Content about Economics

December 17, 2012
How Progressive Insurance Helps Home-Based Agents Learn

As of July 2011, Progressive Insurance had 500 reps working from home. The effort required significant collaboration between leadership, Human Resources, workforce management, information technology, and training. As a result of the training, Progressive’s customer retention measure was higher four out of the first six months in 2011.

By Margery Weinstein

During 2008, The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies Contact Centers conducted a pilot to determine the impact of allowing contact center representatives to work from home. Based on the success of this pilot, additional participants were added. As of July 2011, the company had 500 reps working from home. The effort required significant collaboration between leadership, Human Resources, workforce management, information technology, and training.

October 17, 2012
Developing Leaders in Emerging Markets

The explosive growth rates in emerging markets such as India has ensured that almost all organizations are forced to rely on young managers who are struggling with the lack of experience of managing people, limited ability to handle pressure, and the lack of the business acumen and maturity to guide people. Here are three key points organizations need to address.

By Abraham Zachariah, Vice President, Capability Development Lead- India, Business Process Outsourcing, Accenture

Arguably one of the biggest challenges most organizations face today in emerging markets such as India is the ability to manage a young work force and channel their abundant energies. This young work force is restless and tech savvy, seeks instant gratification, and needs to be constantly challenged and engaged. To top it all off, they seem to have numerous options in front of them, and loyalty to the organization is no longer considered a virtue.

February 20, 2012
A Higher Calling

Verizon rang in the New Year with a new number: The telecom company earned the No. 1 spot on the 2012 Training Top 125. Farmers Insurance claimed the No. 2 spot, while Top 5 newcomers Miami Children’s Hospital, Mohawk Industries, and McDonald’s nabbed Nos. 3, 4, and 5, respectively.

Verizon rang in the New Year with a new number: The telecom company earned the No. 1 spot on the 2012 Training Top 125. Farmers Insurance claimed the No. 2 spot, while Top 5 newcomers Miami Children’s Hospital, Mohawk Industries, and McDonald’s nabbed Nos. 3, 4, and 5, respectively.

Some 24 new companies broke into the Top 125 this year, with Capital One and Sprint Nextel Corp. debuting in the Top 50. The majority of the companies are in the health/medical services, real estate/insurance, business services, and finance/banking industries.

January 13, 2012
The Agony and the Ecstasy—Building Innovation Capability

Many firms fail at innovation because they lack the right management capability in the areas of discovery skills, execution skills, and leadership behaviors. The good news is that while innovation is a difficult capability to develop, it can be done.

By Peter Mulford, Executive Vice President, BTS

Does your organization have the managerial know-how to innovate? If so, do your managers know the behaviors they must change in order to cultivate a culture of innovation?

For most companies, in our experience, the answer is no. And the problem is neither a lack of resources nor of creativity itself, but of management capability—specifically, the capability to convert new ideas into value creation. The good news is that building innovation capability is not easy, but it can be done. Here’s how.

October 19, 2011
Simplifying Back-End Training Management

Home-based blog design business April Showers needed to find a simplified solution to managing its training registration and payment. The Rev Stream solution enabled the owner to devote less time to bookkeeping and more time to designing, teaching, and earning money.

By Bob Lee, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Learning Solutions, Citrix Online

April Showers, located in Twin Falls, ID, is a home-based business founded in 2008 by April Durham, a successful graphic designer. April Showers provides blog and Website design services and also offers a variety of training workshops for those who want to learn how to design their own blogs or start a professional blog design business. The company has a staff of six.

October 12, 2011
Anti-Bribery Training Is Key

Anti-bribery courses are an annual requirement for most large organizations, particularly now as legislators focus on offenses even more intently. Considering your average employee takes an anti-bribery course once a year, how do you ensure this hot topic receives the same level of attention from your busy employee as it currently receives from legislators?

By Matt Plass, Interactive Services’ Chief Learning Officer

In 2007, there were 38 prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Know how many prosecutions we saw in 2010? Almost double the 2007 figures with 74 prosecutions in 2010—not including 150 investigations that are still open.

October 10, 2011
War of the Generations: (Re) Entering the Under-Employed Workforce

A war of the generations is emerging. Employed, under-employed, and unemployed workers of all generations are colliding in the marketplace. And no one is going home soon. Everyone is seeking meaning, motivation, and above all, money. Be prepared to compete—and compete fiercely.

By Jim Finkelstein, President and CEO, FutureSense, Inc.

August 26, 2011
As Interest Rates Fall, Civilizations Rise

When interest rates are low, it tells us that we should invest today because any return will be prized more in the future, believes Todd G. Bucholz, author of “Rush: Why You Need and Love the Rat Race.” Societies that make tomorrow more appealing show more progress. And not just material, GDP-measured progress. They also show less bloodshed and longer lives. Time is of the essence of human progress. Either we imagine progress and move forward, or we sink into entropy.

By Todd G. Buchholz

April 27, 2011
Recent Recessions: Effects and Lessons Learned

It’s easy to forget that we have had seven recessions since 1967. While this recession may seem “different” for various reasons, it is important to remember that recessions usually have “different” causes or related events new to our history. And there are great business and life lessons to be learned from each one.

By Hank Moore, Corporate Strategist

Perhaps because we had seen such a long period of prosperity, the current economic recession is causing inordinate panic. The media is helping this panic with headlines such as “Economy Shrinks at Fastest Pace in 26 Years,” “Over One-Third of Americans Believe Nation in a Depression,” and “Wall Street Tumbles to 1997 Levels on Bank, Recession Fears.”

October 11, 2010
Waiting for Superman to Change the Job Culture?

Davis Guggenheim’s documentary film, Waiting for Superman, prominently features author Edward E. Gordon’s warning on the dire consequences of failing to reform America’s current education system. He wrote in his book, "Winning the Global Talent Showdown": "If the American education-to employment system is not restructured, by the year 2020 there will be 124 million highly skilled, high paying jobs but only 50 million Americans qualified to do them. If we stay on our present course, many new technologies will simply go to other countries, with dire consequences for the middle class and the entire U.S. economy."

September 13, 2010
Reward Hard Work with Pre-Paid Incentive Cards

Pre-paid corporate incentive cards provide creative and valuable employee rewards, plus build loyalty at affordable cost.

By Janine Yancey, CEO, emTRAiN

With the economy still locked in a protracted “recovery mode,” companies of all sizes are looking for sincere and creative ways to reward employees for their hard work without excessive spending on desktop trinkets and other swag that mostly just collects dust.

May 7, 2009
$4.3 Million in Massachusetts to Boost Job Training

As part of Governor Deval Patrick's Massachusetts Recovery Plan, Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Suzanne M. Bump announced yesterday more than $4.3 million in federal recovery funds to make immediate investments in job training and support services for dislocated workers, low-income youths, and adults in Central Massachusetts.

As part of Governor Deval Patrick's Massachusetts Recovery Plan, Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Suzanne M. Bump announced yesterday more than $4.3 million in federal recovery funds to make immediate investments in job training and support services for dislocated workers, low-income youths, and adults in Central Massachusetts.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding will go to the Central Massachusetts Regional Employment Board for the Workforce Central Career Centers in Milford, Southbridge, and Worcester.