Good talent is worth fighting for. At senior levels of an organization, the ability to adapt, to make decisions quickly in situations of high uncertainty, and to steer through wrenching change is critical. But at a time when the need for better talent is increasing, big companies continue to find it difficult to attract and retain good people. Banks, Oil & Gas, Insurance, Manufacturing, Telecoms, no industry is immune. Executives and front line manager’s point to the shortage of the people (+skills) needed to run divisions and manage critical functions, let alone lead companies. RBS Coutes – the private investment banking arm of RBS in Asia is reacting to recent resignation of long serving and high performing CEO Esther Heer. There was a mass exodus in their Singapore office this time last year so it would appear lessons have not been learnt. Another company reacting to the same problem once again.

Therein lies the problem. Finding a successful talent retention approach requires shifting paradigms, changing perceptions and throwing out old habits. Outdated talent retention approaches have created some of the following distinct problems.

Proactive versus reactive: Many organizations react to the retention issue by addressing it only when a problem arises. When they do react, they often develop enormous incentive packages to entice key employees to remain onboard. By continuously investing in personal excellence and development, by caring enough to create a better place to work will help the retention situation and sustainability.

Too many preventive programs: The philosophy: If enough programs are implemented, eventually one will maintain recruitment at the appropriate level and increase retention. Without program accountability, implementation results may never be known.

Too many solutions: When employee retention is identified as a problem, too many organizations, including the successful ones, base their solutions on a wide number of strategies. The objective should be to allocate resources only to those strategies that are most effective.

Today, project teams can be drawn from any part of the world and transcend time zones with relative ease. Shared service centres have been complimenting Western business in Central Eastern Europe and India. I had wondered where the next cheap labour destination might be, thinking perhaps parts of Africa and so I was surprised when it was mentioned yesterday in conversation with a global brewer from Ireland –“Manila, Philippines”. Manila offers yet again a cheaper labour solution as well as a strong English speaking population, the only hurdle really faced is the time zone, but not much of a hurdle with shift work. It seems African government is still too unstable for that particular migration and as an expat landing in Lagos airport you will still require an armoured Vehicle to run you to your hotel. Plus if there was call center migration to places like Nigeria we would probably all receive an increased amount of e-mail suggesting we are new found millionaires due to the timely death of some tyrant who happens to be an uncle!

The emerging reality now for most organisations is that they have access to amazing communication tools which allow contributions from any part of the world and goodness knows companies need all the help in the world at communicating “better” internally and externally. The net result of this is a mass stampede of previously difficult organisational structures. A simple example of changing organisational structures can be seen at call centres I’ve mentioned above, there has already been a natural next step. Previously, call centres used to be located in large megalithic buildings built in rural areas or offshore in countries such as India and CEE. Now, contact centres are increasingly decentralising and allowing their staff to work from any location.  New ways of working – simply looking to two areas – crowd sourcing and social impact, already we can see the winners.

I have written about a mobile company’s TxtEagle success in Africa @ The HR Merger, also Thomson Reuters continued success in markets such as India. (See Video Below)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Actually, some of the really innovative and more interesting approaches to the world of work is being shaped in those countries considered to be “Emerging Markets” or in some cases “Rest of World”. Does anyone know what the criteria is before a region or country is considered to have “emerged” – recession, GDP, … ?

Godrej Group in India crowdsourced rural villages for design input on its small, affordable ChotuKool refrigerator, and it partnered with more than 40,000 barbers and salons to promote a new hair-care line this summer. Godrej’s consumer products division also ranked No. 11 in Hewitt Associates’ annual 25 Best Employers of India in 2009, citing a strong performance-linked bonus system and a 1% attrition rate.

Iwan Barankay, a management professor at Wharton, his current study titled, “Rankings and Social Tournaments: Evidence from a Field Experiment.”

His study involved 330 employees recruited via Mechanical Turk, Amazon.com’s “crowd-sourcing” platform for work conducted and submitted online. Employers post jobs on the website’s listings section — most of which involve piecemeal, routine work, such as organizing photos, writing or editing text, and basic data entry. Prospective employees scroll through the list and select a task they want to complete. When workers, also called “turkers,” click on a job, they are led to a web page that presents a set of tasks. After completing the tasks, a worker can decide whether to continue on to the next job. The jobs typically pay $.03 to $.50 per task, and tasks usually take between a few minutes to an hour to complete. Among the companies that use Mechanical Turk are Google, Yahoo and Zappos.com, the online shoe and clothing purveyor. “It’s a platform that represents the new frontier of work,” Barankay states.

Staff are working individually or in small self-managing teams. They are often working for multiple organisations, contracting to spend a percentage of their day delivering airline bookings, then delivering financial services, and finally wrapping up their day delivering mobile phone services.  These are highly talented call agents capable of delivering untold of levels of productivity, and the only common cause is that location does not matter. Often enough information is not provided to get a clear understanding of the solution required. Sometimes no value is added because the wrong solution is selected or it is improperly implemented. To avoid mistakes, clearly match solutions to needs. If  an expensive solution is implemented, management should know whether or not it makes a difference. Collect different types of tangible and intangible data so management can clearly see the impact of major retention strategies.

Individuals will have more freedom and power than ever before. Their earning potential will be wholly based on merit and not location. And forward-looking organisations will benefit from having access to a larger and more skilled workforce – a global talent pool.

In summary, the nature of work is changing at a faster pace than at any previous time in history. The future of work is flat, competitive, on demand, and more importantly you!

Recently I have been reminded that business ethics remains a huge area of debate. First was a recent article in the FT that suggests there are lessons business can learn from organised crime.  A business lesson from mafia mobsters.

Cynics will no doubt not be surprised by the linkage between business and crime, but better to let the FT explain what they mean and how it might relate to HR.

It is when the criminals end up in jail that they provide business with most food for thought. Prisoners cannot choose who their fellow inmates are. As Prof Gambetta says: “Sorting and mixing is not under the prisoners’ control.” He does not quite make the connection, but it reminds me of the average office.  Whereas prisoners have to assess others’ dispositions while competing for scarce resources, such as cigarettes, telephone use or quiet, office workers have to do the same while angling for a window desk, a plum assignment or the manager’s approval. Employees deploy a range of strategies: after-hours socialising, sucking up to the boss or hoarding information. Prisoners have their usual fallback – violence. Except that prisoners don’t enjoy a real fight any more than the rest of us. Far better to have a reputation for violence than to have to demonstrate it. The problem is it might take a few fights to build that fear. The result is that real violence is more common among short-term prisoners than long-term ones, and among those awaiting trial than those already sentenced. New prison arrivals need to build up their résumés; the old-timers have already established their reputations. When prisoners are frequently assigned to new cells, hierarchies have to be re-established, with an increase in fighting. New blood shakes things up; established associates are more likely to co-operate. There is a lesson for business there.

The second reminder was short note in the news about the name and shame policy adopted by a Russian bank in its fight against corruption. See – Sberbank names and shames

Motivation and Pay for performance?

That Sberbank has dismissed 426 employees for corruption since January 2009 is as remarkable, as it is suggestive of an organisation that needs to look closely at its values and ethics … that the bank has seen fit to publish the list of dismissed employees names on it’s website probably raises not just a few eyebrows, but also as many ethical issues as it hope to solve!

Corporate / Business ethics is an issue that will always generate a lively debate, but it is also something companies have, in many cases, not sufficiently well embraced or understood when it comes to the contribution being ethical can make to the bottom line. For better or worse, the ethics of a company is almost always shaped by the example set by the leadership of the organisation.  That in turn comes to embody the culture and, inevitably, to colour the actions and attitudes of the employees as well as the type of person that gets hired.  A number of questions arise here but one which is well worthy of debate is the extent to which performance related pay does or does not contribute to poor ethical behaviour … more so when short-term profit and loss figures are the ones deemed most important. The quote from The Godfather “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse” comes to mind here.

The other reminder I had this week on ethics was an e-mail from Sally Bibb who is the author of a concise and straightforward guide to ethics in business which is due to be published this Friday. The book is called The Right Thing and is one we highly recommend to our readers and network members.  Perhaps if Sberbank had been doing the right thing it wouldn’t have gotten to the point where the answer to endemic corruption within the organisation was publish a list of 476 names that it no doubt expects to add to in future, and whom it hopes won’t get hired again by a bank.

German Coast Guard – 1st day on the job!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Inspiration to help find a job!

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Some more visuals on the changing landscape of social media. Employees have over the past 12 months according to Nielson, spent 28% less time looking at e-mails. Firmly placed in the Number 1 spot is of course Social Media. Below some social maps on the changing landscapes in just under 3 years. Any predictions on how the map will look in 3 years? However the map shapes, it certainly paints a picture for HR and OD professionals and some suggestion of the level of agility, know how and personal excellence needed to succeed in this space. Considering data from the US, over 80% of Americans now use social media – monthly, Europe plays in the same league. The question of all of this will HR?

Click here to view the embedded video.

What is the speed of social media?

The speed of light, usually denoted by c, is a physical constant important in many areas of physics. Light and all other electromagnetic radiation always travel at this speed in empty space (vacuum), regardless of the motion of the source or the inertial frame of the observer. Its value is exactly 299,792,458 metres per second (approximately 186,282 miles per second). In the theory of relativity, c connects space and time, and appears in the famous equation of mass–energy equivalence E = mc2.

The speed of sound is the rate of travel of a sound wave through an elastic medium. In dry air at 20 °C (68 °F), the speed of sound is 343 metres per second (1,125 ft/s). This equates to 1,236 kilometres per hour (768 mph), or about one kilometer in three seconds and about one mile in five seconds. This figure increases with temperature but is nearly independent of pressure or density for a given gas. For different gases, the speed of sound is dependent on the mean molecular weight of the gas, and to a lesser extent upon the ways in which the molecules of the gas can store heat energy from compression (since sound in gases is a type of compression). The speed of sound in air is referred to as Mach 1 by aerospace engineers.

Social Media World Map 2010

Social Media World Map 2007

New global dynamics have shifted the ground beneath us so we enter the next 9 years to 2020 in a very different business landscape. New technologies and a hugely expanded global workforce – and the rising skills and aspirations of major countries are driving a global economy.

Irrespective of industry sector or geography, organisations are now operating in this new era and new business environment, which has radically changed how value is created. In this environment, the organisations that are thriving today are adapting fast to build skills and deliver high value products and services to a global market place.

The changing nature of work – 10 years ago, there were no online social networks. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, WordPress, LinkedIn, etc. didn’t exist. Already we have experience and only observed the tip of the iceberg, social media has helped change the way organisations think by simply reaching beyond traditional organisational boundaries and amplifying areas where communication is often weak. Some of the areas offering most impact for HR professionals – recruitment, EVP and employee relations.

Questions to ask: Is social media another long conversation in HR circles that will fall to the wayside and become the least adopted strategy by Human Resources? Is the slow adoption because there are few credible activists in the “HR space” leading the way? Is it about HR working itself out of a job? Last year here in Budapest an experienced international HRD mentioned to a room of executives that by doing her job well, was to lead and mentor to the point that her role becomes replaceable. Two things were highlighted for me: 1.) She was made redundant. 2.) A quirky point, HR is responsible for succession planning and development – frequently when HR moves on there is no successor. Why is that? As a function it’s probably fair to say that when it comes to succession planning, HR succession has the worst record. I mentioned this to a few people and many make a quick point – “if we did we would work ourselves out of a job”. ;o)

In hindsight, HR’s flirtations with technology and the idea of creating a space that cleverly involves employees from all walks of life and positions within the company to leverage communities to discover, engage, develop and nurture talent, is in essence putting HR professionals out of business.

In summary the approach for many of the more adventurous HR Depts. in big companies in my observations so far has been very controlled and blog centric with a presence on the social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. You will notice that except for comments the content is all created by the company, with almost no user generated content, so in essence the approach is very much one of control and reacting rather than being proactive and positive.

So what speeds are the the champions of social media travelling at?

• Facebook is travelling at over 500 million users with over 100 million added in 9 months
• Twitter is growing at over 1500% in the last 12 months with a similar growth in the previous year
• Twitter has over 114 Million users making 19 Billion searches per month or 600 million per day a lot of them through API. A lot more than Yahoo! (9.4 B) and Bing (4.1 B). 20% of Google (88 B)
• 37% active users user Twitter from their mobile phones and 55 million tweets created every day
• Linkedin is now at over 70 million users
• YouTube is now serving over 35 billion videos a month to Gen Y and any other generation that loves a good video in the US alone
• The number of blogs is estimated at over 220 million

Here is are an interesting set of initiatives from Societe Generale Banking Group in Paris on “Ambition 2015″ and how they aim “to deliver growth with lower risk” over the next 5 years. As Europe’s banks have supposedly tightened their belts and somewhat regulated over the past 12 months or so, if you have been watching recent news then you may have witnessed some of Barclay’s investment bankers celebrating with armfuls of the fizzy stuff in Covent Garden, poking fun at an irate news reporter about how tough life has become for bankers – “only driving new Porsche boxter’s and receiving bonuses in July”.

“In an environment that will experience considerable changes going forward, I definitely consider that Société Générale has a very strong business model with key competitive edges to be one of the most successful European banks. The last few years have been challenging for the Group, its shareholders and employees but we have learnt from the crisis. 2010 represents the beginning of a new period for Société Générale. In this respect, the results delivered in the first quarter are a first tangible proof of our ability to rebound. My strategy for the coming years will be to enhance our client-oriented and integrated universal banking model, take advantage of our strong positions in regions with high growth potential and further transform our operational model. Keeping as a priority the high quality banking services we want to bring to our clients, we will deliver strong results on the back of a sustainable growth, and strictly discipline financial and risk management.”

Frédéric Oudéa, Chairman and CEO

A client-oriented universal bank refocused on three pillars

The Group confirms its universal banking model, which demonstrated its resilience during the crisis and should remain effective in a 2010-2015 environment marked by considerable uncertainty and increasing constraints.

The strength of this model is based not only on the long-term relationships that it builds with clients, but also on its diversification (multi-businesses and multi-clients) and on an appropriate balance between financing solutions and deposits collection.

From five business lines on an equal footing, the model has been refocused on three pillars:

• French Networks,
• International Retail Banking,
• Corporate and Investment Banking.

These pillars are at the heart of relationships with clients. Their solid positioning offers significant growth potential for the Group.

The two other businesses, Specialised Financial Services & Insurance and Global Investment Management & Services are expected to consolidate their respective leadership positions. They will support the above mentioned pillars, and be developed based on four simple criteria:

• the level of potential synergies with the Group’s three pillars,
• their consumption of scarce resources,
• their contribution to the Group’s financial results,
• their ability to maintain competitive positions.

Fully unlock the Group’s growth potential

Societe Generale’s portfolio of activities is unique in that it offers, compared to a large number of peers, significant potential for sustainable and profitable growth. In addition to holding significant competitive advantages, the Group operates in geographies with significant potential going forward.

The Group’s renewed management team intends to accelerate this growth through more than 50 initiatives involving all its business lines and reflecting the “Ambition SG 2015” plan. In a nutshell, Societe Generale aspires to the following accomplishments:

• Be the benchmark for customer satisfaction in French retail banking,
• Top 3 in Central and Eastern Europe and Russia,
• Top 5 position in Europe in Corporate & investment banking,
• For the Group as a whole, return to profitable and mainly organic growth over the 2009-2015 period.

By 2012, Societe Generale will roll out its ‘Ambition 2015’ initiatives and fully unlock the potential of its franchises. The Group will continue with the arbitrages in its business portfolios that were initiated with the creation of Amundi, the restructuring of peripheral activities, the consolidation of the Russian activities, the purchase of 20% in Crédit du Nord and, as announced by the Groupe on 14 June 2010, the start of exclusive negotiations regarding the potential acquisition of Société Marseillaise de Crédit by Crédit du Nord.

Transform the operational model and strictly control risks

Capitalising on the lessons learnt from the crisis, Societe Generale will continue to adapt to theenvironment and, by focusing on:

• The improvement of its operational efficiency through the industrialisation of processes and the pooling of resources
• The development of internal synergies
• Attracting talents and developing best practices in terms of management
• A constant and reinforced vigilance on risk control

Deliver around EUR 6bn in earnings target by 2012

• In a scenario of modest GDP growth worldwide, Societe Generale is targeting:
• Net earnings group share around EUR 6 bn in 2012
• An annual 4% revenue growth between 2009 and 20121
• C/I ratio below 60% in 2012
• An average cost of risk of 55-65bps of loans and receivables outstandings across the cycle
• After tax RoE of around 14-15% in 2012

The Group will maintain a solid capital position over the period with a minimum Core Tier 1 ratio of 8% by 2012 (under Basel II and post CRD3).

Latest installment of funny videos – this week from Armstrong and Miller on the Origins of Job Interviews!

Click here to view the embedded video.

We are delighted to introduce Allan Freed as a guest author.  Allan Freed is a principal consultant with The RBL Group, a consulting firm focused on helping leaders and organizations deliver results and increase value. Allan’s current work helps organizations identify and build capabilities required for the execution of strategy through leveraging human resources and improving leadership performance. He is permanently based in the UK and has worked with a large number of Europe’s leading firms.  In Strategic HR Allan’s work helps firms to apply RBL’s award winning databases to assess alignment between strategies, human resource practices, and HR competencies and develop programs for improvement.  On Leadership Allan has worked closely with Norm Smallwood to help organizations in the Middle East and Europe build leadership systems that deliver results and increase value.  Prior to joining RBL, Allan successfully led a division of a fast-paced multi-national company as the General Manager of their Australia/New Zealand region. As an educator, Allan has an engaging and interactive style.

Welcome Allan and over to you!

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Recent criticisms of talent programs and accusations of excessive compensation and overstaffing have led some human resource leaders to question the real value of their talent management efforts. HR professionals who are architects of talent management and line managers who are owners need to ensure that talented employees deliver value in good times and protect the company in bad times. As we start to see signs of economic recovery, this is a good opportunity for HR leaders responsible for talent management to assess and improve the quality of their talent efforts.

When we talk about talent we are talking about the systematic processes that secure the general individual competencies, and organizational capabilities that create sustainable value for stakeholders[1]. Talent development initiatives help to ensure external stakeholder expectations are met, as well as those inside the firm. What questions and insights help talent managers review and renew their developmental efforts and lead to greater understanding of the external expectations?

Do I know what the unique organization capabilities are that we require to execute business strategy and win in the market place? Counter-intuitively, talent management starts with a thorough understanding of the external realities impacting the business and should deliver the capabilities required by the organization to compete and win given those realities. Table 1 identifies some of these capabilities. Copying and pasting best practices from other firms could be a risky business if the firms from which you copy are building capabilities that are different from those you are trying to create. The key deliverables of a talent management program are the capabilities required to succeed in the market place. When an organization identifies the capabilities that it requires and talent development activities are aligned to help build them, value is created. Getting explicit about desired capabilities also connects talent development activities to the outside customer. If what is done on the inside with talent fails to connect to the outside in a way that increases cash flow, it may be that our efforts are an expensive waste of time. For example, Apple realizes that its success comes from innovation. In order to build this as a capability it must hire creative people, train and pay for new ideas, and promote out-of-the-box work in all policies.

Do I have a talent value proposition? It’s not uncommon to come across an organization that invests heavily in talent but hasn’t really figured out exactly what happens if the investment is successful. Value is defined by the receiver more than the giver, and with this in mind each stakeholder in the talent value proposition should reap a reward.

• Employees should be more productive because they have the competencies to do the work of today and tomorrow, and because they are more committed or engaged to do it well.
• Line managers should be more able to execute business strategies by having individuals who can turn aspirations into actions.
• Customers should be more likely to buy from the firm because employees inside know and do things that meet their needs.
• Investors will benefit because they have confidence in future earnings as the intangible value of the firm increases.

Do I regularly and effectively assess talent? Talent is developed as people improve competence, increase commitment and find greater meaning or contribution through their efforts in the workplace. Competency frameworks must be linked to capability development if they’re going to have any impact on external stakeholders. Regular assessment provides opportunities for reflection, reinforcement and course correction. Effective measures assess the impact of investment in talent on the outside of the firm as well as on the inside. Traditional talent measures, such as retention statistics, aren’t helpful if we’re retaining the wrong type of people who aren’t developing the capabilities we need to win in the market place. Business results are a key indicator in the measurement of our talent management efforts and can be much more important and significant than retention statistics and engagement surveys.

Do I value individual differences while maintaining unity in talent development activities? Talent managers add value when they ensure those responsible for strategy creation represent diverse backgrounds, nationalities, ways of thinking, geographies, culture and gender. They add further value when they create the HR practices that enable such diversity to function effectively together once strategy decisions have been taken and the time for execution arrives.

Do I match people to positions? When the CEO calls for greater collaboration and innovation but the HR practices focus on seniority and tenure more than collaboration and innovation, talent management initiatives are misaligned. Firms that successfully build capabilities ensure talented employees are matched to the critical wealth-creating roles.

Do I help employees find a sense of meaning or contribution at work? In the past, productivity has been linked to two factors: competence and commitment. In his latest work, the world’s top HR thought leader encourages the adoption of contribution as a third important factor1. Talented employees are asking the following questions that summarize this shift:

• What do I want to be known for?
• Does working here align with my identity?
• What kind of relationships do I want at work?
• Do I like the people I work with?
• What work interests me the most?
• What can I do at work to learn and grow?
• Do I learn from setbacks and if so, do I have an opportunity to learn from them here?
• What gives me a sense of delight in my work?
• What type of work environment helps me connect to others?
• Does the firm contribute meaningfully to causes that I care about?

Do I recognize the shared responsibility for talent? HR leaders should be the very best thinkers in the firm when it comes to people and the management of talent. The effective implementation of a talent strategy, however, is dependent upon cooperation between HR leaders and the line. The management of talent cannot be something that HR “does” to the business, because this will not create sustainable value.

Do I turn individual talent into great teamwork? Eleven great soccer players do not necessarily form a great soccer team. Talent managers have to do more than attract “great players.” They must build effective teamwork infrastructure to create synergy. If the whole is not greater than the sum of the parts, there is still work to be done.

These questions help HR leaders, talent managers and line managers assess and improve their talent management efforts. When talent management initiatives are linked to external reality and business strategy they are more likely to create value. Focusing on the creation of organization capabilities helps to ensure this link. As HR leaders succeed in creating capabilities that allow firms to win in the market place, they add great value.

Table 1: Examples of Organization Capabilities

Reference: Ulrich, Dave and Wendy Ulrich, 2010. The Why of Work: How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations to Deliver Value to Employees, Customers, Investors, and Communities. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Below, you will find some of the more interesting career sites and graduate programs out there today. Plus, a couple of corporate student competitions which have become a successful way of sourcing young talent and  helping businesses find innovative ideas and solutions to some of their biggest challenges. I have also included an interesting thread on PwC from HR Magazine which pursues a similar approach to Tesco. Very simple pointers follow on managing youth, as many of our members are diligently focused on R&R again! If you have any additions please feel free to comment or e-mail.

ABB (Switzerland) A better world begins with you

Apple (US) Part Career, Part Revolution

Barclays (UK) I found my place

Bertelsmann’s (Germany) Create your own Career and have created a self assessment tool

BT (UK) Tip of the Iceberg

Coca Cola (US) Together We Grow

Coca Cola (Europe) What’s your secret formulae?

Deloitte (UK) Not sure which way to go next? How about forward?

Deutsche Bank (Germany) Agile Minds See

Deutsche Post DHL (Germany) 500,000 Team Players, 5 Continents, 1 Goal: Joint Success

Electronic Arts (UK) Success Stories

Ericsson (Sweden) Excellerate Management Program

Ernst & Young (UK) Achieving Potential | Endless Possibilities | Your Global Office

Goldman Sachs (US) Interviewing for Success

Google (US) Lets work together

Henkel (Germany) Student and Management Development Programs

IBM (US) Are you an IBMer?

L’Oreal (France) More Business, More Ambition, More Global, More Passion

MOL Oil and Gas (Hungary) Freshhh Student Competition

Novo Nordisk’s (Denmark) Do you want to be a Star

Nokia (Finland) Together, We Achieve

PriceWaterhouseCoopers (UK) Genesis Park

Procter & Gamble (France) We hire the PERSON, not the position.

Rickett Benckiser (UK) Rise & Shine

Siemens (Germany) Thousands of Jobs are Waiting

Thomson Reuters (UK) Impact Begins With You

Yahoo! (US) Yahoo! is Global

HRN are embarking on survey targeted at young employees and generational diversity. If you would like to learn more about the survey/interested to involve your organisation then please feel free to contact me directly.

UK’s HR Magazine recently reports; PricewaterhouseCoopers offers A Level students an alternative to university

Against a backdrop of mounting student debt, reduced university places, budget cuts and increasing graduate unemployment, A Level student entry training schemes could re-emerge to offer an alternative to talented students looking to kick start their careers according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The firm is offering 50 places across the UK this year on its A Level training scheme to start in August and September. The scheme offers an alternative to university where students earn while they work towards a professional accounting or tax qualification, gaining a qualification faster than those who attend university.

Sonja Stockton, director, talent acquisition, at PwC, said: “In addition to reduced university places, students could soon be forced to pay higher tuition fees. Already facing debts of £22,000 on average upon graduation, this will bring the investment they have to make in a degree much closer to home and some might even wonder whether university really is the right option for them when they already know what career they want to pursue.

“Since its launch ten years ago, PwC’s A Level entry scheme, has recruited more than 600 nationwide for trainee positions with students earning while they work towards professional qualifications in tax and assurance.

“A Level student entry schemes offer a different way to acquire professional qualifications and are particularly suited to those who have a clear career in mind when they leave school. Combining formal study with on the job experience and personal coaching, puts everything you learn in your studies straight into action.” The struggle to gain a university place is becoming a frightening reality for many it is feared that as many as 200,000 hopefuls could miss out on a university place this year Higher Education Statistics Agency. In addition, unemployment for 16-24 year olds remaining at record levels, which might spark a renaissance for specialist on the job training schemes. It is estimated that 26% of employers have an A-Level entry scheme.

To date, application rates have increased 15% year on year, and 68% overall since 2008. The requirements are 280 UCAS points or equivalent and trainees study for the ACCA qualification or an ATT qualification in tax potentially leading to a CTA.

Joe Ferrara a Dean of Public Policy in US offers; 5 pointers for retaining your younger employees while grooming them to lead:

Focus on the firsts - The first day, the first week, and the first month. These are important milestones for any employee, but particularly for a young person who will quickly determine whether this job is the right place to start – and continue – a career. Make a checklist for each of these firsts. What equipment do they need in place on the first day? What do they need to learn in the first week? What conversations should you have with them in the first month?

Keep them inspired. This generation is especially idealistic and driven to make a difference. Keep that fire lit, not only with words of encouragement, but by making sure they know exactly how their work fits in to your agency’s mission.

Tap their brains. Mark my words, if you don’t keep your younger employees challenged and on their intellectual toes, you will lose them. Asking them for new ideas, feedback and to engage in problem-solving will help everyone. They’ll be excited about their work, and you’ll benefit from their fresh perspective.

Show them the path to leadership - It used to be the norm that someone might work in the same place for decades. Not anymore. Younger people today are restless and are not afraid to take risks and seek new opportunities. Help stem the turnover tide by showing them exactly how they can advance. If you can get them excited by the challenge of making it to the next level, you’ll keep them on board and they’ll work harder. Pair them up. There is much to be said about the value of experience and for utilizing that experience to groom the next generation. Create a fulfilling experience for everyone by pairing interested, long-term employees with newbie’s.

If we fail to view our youngest employees as the next generation of government leaders, we will not only lose them, but we will lose the potential for all the great contributions they could do for our country.

Whether you’re a current leader – or a next-gen leader – what do you think organisations should be doing to retain and prepare their future leaders?

The blogosphere and media has of recent years focussed on the characteristics and traits of people classified as either Generation X or Generation Y, and the interplay of tensions that may or may not exist between the two and their seniors in the so called Baby Boom Generation. Meanwhile, if the ILO is to be believed, it seems far more likely that the economic mess of the past few years could result in today’s youth being a lost generation.

A lost generation from times past?

The problem isn’t just confined to developing economies either, the ILO says that: – Youth unemployment rates increased by 4.6 percentage points in Developed Economies & the European Union between 2008 and 2009 and by 3.5 points in Central & South-Eastern Europe (non-EU) & CIS. These are the largest annual increases in youth unemployment rates ever recorded in any region. The youth unemployment rate of 17.7 per cent in 2009 in the Developed Economies & European Union is the highest the region has seen since regional estimates have been available (since 1991). -

The ILO is very statistical in approach and wary of treading on eggs. However it doesn’t take a genius to read between the lines that poverty and lack of work may well lead to a young generation that is marginalised, more likely to turn to crime and other “alternative” activities, and / or be more susceptible to political and religious movements that offer them the meaning and purpose that they lack.

Are governments and politicians likely to look to the corporate world for help and support in dealing with the issue? … Will they choose to point the finger and level blame instead? … Or, will they do both at the same time?

Here is a link to – all things ILO on Youth Unemployment