PAST ISSUES: September 2006

Editor's Note:  Keeping Workers Happy
A little bit of "r-e-s-p-e-c-t," is what Aretha Franklin used to sing about needing from her man. It's the same thing that most employees are looking for, too. Give it to them and the odds are in your favor that you won't have to go through the hiring process quite as often.

Entrepreneur Watch:  Ex-IBM exec frees her entrepreneurial spirit
While working as a computer development executive for nearly three decades for IBM, one of the most well known and tightly wound corporations in the world, Tina Gleisner always felt the urge to break out.

Featured Article:  Getting, holding onto quality employees
Job growth gets the flashy headlines, touted as harbinger of better economic times. But there could be a catch in tomorrow's labor market: Securing good workers. "Our labor pool isn't necessarily shrinking, but it's not keeping up with employment," said Jim Roche, president of the New Hampshire Business & Industry Association. Even at executive-level positions, companies can find it a challenge to find the right person for the job, Roche said. Part of the trouble, he said, is the high cost of housing and a lack of work-force housing.

Featured Article:  When opportunity knocks
Headhunters, those recruiters on the prowl for the best and the brightest, search long and hard for talented employees. But recruiters say this game of occupational concentration comes down to candidates knowing what they want - as well as their strengths and potential weaknesses - not just what companies are seeking.

Featured Article:  They may be temporary, but...
The arrival of a robust Internet was supposed to change everything in the employment arena. After all, who needs a local temp or staffing agency when the new boys on the block like Monster.com or hotjobs.com or any number of newspaper-related, Web-based employment classified sites could handle the load? Well, a funny thing happened on the way to the future that would change everything. It seems that some fundamentals never go away.

Featured Article:  Work Force Training
Higher education is on a high in New Hampshire, with undergraduates at record levels and an enrollment spike in graduate programs. Yet, “continuing education” programs are on an unexpected plateau. Why? Chalk it up to a graying populace.

Featured Article:  Value your help
A pat on the back for a job well done. Popsicles given to servers after a busy shift. A $10 gift card to a department store as thanks after a magazine recently named Newick's the best restaurant in the region.

Featured Article:  Taking the job on the road
The Y2K bug was not the pest everyone thought it was going to be, wreaking havoc on computers because of a few missing date digits. The millennium came and went with neither technological whimper nor systematic bang. Yet, as the new century dawned, some companies for the first time were relying on outside, contractual information technology help.

Featured Article:  Referrals key to landing jobs downtown
Everyone has heard it's not what you know, but who you know, that opens doors. But a quick survey of downtown Portsmouth businesses indicates that employee recommendations and referrals from trusted sources are what win jobs.

Politics:  Hiring and retaining good employees is not simply a matter of wages
There has been a lot of discussion this year in both the Maine and New Hampshire legislatures, and at the national level, about raising the minimum wage. Early in August, Congress rejected a federal increase that would have put the minimum wage nationally at $7.25 an hour, up $2.10 from the current level. In both the 2004 and 2005 legislative sessions in New Hampshire, there were bills to increase the minimum wage by $1.50 and $1, respectively. They both failed leaving the state at the $5.15 per hour level.

Real Estate:  Getting good workers will be hard and expensive
SV:  What does the demographic data suggest about the Seacoast job market in the next few years?
FRANCESE:  What it suggests is the Seacoast job market is going to be tight, meaning it is going to be more difficult to find good quality workers. This is due to the stunning lack of affordable housing for young people on the Seacoast. Depending on the type of business you have you may find it hard to find qualified workers.

Last Word:  Human resources is business essential
Carl Pufahl, the vice president of finance for Greenland-based Living Innovations, told me he was in a major time bind, one in which every small business executive or owner can find himself or herself. Call it the "too many hats on one head" syndrome.