A friend of mine introduced me to a new concept of creating jobs. It is a very interesting concept and I could not resist sharing it with all of you. The concept is called BidWilly and it is a grassroot level intiative to create more jobs and establish more businesses. The idea is a very novel but we have yet to see the success rate. It will be launched in Feb. 2009and wasrecently endorsed by the multi-millionaire Dr. Barney Pell ,who is supporting the movement.

Here is how it works:

1. A consumer requests a service or need. (ie. Car maintenance, home painting, tutoring, etc).

2. The request is routed to Everyone that provides that service in your area - local businesses, entrepreneurs, freelancers, etc. You get to choose the professionals that receive the bid request based on many key factors - whether you select 1 or you select 100, it’s all up to you.

3. Bidwilly professionals are allowed to bid for the work in an open market. This means that when Person-A says he’ll do the job for $200, Person-B will be allowed to see that bid and underbid Person-A by quoting a price of $180. Person-A can then modify his bid quote to $160. It’s a bidwar where everyone wins!

Reading HR blogs , has now become a daily ritual for me. It really helps me to keep in touch with all the latest developments and there are some really good blogs out there. You can see from my blogroll.

While reading I came across a really good article that I would like to share. It really depicts a crystal clear picture of the problems faced by HR due to the fact that people cant understand what its actual functions are. Do read it 10 Tenets for The New HR. It’s from Frank Roche and Sarah Chambers’s KnowHR Blog. Its humoruos and very true as well.

The Most Popular Corporate Culture….Do you agree?

A very popular HR BUZZ WORD is Corporate Culture. We hear it very frequently, but when you ask someone to define it, you usually get the answer “ahhh…ummm..etc”.In simple terms the Corporate Culture of an organization is the personality of the organization , “its the way work is done here”.

Why do we need to know about it? Well it will help you to adjust easily in the oragnization. How do you get to know about it…OK now that question is not as easy to answer. Usually there is nothing in writing that an employee can just go through and learn. The only way to find out is through research ,observation and working at the company for a few months.

It is driven or formulated by the vision and mission statement of the company and may be reflected in:

• Attitude and behavior of the leadership
• Attitude to the role of individuals in the workplace - open plan offices, team based working, etc.
• Logo of the organization
• The image it presents to the outside world
• Its attitude to change

Corporate Cultures are the beliefs and values shared by people who work in an organization i.e.,

• How people behave with each other
• How people behave with customers/clients
• How people view their relationship with stakeholders
• People’s responses to energy use, community involvement, absence, work ethic, etc.
• How the organisation behaves to its employees - training, professional development, etc.

In my last post I gave out the idea that if you have just lost your job , why not take a shoot at being your own boss and starting up something of your own.

Now for those of you who have taken a liking to the idea, you must be wondering..Hmmmm..Ok where to start? Well first of all you must make sure that you choose a business field or category. Now that will most probably be the hardest part. So I thought I would help you out here.

Why not choose a business that is recession proof? YES, there are such businesses that are not seriously affected by recession. They are the businesses that deal with the basic necessities in our daily life. Here are a few example to get you started:

1. Child Care: Recession or no recession, children will always be here. Since more and more parents are working, they will need a place to leave their precious children to be cared for while they are earning. So why not set up good, clean , child day care centers.
2. Education: This is another field where you can do something. How about opening a school, or starting a school van service, or tuition center, uniform and book supply depot, etc
3. After school Activity Center: The children have gone to school, come back, and did their homework…now what? Children have so much energy and need a positive outlet. One can start a hobby center to teach children various interesting things while keeping them occupied for the parents as well. They can be taught arts and crafts like on MAD on the Pogo Channel. Or they can be engaged in science projects, sports, baking, swimming, karate, hiking, etc. The options are endless. Even a few moms can get together and arrange birthday parties for children like at KFC and McDonald’s. It doesn’t have to be on a big scale, and the extra income will be great!
4. Food: You can start a home delivery service for lunch for offices, or snacks or even a catering service. It all depends on you and your imagination.
5. Hair Salons: Hair salons and beauty parlors will always be “in”. No one cuts back the budget spent on getting a haircut!

The options are endless and the ideas innumerable . It all depends on your motivation and devotion. For me, my power of speech was my strong point and I used it to train others and help common people start up small busniess so that they can begin to earn and progress. So get up , get motivated and do something. It will be worth the effort!

Recession has its downsides but the worst element of a recession is unemployment. The sluggish economy forces companies to cut back on their biggest costs: PEOPLE a.k.a Human Resources. A steady source of income is vital for the survival of many households. Losing a job can really be devastating and even traumatic. There are very few who will have the help of their previous employers to assist them in finding a new job. Many will be on their own and very depressed. This will be high time for employment and recruitment agencies, but even they will have their limitations as jobs will be scare.

So in a situation like this, what should one do?

Well how about hiring yourself?

History has revealed that a significant number of people who are laid off turn to thinking about doing what they had always wanted to do .Now that they have the chance and some free time they will try to set up something of their own, which was not possible during a steady job. Another positive factor is that many of them succeed and in future become employers’ themselves…rather then employee.

An excerpt taken from this article says:

“If history is any guide, Carl Schramm, the head of the Kauffman Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes entrepreneurial activity, points out that start-ups tend to flourish in the year that follows a sharp downturn. Rather than head back to another corporate bureaucracy, some of those made redundant will take a shot at being their own boss.”

If we want to learn anything from history, then we should learn that “when the going gets tough…The tough get going!!” So sit back and think about what you like to do best and turn it into a successful business. I did!

Good Luck!

Ok now you must be wondering ” What is she talking about? How can there be any benefits of recession?”

Well if your a pessimist then read no further. But if your and optimist and keep in mind to always look on the bright side then ALOHA! Here it comes …the benefits of recession and down times !

• For those of you who wanted to purchase property. Now is the time. The rates are at a record low. I am not talking to those who are like me and don’t have much saved up for a rainy day. This point is for those who have the money and were thinking on investing in real estate.

• Same goes with stocks, bonds and LOANS. Banks have now lowered the interest rates to stimulate borrowing and the investment on earnings have also been up a tad.

• Then we have those who were always so busy and never had any spare time. Well…Congratulations! Now you do have time. The economy is low and business is slow. So many have lots more spare time on hand. Why not use this time to spend with family and friends. If you like to study, enhance your knowledge database and take up a course ,diploma , or degree. If not then just take some time out to read.

• Exercise. Now this has been on everybody’s agenda but no one could find time to do it. Well I suggest that there is no better time than the present to begin exercise. Make it fun. Go out and jog with friends or even your children. Just have fun and it wont seem like a task.

So put away your worries and start living start enjoying life!

What do you think HR will look like in 2009?

Recession is hitting hard and times are difficult. Many companies in Pakistan are turning to layoffs and firing staff as a remedy. The effects of such actions will be discussed later. For now I just want to see what will be the result of all this in the coming year 2009.

Just a while back there was an HR boom in Pakistan. Everyone is hiring HR staff and setting up HR departments and making HR manuals. If you weren’t…You were considered backward and not going along with the times. So whether or not you knew what the purpose of an HR person or Department was, you had to have it.

Ads of various posts and positions were placed in the media and the hunt began. The expectations were mountainous as compared to the salary.In interviewing the candidates they have been expected to achieve herculean tasks or things the management didn’t want to do itself as it would MAKE THEM LOOK BAD in the eyes of the employees. So let HR do it.I have even heard statements like “I want you to fix my people and make them work” or “I want to get rid of some weeds in various departments “or “make my company great” or “I want you to restructure the organization and make it an employer brand of choice “(by the way without giving the guy any resources, extra people or the authority to make any decisions on his own!). Reading this may sound as ridiculous to you as it did to me when I experienced it. But the fact is that most of all the top successful local companies are doing

Where is all this leading us to?

Well it is very clearly leading to the fact that the year 2009 will not be one in which HR, Training and developing employees will be a priority on the list of local industries! One thing is for sure unemployment will be rampant and the entire HR racket about HIRING THE BEST TALENT will go down the drain. Companies want to keep their departments lean and some are even closing down entire departments.

There is one huge manufacturing company In Lahore that has decided that the solution to their problem is to abolish and do away with a newly established HR department. The company says we just don’t need it right now.This is just one of the many short sighted hurried decisions made by local companies. They have no idea as to what the impact of such decisions will be in the long run. One thing we must understand is that any company that will use recession as an excuse to treat their staff like excess inventory will suffer lasting damage to their employment brands and lose their competitive advantage in the labor market.

Another well written article in this regard is CFO vs HR and also HR predictions 2009: An exclusive insight