Attracting Investors – Crowdfunding vs. Venture Capital

Despite its democratic approach, how crowdfunding – a vehicle to help entrepreneurs raise money – is remarkably similar to venture capital funding.

 

May 15, 2013

Crowdfunding is getting a stamp of approval – as a stable source of raising capital for both established companies and startups – following a study by Wharton management Professor Ethan Mollick.

The trend is made possible by Web sites. The sites make it affordable and easy for entrepreneurs to raise cash. Ironically, crowdfunders are just as savvy as traditional sources of funds – venture capitalists – in picking the winners in which to invest.

“They are looking for similar signs of quality,” says Dr. Mollick. “There are things that increase the chance of being [crowd]funded if your backers don’t know whether you’re going to be successful yet.”

He examined Kickstarter, a crowdfunding site, for clues in how donors evaluate possible investments.

Entitled, “Swept Away by the Crowd? Crowdfunding, Venture Capital and the Selection of Entrepreneurs,” he studied 3200 projects – hardware, product design, software, and video games.

Funding priorities

The professor examined the funding priorities of investors:

“Does the project creator have experience in the field? Do they have a prototype? Do they have an endorsement from a prominent organization or individual? Those factors increase the chance a company is going to be successful, and they’re things a venture capitalist looks for as a signal of success. They seem to be the things crowedfunders look for, too.”

For example:

“You either believe that we have an existing system that makes sure the best computer science people work at Google and the best entrée funding is given by venture capitalists … or you believe that talent and opportunity are more widely distributed and that because of differences in opportunity, geography and background, people don’t have similar chances,” states the professor.

“What makes crowdfunding so interesting is that this puts the possibility of creating things in the hands of more people,” he adds.

Veronica Mars

The movie, “Veronica Mars,” is a good case study.

Creator Rob Thomas set a $2 million goal. Warner Bros. pledged n marketing and distribution support for a limited theatrical run.

The objective was attained in just 11 hours on Twitter. Later, 91,585 backers funded $5.7 million in a 30-day period.

Twitter’s role is not a surprise. Here’s how Twitter levels the playing field for small cap companies.

Kickstarter touts more crowdfunding successes: 10 percent of this year’s entries at Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival.

“Something’s happening: There’s a lot of money flowing, there’s policy and there’s promise. It’s the culmination of a bunch of things we care about,” adds Dr. Mollick.

“Trends like this have been coming together for a long time now,” he says. “Is it more democratic? Yes. But quality seems to matter, and that’s important and interesting. There are still a whole bunch of interesting questions that we don’t have answers to.”

Read his paper here.

From the Coach’s Corner, millions of entrepreneurs, investors and job seekers are still waiting for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s crowdfunding rules.

Here are more resource links:

• What Should You Divulge When Asking for Investment Capital?
• How to Attract an Angel Investor
• Eight Strategies to Consider Before Starting A Tech Business 

“If you can dream it, you can do it.”

-Walt Disney

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

Are Startups Facing a Series A Funding Crunch?

 

March 29, 2013 - 

The headlines about Series A funding for startups can be confusing. Do startups have a funding crisis or not?

While a law firm’s report shows a Series-A funding cataclysm mostly in the Silicon Valley, headlines emanating in southern California tell a different story.

Series A funding is the first round of financing for a startup that’s generating revenue, but not making a profit. In such early stage investments, the risk is usually funded by venture capital funds or angel investors.

The study by Fenwick & West showing a funding shortage was authored by Barry J. Kramer and Steven S. Levine in Mountain View, CA. They’re partners in the technology and life sciences law firm.

Study’s results

Here are excerpts from the study:

• Of the companies funded in 2011, 27 percent had raised a Series A financing by the end of the following year (2012), while 45 percent of the companies funded in 2010 had raised a Series A financing by the end of the following year (2011).
• Conversely, 23 percent of the companies funded in 2011 raised follow-on seed financing by the end of the following year, while 12 percent of the companies funded in 2010 had raised a follow on seed by the end of the following year.
• The percentage of companies in our survey receiving seed funding that were software companies increased from 25 percent in 2011 to 34 percent in 2012, while the percentage of such companies that were internet/digital media companies declined from 75 percent to 66 percent. 

Series A funding headlines

But farther south in California, there were seemingly conflicting headlines, for example:

• “Playdek Inc. Raises $3.8M in Series A Funding.” The Carlsbad gaming publisher, Playdek, announced it raised the funding from Qualcomm Ventures. Playdek’s games are produced for Apple.
• “ZeaKal Raises $3.8M in Series A Funding.” Zeakal is a San Diego-based plant science company that can now really focus on improving crop yields for rice, soybeans and other crops.

A primer – what’s going on?

“Yes, we are experiencing difficulty with some early-stage companies finding their Series A funding,” explains Joey Tamer in an e-mail. “But this is not new.  Years ago, in other boom times, I called it the ‘Series B gap’ but never publicized it.”

Ms. Tamer is widely acclaimed as a strategic consultant to entrepreneurs in software, internet, technology and digital media in Los Angeles (www.joeytamer.com).

“Here is the condition:  In times when there is a lot of capital for investment, and stable technology platforms that encourage lots of entrepreneurs to build new products and companies on those platforms, the very-early capital comes in to those new companies rather easily – before the product has to prove itself in the marketplace,” she wrote.

What about now?

“At this moment (2013), there are more early-stage funding vehicles than ever:  Incubators, accelerators, super angels, angel groups, boutique venture capitalists, and so on,” Ms. Tamer pointed out. “The current capital market encourages established venture capitalists to invest earlier than they have before, to make sure they get in on the action (and because there are so few other investment vehicles that can create an ROI).

Then what?

“Then the company moves its product into the marketplace, and is ‘early stage’ but not a ‘startup’ – and the criteria for investment is now focused on ‘market traction’ – read, real sales, real revenue, sustainable growth,” she added.  “At this point, many of the companies funded on their ‘concept’ and their ‘minimally viable product’ (MVP) fail to reach even the lowest benchmarks of market traction. And so they do not get the next round of capital – the $2M or $5M that lets the company create that traction, and go on to the next round ($10M -$20M) that allows it to scale.”

Why all the publicity?

“The reason we are hearing about the Series A crunch (rather than the Series B gap) is because there are so many new kinds of seed rounds ($20K-$50K from accelerators, followed by $500K – $700K from angels) that the real definition of Series A has morphed, and in fact is confused in its usage,” explained Ms. Tamer.

Conclusion

“The trend is the same as always – getting real capital for proof-of-market and subsequent scaling of a company has always been difficult,” she concluded. “Just now, there are many more startup companies with seed capital, and the same (small) number of those successfully penetrating their markets.”

Are you looking for capital? Ms. Tamer further explains background information on very-early stage seed capital.

Good luck!

From the Coach’s Corner, here are additional resource links:

• Startup Financial Planning: How to Get a Pragmatic Forecast
• How to Attract an Angel Investor
• Angel Investor: Tips for Increasing Cash Flow, Profits

“If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old”
-Peter F. Drucker

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

How to Avoid Failure in Risk Management and Strategic Planning

 

Incredible as it might seem, companies fail because they underestimate strategic risks – yes, strategic blunders instead of common sense – according to an authoritative study.

Instead of studying the successes of companies, Booz & Company consultants took the opposite approach in a 2012 study. In “The Lesson of Lost Value,” Christopher Dann, Matthew Le Merle and Christopher Pencavel looked at the biggest losers.

“To be sure, during the past decade, companies have steadily dialed up their focus on risk, in part as a reaction to the requirements of the U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002,” acknowledged the authors. “Individual functions such as accounting, finance, and compliance have improved risk controls.”

However, companies drop the ball. The consultants concluded that compliance issues weren’t the reasons for corporate failures. Senior management has often been misdirected.

“…they have usually done so with a bottom-up approach that has proven flawed,” they wrote.

Why?

Such companies have enterprise risk management (ERM) teams. ERM specialists are responsible for identifying and evaluating risks, and they start with an assumption – that senior executives are on the right track.

However, executives bypassed ERM in “what products and services to offer, whether to outsource manufacturing, or what acquisitions to make.” And the ERM folks aren’t apprised of the big picture.

Meantime, Messrs. Dann, Le Merle and Pencavel indicate the reasons for strategic risk have multiplied.

“Accelerating technology development is forcing the rapid adoption of new products, services, and business models; digital information is making organizations more vulnerable to theft and loss; supply chain disruptions quickly ripple around the globe, affecting both companies and customers; consumer connectivity via social networks can broadcast missteps instantaneously to millions of people worldwide; and natural, political, or regulatory shocks can reverberate widely,” they explained.

“For example, an ERM team can call attention to risks associated with doing business with manufacturers in Southeast Asia, but it can’t evaluate whether the company should be outsourcing to the region in the first place. This responsibility gap can be costly,” they offered.

What about shareholder value? Underestimating risk by CEOs also means too much risk for investors.

The consultants’ recommendations:

1. Broaden awareness about uncertainty and risk. We expect change to continue accelerating and uncertainties to increase. Extreme events with extreme consequences cannot be accurately predicted, but they can be anticipated. Management teams need to think broadly about what could occur and constantly layer new risks into their calculations as these risks emerge.

2. Integrate risk awareness directly into strategic decision making. By conducting more conversations about risk at the top levels of the company, looping in key individuals as needed, management acquires a full understanding of the uncertainties — both upside and downside — inherent in strategic decision making.

3. Focus on strategic resiliency. Managers need to consider how strategic decisions can affect resiliency, incorporate resiliency into all decision making, and always be on the lookout for more strategically resilient alternatives in order to build greater corporate agility.

See the report.

Good stuff. The study makes a lot of sense.

In the past, I’ve questioned the approach by Carly Fioria at Hewlett-Packard (Leadership, HR, Marketing Lessons from HP’s Executive Turmoil).

Need another tech example? Consider Yahoo (Did Carol Bartz Use the Right Leader.ship Approach?).

You might also want to consider an aerospace example (Boeing, Airbus Rivalry – Lessons in Strategic Planning).

From the Coach’s Corner, regarding the mistake executives usually make in mergers:  They must consult HR pros first.

“Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.”

-Warren Buffett

 

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

Small Business Will Continue Cuts in Spending, Hiring – Wells Fargo/Gallup

 

Dec. 16, 2012

By double-digits, small-business owners have been retreating on their spending and hiring, and will continue to retrench, according to the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index.

The November 2012 research clearly shows many small-business owners are pessimistic. Such conclusions have also been drawn by National Federation of Independent business, which reported small businesspeople are depressed by their prospects.

The Wells Fargo/Gallup report also reports such economizing is a reflection of the times. Ordinarily, such pessimism fades in a short amount of time. But the study shows small businesses have cut back multiple times since the Great Recession.

Worse, the trend will continue.

 

The study indicates small-business owners are the most apprehensive they’ve been since W3 2010. Twenty percent will increase their capital spending, which is worse since July 2012. Thirty-four percent will cut back, also an increasingly bad indicator. Forty-five percent anticipate no change.

Net capital spending was down in 2012.

The small businesses that expect to increase spending, the 18 percent, is almost identical to 2011. The 40 percent that spent less in 2012 is similar to 2011 when 43 percent cut back. 

Finally, the study concludes small businesses probably hope to make large capital expenditures when the economy improves.

Unfortunately, from my observations in articles about public policy and the astute economic analyses by a noted economist, don’t count on improvement any time soon.

From the Coach’s Corner, in this portal, you can find hundreds of proven solutions in these categories: Marketing/sales, finance, planning, operations, tech and HR.

Some days you’re the dog; some days you’re the hydrant.

 

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry. 

 

Small Businesspeople Are Depressed by Their Prospects – Study

 

Small business optimism has plummeted to one of its lowest levels in history, according to a nationwide study by the National Federation for Independent Business (NFIB).

NFIB’s small business optimism index dropped by 5.6 points to 87.5 in November 2012. It was a stunning development. The consensus forecast by most economists was 92.5.

“Something bad happened in November,” NFIB’s chief economist, Bill Dunkelberg, said in a statement.

It had little to do with Hurricane Sandy.

“The storm had a significant impact on the economy, no doubt, but it is very clear that a stunning number of owners who expect worse business conditions in six months had far more to do with the decline in small-business confidence,” he explained.

There were red flags in these categories: Capital investments, earning trends and expansion. The only bright spot was in planned employment increases.

“Nearly half of owners are now certain that things will be worse next year than they are now,” said the economist. “Washington does not have the needs of small business in mind.”

What are the specific concerns?

“Between the looming ‘fiscal cliff,’ the promise of higher health care costs and the endless onslaught of new regulations, owners have found themselves in a state of pessimism,” he explained.

As written on this business portal’s Public Policy section in many articles, economic policies have been dysfunctional and will only continue to be so.

A few examples:

• The Connection: 7.9% Unemployment and Obama’s Failure to Convene His Jobs Council
• Alarming Trend — Why Startups No Longer Lead in Job Creation
• Canadian Study – U.S. States Plummet in Economic Freedom

Further, ObamaCare is a mega threat to businesses and the nation. Countless companies – small, medium and large – have indicated they’re alarmed at ObamaCare’s ominous impacts.

In talking with businesspeople, it was the re-election of President Obama that severely depressed them.

The federal budget deficit has been a big black hole during his administration. Each year, it has been $1 trillion or higher, and it’s likely to continue. Further, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has not even allowed a vote on the budget since 2009. Businesspeople couldn’t possibly operate successfully without a budget.

Federal expenditures on healthcare, public-employee pensions and social security have jumped by $666 billion.

Increasing taxes on couples earning $250,000 is bad policy. Many are small-business employers. The aggregate taxes – local income, payroll and state in states such as Maryland and New York – are already approaching 50 percent.

Little wonder small businesspeople are depressed.

From the Coach’s Corner, the antidote for depression is action. See the Marketing/Sales section for more than 150 business-coaching articles.

“One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity.”

-Albert Schweitzer

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional.Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

Co-workers Play Negative Roles in Whistleblower Retaliations

 

No one likes a snitch. But there is a need for protection of conscientious employees when they blow the whistle on discrimination, sexual harassment, mishandling of hazardous waste or disloyal employees who cook the books.

A study by the Ethics Resource Center found whistleblower retaliation increased 83 percent from 2007 to 2012. Almost 33 percent of whistleblowers were victims of retaliation. After blowing the whistle on wrongful acts in 2011, they were attacked physically or suffered damage to their homes or cars.  

Retaliation is one of the six reasons why companies fall into the costly management lawsuit trap.

Whistleblower retaliation issues are prevalent – not only because of management but the behavior of co-workers, too. That’s according to another 2012 study by the global ethics and consulting firm, NAVEX Global. The survey included Fortune 500 companies and multinational firms.

The goal was to develop information to “cultivate trust and engagement between workers and management.” But only 15 percent of respondents said their companies had transparency in whistleblower retaliation.

“Providing a hotline number for raising concerns is not enough,” said Shanti Atkins, president and chief strategy officer of NAVEX Global. “To maintain a positive corporate culture that is rooted in trust, organizations need to share sanitized information on how management actually handles claims.”

“It is time to take away the mystery of what happens after an employee reports an issue,” he added.

The study’s results:

• Employees increasingly view retaliation as coming from peers and not just management. When asked how front line employees define retaliation, the definition typically included negative comments from their peers. Being “socially shut out by co-workers and managers” was also cited.
• Seventy-four percent of respondents view training and awareness programs as most effective in minimizing retaliation claims. The next two most effective methods identified were more open communications between management and line workers (45 percent), and an enhanced corporate culture (41 percent). Stronger disciplinary measures ranked as among the least effective methods.
• A “significant” number of respondents (35 percent) said executives or high performers are merely “coached” after they engage in retaliation, as opposed to “fired,” “penalized” or subjected to other disciplinary action.
• Thirty-nine percent of respondents said their organization uses whistleblower reporting data to inform reports to the Board of Directors.

Obviously, stronger ethics are needed to put a halt to this epidemic. Productive footwork is needed by management and human resources professionals.

From the Coach’s Corner, recommended reading:

• Workplace Bullies May Hurt Retention of All Employees, Not Just Victims
• How You Can Eliminate Destructive Conflict for Better Teamwork
• First Step in Fighting Lawsuit Abuse – Risk Management
• 6 Steps to Implement a Cultural Change for Profits
• 18 Tips for Productive Behavior to Win in Office Politics

“To see a wrong and not to expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance.”

-Dr. John Raymond Baker

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

Why Manufacturing Jobs Are Beginning to Come Back to U.S.

 

Reshoring is underway. Forty percent of manufacturers have moved their operations back to America from China and India, according to an academic study sponsored by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.

“Going overseas is not the panacea that it was thought of just a decade or so ago,” said Tobias Schoenherr, assistant professor in MSU’s top-ranked Department of Supply Chain Management.

“Companies have realized the challenges and thus are moving back to the United States,” the study co-author said.

Why? He said the respondents – involving 319 manufacturers – cited labor costs, oil prices, transportation costs, political instability and other reasons.

Other factors included the attrition of intellectual property as well as poor product quality. Those are challenging problems exacerbated by differences in time zones, languages and cultures.

The reshoring trend includes these industries:

• aerospace and defense
• industrial parts and equipment
• electronics
• medical and surgical supplies

“We were surprised by the large percentage of firms indicating that they are considering reshoring,” said the researcher.

Thirty-eight percent of respondents explained that their competitors have also brought back jobs.

More good news:

“From my communication with some firms, I also sense a genuine desire to help the U.S. economy and to bring back jobs,” he added.

Other study co-authors: Wendy Tate and Kenneth Petersen of the University of Tennessee and Lisa Ellram of Miami University (Ohio).

See all of the organization’s case studies.

From the Coach’s Corner, related reading:

• Your Supply Chain Can Meet the Expected Standards of Customers, If…
• Why Kaizen Philosophy Works in Lean Principles for Business and Public Sector
• Developing Trends, and Solutions for Manufacturing Success
• Study: Why Lean Manufacturing Principles Often Don’t Work

“The American consumer is also the American worker, and if we don’t do something to protect our manufacturing base here at home, it is going to be hard to buy any retail goods.”

-Lindsey Graham

 

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

Are HR Departments to Blame for a Talent Crisis?

 

Human resources departments aren’t providing their companies enough support for employees, talent recruitment, learning and development, and succession planning – according to a study by a global strategic-consulting firm.

The study by The Hackett Group is entitled, “”Cracks in the Foundation: Closing the Critical Skills Gap Undermining Business Capabilities.” Its 2012 study concludes that finance, information technology, procurement and HR are all suffering from a shortfall in skills and talent.

The research included six functions:

1. Workforce planning and succession
2. Collaboration/knowledge sharing
3. Retention
4. Managing performance
5. Learning and development
6. Recruiting and staffing

Management complained, on average, that HR is only providing “talent-management support” less than 35 percent of the time.

Another complaint: HR departments only deliver a comprehensive level of needed service less than 35 percent of the time.

The Hackett Group’s research echoes other 2012 studies:

• HR firm Kenexa reported a big schism exists between what human resources professionals think they know about their workforce and what employees actually believe (HR Perceptions vs. Reality – There’s a Big Gap, Study).
• Human resource professionals are holding both themselves and their employers back, according to global management consultants, the Hay Group (Study: HR Pros Fall Short as ‘Strategic Business Partners’).

“At most companies, business services functions were badly weakened by across-the-board cuts during the recent recession,” said The Hackett Group Global HR Practice Leader Harry Osle. “Underinvestment in talent has created deficits in important skills such as business acumen, strategic thinking and analysis, change management, and process improvement capabilities.”

He also said management and HR aren’t collaborating.

“This is a dangerous situation with the potential to cripple companies that don’t address it quickly,” he added. “While these business services functions are often considered cost-centers, they provide key services that enable companies to manage and optimize assets ranging from cash, capital and talent to technology and product/service inputs.”

There’s additional management dissatisfaction most of the time with HR:

• Talent management service –  nearly 70 percent of the time
• Collaboration and knowledge sharing – dissatisfied or very dissatisfied – 79 percent
• Retention – dissatisfied or very dissatisfied – 70 percent

Eighteen percent o f the companies said HR delivered adequate proficiency in collaboration and knowledge sharing.

The bright spot: Thirty-three to 47 percent of companies expressed satisfaction in the level of HR services in workforce planning, performance

“Today’s changing business environment requires that business services organizations retool and radically change their mix of staff to improve their ability to directly impact on business performance,” said The Hackett Group Chief Research Officer Michel Janssen. “Talent management is key, and business services can’t accomplish this without strong and effective support from HR.”

He did say management and HR must work harder to improvement their communication.

“Business services managers must take the lead in specifying their needs, and taking accountability for results for talent management,” he added. “HR must provide comprehensive process and administrative support, methods and tools, training and guidance to function leaders.”

The study made more recommendations:

• Business services must do a better job of defining and prioritizing the skills and characteristics that are truly essential for job candidates to have.
• HR can also rely less heavily on external labor markets, and develop staff, as well as examine alternative approaches to recruiting, such as hiring less-experienced staff with development potential and permission-based recruiting.
•  Candidate relationship management is also a powerful emerging strategy for handling company interactions with applicants, candidates and current employees.

My sense is that both sides have work to do:

• In view of The Hackett Group research, and the other two studies, it’s obvious that many HR professionals need training in process improvement, communication and leadership.
• Management needs to be proactive in conveying goals to HR professionals. If instructions aren’t followed by HR, management should act to deal with an unacceptable situation.

From the Coach’s Corner, here is recommended reading:

• Link between Financial Performance and Succession Planning
• How You Can Eliminate Destructive Conflict for Better Teamwork
• Human Resources: How to Fine-Tune Management of your Staff
• How Not to Worry about Keeping Your Top Employees

“Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.” 

-Stephen Covey

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

How Not to Worry about Keeping Your Top Employees

 

Increasingly, employers are worried about filling open slots and retaining their best workers, according to a 2012 survey of 526 human resources professionals.

Sixty-one percent indicate they’re concerned about retention. That’s the conclusion from the study, “Retention of Key Talent and the Role of Rewards.”

Only 49 percent are confident about retention efforts.

Hopefully, you’re able to retain key workers. If you’re finding it challenging to keep your best employees, you know the frustrations and cost of turnover.

It’s important to identify and retain excellent workers. You can if you know which employees are most-likely to quit. You will profit by not letting your stars become free agents.

Indeed, 83 percent of the study’s respondents is aware of the costs associated with turnover. Two thirds say a salient issue for management is keeping top performers.

 The study was conducted in 2012 by Dr. Dow Scott, professor of human resources at Loyola University Chicago and WorldatWork, Hay Group.

The No. 1 reason top talents leave? Pay.

Four other reasons:

• Dissatisfaction with job and responsibilities
• Perception that pay is unfair
• Promotional opportunities
• Concerns about the direction of the organization and its leaders

“Talent wars are going to become intense, not just this year but for the foreseeable future, because jobs are becoming more complex and demanding, Baby Boomers are retiring and Generation X has far fewer people who can fill this gap, and other countries are retaining their most talented people with great job opportunities of their own,” says Dr. Scott.

“Top talent can more easily compare the ‘deal’ or pay package they get from their employer with other organizations via social networking sites like Salary.com, Vault.com and Glassdoor.com,” says Tom McMullen, North America reward practice leader for Hay Group.

“If a company is to thrive in the next decade, they must learn how to recruit, develop and retain key talent in a much more competitive and transparent competitive environment,” he adds.

The study’s three main recommendations:

• Identify key employees and discuss with them their future opportunities with the organization
• Pay key employees above the labor market
• Allow flexible hours or telecommuting

In addition, another proven solution is to power your brand with employee empowerment.

“Rewards professionals are under increased pressure to make counteroffers, increase new-hire offers, and offer special deals to retain key employees,” says Kerry Chou, a certified compensation professional and practice leader at WorldatWork.

“The most successful organizations moving forward will be those that develop a clear definition of what is considered key talent, identify them and make a concerted effort to ensure that those employees are engaged with their organization and satisfied with the full range of organization rewards,” he says.

The study included a cross section of respondents:

• 47 percent – private sector-publicly traded
• 26 percent – private sector-privately held
• 26 percent – public sector and not-for-profit

From the Coach’s Corner, here are three salient readings:

• Are You Successful In Keeping Female Talent? Here’s How and Why
• Strategies: If a Valued Employee Wants a Raise, and Money’s Tight
• Human Resources: The Future of Performance Reviews

“The Customer Comes Second: Put Your People First and Watch ‘em Kick Butt.”

-Hal Rosenbluth

 

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

5 Factors to Get Peak Google Results for Your Web Site – Study

 

What do top Web sites have in common? According to an authoritative study, successful sites produce a high number of Facebook and Twitter messages, but the sites minimize the volume of ads on its pages.

Those are the salient lessons from a 2012 study by Searchmetrics, a search and social analytics firm.

Leading brands also have an inherent competitive edge in search results, says Searchmetrics.

The study examined the results for 300,000 Web sites and 10,000 keywords to determine the relationships that lead to strong Google rankings. The connections between the sites and keywords were determined using a process known as “Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient.” Charles Edward Spearman was an English psychologist (1863-1945), who was recognized for his success in statistics and factor analysis.

Searchmetric’s five salient conclusions:

• Social media signals show extremely high correlation: social signals from Facebook, Twitter and Google+ are frequently associated with good rankings in Google’s index. This is interesting in particular for the UK, which hasn’t had such a strong correlation with social signals up to this point.
• Too much advertising is detrimental: for the first time we are seeing sites with too many advertisements struggling to rank well. However, the problem correlates only to AdSense adblockers.
• Backlinks are still important but quantity is not the only important thing: even though the number of backlinks is still the most powerful factor, links with stop words and ‘nofollow’ should also be included in the link-mix.
• Brands leverage classic SEO signals: apparently pages with strong brands do not need be as concerned with the areas of title tags, headings etc. According to our figures, this group operates under different rules.
• Keyword domains still frequently attract top results: despite all the rumors to the contrary, keyword domains are still alive and well and are often in the top rankings.

From the Coach’s Corner, here are related resource links:

• Checklist: 14 Strategies to Rock on Google 
• Web Site ‘Priming’ – 6 Tips That Will Help You Succeed 
• How Small Businesses Can Capitalize on Cyber Strategies for Profit 
• Tips, Plus Why it’s Never Too Early to Plan for Q4 E-commerce 
• Best Practices to Optimize Your Brand, Manage Your Web Reputation 

Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and they won’t bother you for weeks. 

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

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