Dell Wants Half of Employees Working Remotely by 2020 by Jeffrey Burt

Company officials say having employees telecommute or work remotely saves money, makes employees more productive and helps the environment. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer in February generated a lot of attention when the company announced that employees could no longer work from home and had to come into the office. Mayer and other Yahoo officials said it was the right move for the company, arguing that Yahoo needed to improve communication and collaboration among employees, and that it was difficult to do without having the employees under the same roof.

The decision went against the trend toward telecommuting—particularly in the tech sector—and was furiously debated, with critics saying that telecommuting boosted worker productivity, made for more satisfied employees, was a good recruiting tool, saved companies money and helped the environment. It also reportedly has engendered some anger from Silicon Valley residents, who say Yahoo's decision and similar ones by other tech vendors like Hewlett-Packard are key contributors to a worsening traffic situation in the area, according to Business Insider. However, Dell is laying out a plan to get half of its workforce to work remotely at least part of the time by 2020, which officials said will reduce the vendor's expenses while helping out the environment. The effort around increased telecommuting is one of more than two dozen goals outlined in a recent report by the newly-private Dell—called the "2020 Legacy of Good" plan—that officials are aiming for over the next six-plus years to reduce the company's impact on the environment.

Other goals range from ensuring that 100 percent of Dell packaging is made from reusable or compostable materials, phasing out "environmentally sensitive materials" (such as mercury and berylium) as viable alternatives hit the market, getting 75 percent of employees involved in community service, and diverting 90 percent of all waste generated by Dell buildings away from landfills. Dell already offers flexible work schedules through its Connected Workplace program, through which 20 percent of employees telecommute, work remotely or have variable work times. Trisa Thompson, vice president of corporate responsibility at Dell, told Houston television station KVUE that having 20 percent of the company's 14,000 employees at Round Rock, Texas, saved Dell $14 million in 2012 and reduced CO2 emissions by 6,735 metric tons. Increasing the number of telecommuters and remote workers to 50 percent could result in more than 7,000 cars being taken off area roads, Thompson said." Technology now allows people to connect anytime, anywhere, to anyone in the world, from almost any device," the Dell report reads. "This is dramatically changing the way people work, facilitating 24x7 collaboration with colleagues who are dispersed across time zones, countries and continents.

Dell is a global technology leader, so our team members should be able to take advantage of the flexible work opportunities that our own products and services create."The company also has begun offering consulting services to customers looking to create similar flexible work schedules using Dell technology and expertise.

According to the market research firm Global Workplace Analytics, telecommuting and remote working is becoming increasingly popular, with 3.3 million people in the United States—not including the self-employed or unpaid volunteers—saying their home is their primary place of work. Regular telecommuting grew by 79.7 percent between 2005 and 2012, and should grow to 3.9 million workers by 2016, according to the firm.Sixty-four million U.S. employees—about half of all workers in the country—are in a job that is compatible to telecommuting and remote working at least part of the time, Global Workplace Analytics reported.According to a March report by Staples Advantage, the B2B unit of retail chain Staples, 93 percent of employees surveyed said telecommuting programs are benefitting both them and their companies, and 53 percent of business decision makers said telecommuting leads to more productive employees.

In addition, 37 percent of employers reported a drop in absenteeism, while 48 percent of remote workers surveyed said they are less stressed.However, there also were concerns: 59 percent of telecommuters don't use their company’s data backup system, putting sensitive information at risk, and 33 percent of employees said dealing with IT issues is one of the most difficult aspects of working from home

How to Find Great Candidates by Looking Past the Obvious – by Brandi Temple

When your business is growing fast -- faster than you could ever possibly imagine -- it's likely that you will consider bringing in an expert who has "been there and done that" to help your business go where you want it to go. But whether you are inventing something completely new, creating a new business model or merely shaking up the status quo (and aren't we entrepreneurs always trying to do that?), an expert from the trenches of business-as-usual may not be the perfect fit for your company.

It's not that you don't need an expert. Most growing businesses could benefit from a seasoned point of view. But you need a very special kind of expert, someone willing to help you build the business you want to build, not the one she thinks you should be building. That kind of expert is not so easy to find.

To avoid making costly mistakes (and I'm speaking from experience), here's what we try to do at my company, Lolly Wolly Doodle:

Don't start with the title.
Old-fashioned job titles can send you down a rabbit hole. Even if you're sure you need a vice president of operations, you should identify the top three things that you want accomplished by the person sitting in that job. Be as specific as possible. Then, when the VP of operations from the big-box store down the road walks in for an interview and shares her experience with you, listen for those three things.

Prepare three scenarios and ask how she would react to them. If she answers differently than you expect, don't discount the expert right away, but explain how your company reacts and listen carefully to how she responds. That will give you clues as to how her experience might align with your needs.

Get granular.
If you're interviewing a candidate from a traditional top-down company for your new and growing business, don't gloss over the specifics of his experience. Startups require someone who is hands-on and flexible and who has been close to the ground recently enough to understand not only how to manage people and develop processes, but also how to roll up his sleeves and do it themselves.

If you're looking for an expert in enterprise resource planning, ask each candidate how many systems he has implemented. What went right and wrong? What was his specific role? You may be in apparel, like Lolly Wolly Doodle, and the candidate may come from the grocery business, but you may find that his experience dovetails with your needs. You won't know unless you ask for specifics.

Don't compromise.
It's so easy to be dazzled by the promise of experience when you're determined to succeed. But tread carefully. A wrong hire can prove costly -- in time, in money and in business progress. Make sure the cultural fit is right. If you're gutsy and fast-paced, then your expert -- no matter whether he hails from a traditional role in corporate America or the startup in the office next door with the magnetic black walls and neon chalk -- better share your values and vision.

Know exactly what you need.
If we knew exactly what we needed, we might not have sought an expert in the first place, right? Well, not exactly. As someone who built a business from the ground up, I still feel the urge to do everything myself, but realistically I can't. So if you wind up hiring an expert who doesn't work out (and it's bound to happen at some point), reevaluate those top three things that you thought you needed in the first place.

The best way to revamp that list is to do the job yourself. If the person you hired was perfect on paper but didn't work out, it may be that you didn't fully know what you needed. You probably won't be able to do the job perfectly, which means you will quickly learn what skills you are seeking to fill your knowledge gaps. After all, isn't filling gaps in knowledge what working with an expert is all about?

The author is an Entrepreneur contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Brandi Temple is the founder and CEO of Lolly Wolly Doodle, a social shopping innovator and leader in personalized children’s apparel and accessories. A mother of four and a first-time entrepreneur, Temple founded the Lexington, N.C.-based company in 2008. All Lolly Wolly Doodle clothes are designed, manufactured or customized in the U.S., creating new American manufacturing jobs.

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229962#ixzz2lkHtWano

Don't Recruit The Best People - Attract Them

Smart leaders don't recruit the best people, they attract them. Why do they do it? They do it because it makes their lives easier, and their companies more successful. How do they do it? They have a clearly defined corporate Purpose For Existing (PFE), they tell the world about it, they live it, and the best people come to them. They don't recruit, they attract.
The success of this method is based on two principles. The first is a very basic tenant of life on the planet; "Birds with same feather flock together". It is this reason that zebras run together on the African plains,
geese flock together in v-shape formation, similar looking fish travel in schools. In any given crowd of people, each sub-group is composed of individuals with similar characteristics or persona. They experience a level of mental comfort, which enables them to be at peace with themselves. A leader who has defined their company's PFE is saying in essence "I am a zebra. If you too are a zebra, come out here on the plains and join me."

The second principle is that the best and the brightest in the work-force seek more than just a paycheck from their job, they seek fulfillment of their own personal Purpose For Existing (PFE). On average, employees spend 70% of their waking hours Monday through Friday either at work, getting to work, or preparing for work. For the most part, their work is their life. The best and the brightest know this, and understand this. They want to make sure that while spending 70% of their life at work, they are in some way fulfilling their own PFE. They seek out companies where the organization's PFE supports their own.

The concept of attracting vs. recruiting might not seem like an important topic in an era of economic uncertainty where companies are laying people off, or freezing the hiring process. The U.S. has been in that situation now for almost three years. However, data from the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, and independent studies from professional staffing and Human Resource Management firms indicate a change is coming. Projections are for labor shortages starting this year in certain industries and increasing to approximately 6 million skilled workers in 2012. India faces a similar situation where companies are on a recruitment spree considering the tremendous growth opportunity existent in their respective field. The repercussions of such a shortage won't just be felt in lost opportunity costs as companies can't get the necessary qualified talent to serve new customers. More painful and directly impacting will be the costs felt as employers try to fill open positions. According to Human Resource studies, total costs to replace a skilled managerial level employee can total as much as 150% of the departing person's salary by the time recruiting, training, and productivity costs due to losses with current customers are factored in. With studies showing 55% of salaried people planning on moving as jobs become available, this cost could be substantial for individual companies.

From the staffing perspective this will be the year of the wake up call for many people in HR/Staffing roles. The economy is in the midst of a full swing change and what you did in the past to attract, hire and retain your talent will simply not cut it anymore.

Every indication in the last two fiscal quarters suggests that hiring is on the rise. It doesn't take much of an effort to see that a good number of these jobs are of the meaty variety, which simply means that people who will be looking have more selection and more meaningful jobs with real opportunity within their grasp. The idea of taking a job just to stay employed (and in many cases underemployed) just won't cut it anymore.

If you haven't checked the pulse of your own company recently you might be surprised to find out the mix of engaged, quasi-engaged and completely disengaged employees you have on staff. If the only way to verify this statistic involves checking your turnover rates on a weekly/monthly basis – you're in deeper trouble than you think - when turnover begins and a few success stories start to trickle in from the outside concerning your ex-employee who is now working for your competitor and has a team of 10 working under him. This ignites the hidden ambitions of present employees who feel they are been let down by their organization, and can get a good bet outside.

Organizations can avoid this phenomenon by making sure that there is goal congruence between individual and organizational PFE. This will eliminate the culmination of ambitions due to external influence.

In light of this looming future, the opportunity to attract versus recruit the best people, as well as the issue of maintaining the right employees, both become more relevant. Leaders play a vital role in changing a given situation by influencing by their deeds. Those leaders interested in creating an environment where they attract instead of recruit the best candidates should follow three key steps.
1. Clarify Your PFE
2. Tell the World What Your PFE Is
3. Fulfill Your PFE

Clarify Your PFE:
What is your organization's Purpose For Existing (PFE)? Why was the organization formed? What unique function does it serve? Many organizations already have their PFE as a deeply imbedded part of their culture, and often it exists in some written form. It may seem obvious to you as a leader, or to your employees. Now is the time to either turn it into the written word if it isn't yet, or make sure it is clearly articulated if it already exists in writing.
An example of a PFE that is clear, impacting, and to the point is that of Merck & Co., Inc. Merck is a global pharmaceutical products and services company that focuses heavily on research. Their PFE is stated in the following way "Our business is preserving and improving human life." They back this up with the following sub statement. "All of our actions must be measured by our success in achieving this goal."

Tell The World What Your PFE Is:
When you have a clearly articulated version of your PFE, let the world know what it is. Put it on all your marketing materials, internal documents, web sites, and your communications with buyers, suppliers, customers, campus placement offices, and partners. Make sure that when people hear the name of your company, they automatically know what your PFE is. It is through these efforts that you are saying to the world "I am a zebra. If you too are a zebra, come join me". Your PFE will have an impact on the people who interact with you. Those who have a personal PFE that is similar to your organization's and who in fact can fulfill their PFE by helping your organization fulfill its PFE, will now be attracted to you. Think in terms of Merck. How attracted do you think someone is to Merck if their personal PFE is to improve human life?

Fulfill Your PFE:
Ralph Waldo Emerson said "What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you are saying." This is something for organizations to remember. To succeed in attracting, not recruiting the best people, an organization must live up to the PFE that it identifies and promotes to the world. Exhibiting actions incongruent with that PFE will quickly damage the company's credibility and decrease their attraction. However, for organizations that live the PFE they create, every action they do makes the attraction that much stronger for potential candidates. Organizations that follow these three steps will find themselves approaching hiring in an entirely new way. Creating awareness about the organization's PFE and then interviewing people attracted to the company will become the norm, not recruiting. For organizations that are doing the three steps very successfully, having to work hard to recruit someone should be an indication that they are trying to get the wrong person. If someone clearly understands your organization's PFE and your organization has done an effective job of fulfilling its PFE, but the person still needs to be convinced, then you don't want them in your organization.

Make your life easier and make your company more successful. Don't recruit the best people, attract them.