Sirona Says

How do Generation Y'ers and Generation Z'ers communicate?

This may surprise you (it certainly did me) that mobile texting didn't come out top in this survey, especially the way my daughters use their mobiles!! Habbo's Global Youth Survey looked at generation Y and generation Z teenagers - particularly aged 11-18 - to see how they communicate with other people (friends, family etc). Here are the ways they communicate:

1. Instant Messaging via internet  81%
2. Meeting in person   77%
3. Text Messages   70%
4. Talking on the phone   60%
5. Social Networking sites  54%
6. Email   41%

So as an employer looking to tap into this market, it does make interesting reading. Although the surprising one at the bottom is email with only 41%, it must be said that 72% of them do hold current email accounts but only use them for non-personal communication like school, work and family(!!!).

Blogs ARE here to stay, so get started!

Many companies are still shying away from the power of the blog. But some latest figures released by Comscore show that blogs are what people are reading online. Companies should really start to think about how they can harness this massive trend and use blogs. They could use them for recruitment, retention,product promotion, news and so much more - in fact the list is endless!!  The only advice I would say is to just put some thought into it first.........then blog away!!!

Here are the latest Comscore stats:

The Top 20 UK Blogging Sites had 33.2 million visitors in February (and thats JUST the Top 20!)

The Worlds Top 20 UK Blogging Sites had 822.9 million visitors in February.

So for all you non-believers out there, now is the time to start blogging!! After all it is what everyone else is doing!!!

'Superheads' - THE most important Talent Managers?

There has been much debate about the pay of Head Teachers, especially with the news that 'Superheads' - managing large grammar schools - should expect to earn circa £200k for the work they do. So, what is the problem here, and why are so many people so shocked?

We have a 'talent crunch' (sounds better than talent shortage doesn't it!) occurring at the moment that will only get worse over the next few years. The school population is absolutely key to employers over the next few years. Everyone goes on about generation Y and generation Z, and how they are going to deal with them, but they are already being managed now - in the Schools!Head Teachers and 'Superheads' are managing our future talent for us - no one to my knowledge has yet to define how old talent is - and with 'Superheads' managing schools with as much as 1500 pupils + staff in (that's alot of potential talented people!), why shouldn't be rewarded with a market applicable salary? If you were a CEO of a 1500 strong company I would like to bet your salary would definitely exceed £200k anyway!!

The aptly named Mr Ed Balls - the Labour Schools Secretary - should be applauded (just for a change) for trying to ensure that these important Talent Managers stay within education. (Now Mr Balls, can you set about the rest of the education system please!!!!)

First the McDiploma, now a Tesco Degree....what next a BA with BA?

The big companies are finally realising that there is such a lack of interested talent in the job market, that 'growing your own' is the way to solve their future talent management problems. McDonalds were one of the first, creating their own McDiploma's, and Tescos have gone one step further and have developed their own 'every little (graduate) helps'  foundation degree.

I have to say that I think these are great initiatives going forward, but will it now become a pre-requisite for their competitors to match them and start their own qualifications? So what could be next around the corner?

A degree in Pocket Tapping (Asda if you are wondering)

Its not just any degree it is an M&S Degree

Try something new this September, try a Sainsburys degree

Or outside of retail, you could go for a BA with BA

I am sure you can be creative with some others!!

Should Channel 4's Skins take a leaf out of Harry Potter's book?

Maybe the age thing is appearing again, as it seems that the Generation Y cast of Channel 4's popular TV programme Skins, have been told to hit the road and find a new job (much to the upset of my daughter!). The reason? simply that they are too old for the show. The producers have embarked on this risky move (after having built up a large and loyal following) of removing the whole cast and starting recruiting a new cast again from scratch. It is meant to mimic life changes - where you leave college after two years. But TV isn't real life - you only have to look at Harry Potter to see that you can stay at the same school age for 8 years!!!

The 'Posh Bird' who pushed Cantor Fitzgerald too far!!

After a previous popular post regarding writing indiscretions (in a blog), I thought you would enjoy a similar tale that definitely did result in a P45! It is about a 23 year old Cantor Fitzgerald City Broker called Venetia Thompson. She was sacked after writing in The Spectator, about the 'taboo subject'  of their male dominated culture within their offices in the  Square Mile.

The 'Posh Bird' Broker, as she called herself, wrote that half the City was functioning on very little sleep, with many people still frequently drunk at work after going out with Clients and returning to work soon after. This is something that she is proud of doing herself many times, as well as accepting extreme mail taunting,  seeing first hand office violence and bullying as well as creating a new language of cockney obscenities!!

Writing the Civil Serf Blog WILL lose you your job!

One thing that is certain (well in my opinion anyway) is that Whitehall's answer to Belle de Jour - Civil Serf (I would obviously link to it but it has been taken offline today!), will lose her job when the MI5 Spooks can actually find out who she is!! She claims to be a 33 year old fast stream civil servant, and Whitehall seem to have established that she is who she says she is because of the information she gives out in the blog! She began posting last November, saying that, " ..I'm just senior enough in my department to really know what's going on." Then she made a slight miscalculation, "Fortunately for me I'm not senior enough to attract suspicion from my blogging" - how wrong you were!!!!! They have been very aware of the blog and have become increasingly disgruntled at the content she has been posting.

Last week she wrote in her blog, "knowing my luck it (my blog) will get me fired!!"  Well it seems they have found her because her blog has mysteriously been taken down today!!  So I am guessing she will joining the list of the unemployed tomorrow!

Motto of this story - be very careful about writing about your employer, especially if it is the British Government!!

Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2008 - but where are the retailers?

Having just read my Sunday Times today, in particular the 100 Best Companies To Work For 2008 (250- 4999 employees) conducted by Best, I was very surprised with the results. My surprise is not with the winners, but with the companies that are missing. I am not being specific to individual companies, but to one of the largest employing sectors in the UK  - Retail. More than 3.2 million people work in retail and it is now the UK’s third largest industry behind business services and the health sector, and yet it did not feature once in the Top 100 companies to work for!! Not one retail company!

The only savior came in the form of Mothercare, who came 18th in the Top 20 Big Companies to Work For 2008 (5000 employees+). Surely Mothercare are not the only retailer worth working for in the UK, are they? What has happened to all those other top name retailers? Are they really that poor to work for?

With the continual demand for talent, it isn't a good advert for the retail sector is it? There is nothing like making it hard for yourself is there? All those talented graduates pay good credence to award lists like these and actively target these companies to work for. So is it any wonder the retail sector is always moaning about the lack of talent?

Recruiting the Web 3.0 way!

Many companies are still getting their heads around Web 2.0 and how they can use the real interaction it brings, to engage more effectively with job seekers and potential employees. There are some great sites, notably the new Microsoft site but in reality the vast majority of companies have struggled to grasp the Web 2.0 concept. Well all the geeks in geek land have come up with the next level if interaction - Web 3.0 aka The Semantic Web. In simple terms it means information that is understandable by computers without human intervention - enabling computers to perform more of the boring work involved in finding and sharing information on the Web.

So what will that mean to anyone who uses the web to recruit (nearly everyone!!)?

Spreading interview advice even further!

  I have always been one to offer advice to anyone looking for a new job or career, but thanks to Guardian Jobs, I am now able to share my advice even further. The Guardian have a very good Jobs section, with an excellent careers advice section offering advice on all aspects of finding a new job. They kindly asked to include a recent article I wrote on handshakes, within their Interview guide section, which of course I was happy to oblige with.