persolog GB Ltd
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Tel/Fax : 01369 707999

Retirement at age 67 (the current situation in Germany) also means that health management will play a special role in companies in future. What is currently considered a soft topic is in fact a hard topic. Companies with changing age structures can no longer ignore the increase in downtime of older employees.

Burned-out management, employees torn between family and job – the burdens resulting from increased work demands, advanced technological development and increasing communication density generate stress. Global and recent studies offer proof of this. Instruments from early-stage stress management to sabbaticals are employed far too infrequently. This is bound to change when performance is given a high priority.

Trends such as e-recruiting will gain in importance in 2010. Advertisements of openings via Twitter, Facebook and Co. now supplement traditional job offerings. In companies that need to cut costs, these platforms may even replace traditional ones.

Internet is becoming more and more mobile thanks to increasingly efficient cell phones. Mobile recruiting is following along in this developmental step with attempts to directly contact interested parties via mobile end devices.

This also means that small and medium-sized companies have to invest more in employer branding. Especially online job offerings need to be located.

While big companies across the country and worldwide are able to position themselves as a brand, the news for small and medium-sized companies is different: Globalization is a thing of the past – at least in terms of employer branding. For SMEs, it is increasingly important to make a name for themselves locally or regionally, above all.

The place of work is also of increasing importance. Especially for young potentials, vibrant metropolitan areas have traditionally been more attractive than peaceful locations or purely industrial cities.

In addition to acquiring new staff, retention of existing personnel will also be a topic in 2010. More intense discussion will be held on how to increase employee retention and slow fluctuation. This is especially true for companies that have a tendency to be more inward-looking when hiring personnel and further qualifying appropriate staff. Companies that invest in this area must ensure that those whose qualifications they improve do not move on.

The budgets for personnel development also need to be reconsidered in this context, because only those companies that offer employees opportunities for further education and personal development will be able to position themselves well.  And what’s more: Only those that invest in older staff will be able to build on their base in the future.

The Internet does not forget anything. HR professionals have taken advantage of this in hiring. However the trend for Web 2.0 applications has taken a surprising turn for HR specialists. In times of a lack of specialized workforce, more and more candidates are inquiring about the use of Web 2.0 applications in companies. They want to know what opportunities are available for participation in social networks and what devices and applications are available.

There is a need for improvement in the area of further training as well. Training offerings on Web 2.0 are still rare – even in IT.

SMEs in particular will need to resort to interim managers, in view of the lack of specialized workforce. These niche professionals are hired for a certain amount of time for specific projects or to solve specific problems.

Ulrich Bischoff, persolog GmbH

 

The results of a recent study by Regus give the good and the bad news about stress. According to the study, the impact caused by stress is increasing at a slower rate in Germany than in other parts of the world. But, it is on the rise.

48 percent of German participants surveyed in the study responded that they are under more stress now than two years ago. The recession and the related workplace pressure put a burden on employees. The study shows that the growing obsession with profit due to the recession is a considerable stress factor for 35 percent of employees in Germany. An additional 33 percent of those surveyed responded that the pressure of having to provide first-class customer service is also causing more stress in the workplace.

The front-runner in stress, China, offers completely different figures: 86 percent of those surveyed there are of the opinion that stress is on the rise. Belgium and Mexico follow in places two and three with 64 percent of those surveyed in each country reporting the same. In an international ranking of stress, Germany placed next to last, ahead of the Netherlands (47.3 percent).

Instruments that can be implemented to prevent stress and that can be used internationally are thus necessary. The persolog Stress Profile is currently available to HR professionals and trainers in German, English and French.