulnerability of New Retirees report which found that almost three fifths of middle-class new retirees could expect to outlive their financial assets if attempting to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living.
“As with our 2008 study, our update finds that households with guaranteed retirement income outside of Social Security are better positioned to have a secure retirement than those without,” said Tom Neubig of Ernst and Young.
“Now more than ever, it is critical that Americans have guaranteed retirement income through vehicles like lifetime annuities. Congress and policy makers need to help secure the retirement future of middle class Americans,” said Bill Waldie, Chairman of ASR.
Findings of the report include:
A recently retired married couple earning $75,000 with a defined benefit plan has a 57 percent chance that they will have enough financial resources in retirement. The same couple, without any guaranteed source of retirement income, has only a 6 percent chance of financial success.
A near retiree single female, earning $50,000 with a defined benefit plan, has a 66 percent chance that she will have enough financial resources to last her through retirement. The same female, without any guaranteed source of income, is left with only an 18 percent chance.
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Tags: americans for secure retirement, annuities, annuity, asr, benefit plan, enough money, ernst and young, ernst young, financial assets, financial resources, financial success, households, married couple, middle class americans, retirement assets, retirement income, social security, stock market, three fifths, vulnerability
RSR’s newest research study, “Walking the Razor’s Edge: Managing the Store Experience in an Economic Singularity,” sponsored by Epicor and SAP, shows retailer recognition that low price alone will not help them gain or maintain market share.
“Perhaps one of the biggest turn-arounds compared to previous studies on this topic is the full-blown recognition within the retail enterprise that store technologies really do matter,” said Paula Rosenblum, managing partner at RSR Research and co-author of the report. “Retailers understand they cannot efficiently maintain or improve the customer experience without it.”
“Retailers still have a long way to go in unlocking the potential of these technologies,” added Brian Kilcourse, managing partner at RSR Research and co-author of the report. “Retailers selling General Merchandise and Apparel have been hardest hit by the economy, and also have the most to gain from taking better advantage of store solutions.”
RSR’s new study, “Walking the Razor’s Edge: Managing the Store Experience in an Economic Singularity,” explores the challenges retailers face in the worst economy of our lifetimes. The report, with benchmark data captured from April and May 2009, provides recommendations on how to improve the in-store experience even in an economic downturn.
PR Web
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Tags: benchmark data, challenges, co author, customer experience, economic downturn, economy, epicor, general merchandise, lifetimes, market share, retail enterprise, rosenblum, rsr, sap, singularity, store experience, store solutions, store technology, technology investments, unlocking the potential
Posted by Damien on Jun 5, 2009 in
Career,
Jobs and Careers,
Telecommute Jobs 
FlexJobs, the leading website for legitimate telecommuting and online job listings, today cautioned jobseekers to beware of a new phishing email scam targeting jobseekers. This most recent email phishing scam involves asking jobseekers to fill out a credit report in order to gain access to the final interview stage for a job.
The phishing email includes a link to a “free credit report” that the employer has arranged for the jobseeker’s convenience. Scammers are taking advantage of the high unemployment rate to contact people by email with deceptive offers for interviews and jobs.
CEO Sara Sutton Fell explains, “We have been seeing an increasing trend in which jobseekers are targeted by online scammers. This most recent job scam is designed to collect sensitive financial information from the jobseekers under the guise of a chance for employment. We are notifying the public to be cautious with any email that requests a credit report or payment in exchange for a job or a chance to interview for a job”.
FlexJobs recommends looking out for:
- Unsolicited emails.
- Emails from supposed employers but using free email domains (e.g., @yahoo.com, @gmail.com, @aol.com, or @hotmail.com) instead of one related to the company domain name.
- Emails from individuals or companies the jobseeker does not recognize, especially if the emails include links to click on for more information or to proceed with the job application process.
- Requests for detailed personal information, especially social security numbers or financial account details, before a job interview has even taken place.
- Required credit checks to prove interest in a job, or to get an interview.
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Posted by Damien on Jun 4, 2009 in
Business News,
Career,
Jobs and Careers 
The era of adding eco-friendly education has been in thought for some time now and now it looks like these will become a reality as a new green curriculum is reportedly in the works.
Green Builder College’s online courses will be included in the curriculum of 135 colleges across the country, including University of Arizona, University of Georgia, Rutgers State University, University of Washington, and Texas A&M University.
Green Builder College’s comprehensive curriculum covers topics such as land, energy, water, materials, indoor environment quality, green design, operations/maintenance, and environmental impact. All courses are taught online by acclaimed building professionals.
Green Builder College offers students an interactive experience with videos, study guides, and quizzes. Through the College, building professionals can become Green Builder Certified, allowing them to increase their credibility and validation in the marketplace.
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Posted by Damien on Jun 3, 2009 in
Career,
Jobs and Careers IT Jobs for Graduates, http://www.itjobsforgraduates.com, has launched an initiative called ‘Be Your Best’, http://beyourbest.itjobsforgraduates.com, offering job hunting tips and advice for IT graduates and students during the current economic downturn.
The first site dedicated to IT recruitment for interns and graduates, IT Jobs for Graduates works with some of the UK’s leading employers and IT recruitment agencies, helping candidates to find the right jobs. The website offers 1,800 internship and graduate programmes, as well as entry level vacancies on behalf of recruiters.
‘Be Your Best’ has been created to arm students and graduates looking for IT jobs with useful industry insight. The information is designed to help them stand out from the crowd and market themselves in the best possible way to potential recruiters, during the recession.
Following feedback from IT managers and recruiters, the team at IT Jobs for Graduates has created a knowledge centre. And, throughout May, June and July 2009, it will be releasing a series of articles offering tips and advice on areas including:
- How to make the most of networking opportunities
- What the best IT certifications are
- Managing your own brand
- The reality of the current IT internship/graduate recruitment market
A micro-site has also been launched, http://beyourbest.itjobsforgraduates.com, where students and graduates can provide their feedback, by sending in their stories and videos on something they did to really stand out from the crowd. And, updates for the campaigns will be going on to a twitter page, http://twitter.com/itjobs4grads, and also via the IT Jobs for graduates Facebook group ‘IT begins here’.
In conjunction with the online support, IT Jobs for Graduates will also be holding seminars at selected universities across the UK throughout June. Here, the team will run presentations and provide face-to-face advice on how students can ‘Be Their Best’, they will also provide mini CV workshops.
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The excitement of visiting college and university campuses just got a boost with Hampton Hotels’ “Cash for Colleges” contest to award families with funds for their college-bound children’s tuition.
With tuition costs of four-year private universities up 5.9 percent from last year to $25,143 and at four-year public universities up 6.4 percent to $6,585, as the mid-priced hotel leader, Hampton can be a valuable resource for parents and students visiting college and university campuses either to select a school or visit their children after they’ve already chosen.
Now through December 7, 2009, while they are on the road picking the perfect university, parents that book a stay at a Hampton hotel online at www.hampton.com/collegetours will be automatically entered into the “Hampton’s Cash for College Sweepstakes” to win one of two, $5,000 grand prizes, which can be applied to the rising costs of college tuition.
“We know selecting a university is a very thrilling time for the family and that the looming costs of higher education can be daunting to parents,” said Judy Christa-Cathy, vice president brand marketing for Hampton Hotels. “As your ‘friend in town,’ Hampton Hotels wants to help ease the financial worry for parents with our value-bundled amenities and the chance to win $5,000 towards their child’s education.”
To be automatically entered into “Hampton’s Cash for College Sweepstakes”, parents simply need to book a stay at www.hampton.com/collegetours and enter promo code “CAMPUS” now through December 7, 2009. Two lucky winners will receive $5,000 each, which can be used for college tuition, books, room and board and of course the school cafeteria. The first grand prize winner will be announced in September and the second grand prize winner in December.
With nearly 1,700 locations throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America and Europe, Hampton offers guests a value-driven experience in or near almost every major university in the U.S. at a price that is sure to fit in every college-student’s budget. In each Hampton Hotel, guests will receive a free On the House hot breakfast, free high-speed internet access in the rooms and lobbies and the exclusive “100% Hampton Satisfaction Guarantee”.
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U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that more than $50.1 million in Recovery Act funds will go to the State of Illinois to maintain or increase public safety in the state, while creating or retaining jobs within the law enforcement community. These Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program funds are part of more than $4 billion in Justice Department Recovery Act funds available to assist state, local and tribal law enforcement and for other criminal justice activities that help to prevent crime and improve the criminal justice system in the United States while supporting the creation of jobs and much needed resources for states and local communities.
As submitted in their application, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) plans to support proven and innovative evidence-based programs that create or preserve jobs; address a defined priority area; identify need through use of validated statistics; present realistic and measurable goals and objectives, as well as, the methods for measuring; present a justifiable budget; demonstrate a history of reliability and responsibility; and persuasively present a need for funding. The ICJIA Board, composed of the major stakeholders in the criminal justice system, will continue to review, analyze, and discuss general priorities and specific initiatives, and the Federal and State Grants Unit will oversee the administration of Recovery Act JAG funds. Coordination and oversight efforts will be reported to the Governor’s Office. Illinois is required to provide a portion of the $50.1 million to the local jurisdictions.
“By addressing Illinois’ economic challenges while simultaneously meeting the state’s public safety priorities, these funds represent the best of what the Recovery Act can do for our communities,” Attorney General Eric Holder said. “This vital funding will help fight crime and build safer communities, and we look forward to continued work with Illinois to address these criminal justice goals.”
The procedure for allocating JAG grants is based on a formula of population and violent crime statistics, in combination with a minimum allocation to ensure that each state and territory receives an appropriate share of funding. Sixty percent of the allocation is awarded directly to a state and 40 percent is set aside for units of local government. States are required to sub-grant a portion of the funds to local units of government, such as a city, county, township or town. Faith-based and other community organizations are also eligible to receive pass-through funding from the state, as are Tribal governments.
All local Recovery Act JAG awards will be announced at a later date. The deadline for local units of government to submit their Recovery Act applications to the Department of Justice has been extended to June 17, 2009. The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, established the previous deadline of May 18 to encourage early submission of applications in an effort to provide economic stimulus as soon as possible. Because this is a non-competitive formula grant program, the extension of this deadline does not impact either eligibility or funding determinations. For more local solicitation information, visit http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/recoveryJAG/JAGrecoveryLocal.pdf
The JAG Program is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions and is managed by BJA. JAG funds support all components of the criminal justice system, from multi-jurisdictional drug and gang task forces to crime prevention and domestic violence programs, courts, corrections, treatment, and justice information sharing initiatives. Projects may address crime through the provision of services directly to individuals and/or communities and by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal justice systems, processes, and procedures. For more details on the JAG Program or to track the use of Recovery Act funds, visit www.ojp.gov/recovery. For more details on how to apply for the state managed, pass-through funding, visit http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/saa/index.htm.
The Office of Justice Programs, headed by Acting Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson, provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP has five component bureaus: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office for Victims of Crime. Additionally, OJP has two program offices: the Community Capacity Development Office, which incorporates the Weed and Seed strategy, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). More information can be found at www.ojp.gov.
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