This Week's Herman Trend Alert The Consequences of Virtual Meetings

The Herman Trend Alert April 7, 2010 Money is King in 2010 and Beyond? The recent prolonged economic downturn has shifted consumer values---for both external and internal customers. In a drastic change from its 2008 findings, Colloquy's 2010 Retail Loyalty Index found that low prices have replaced customer service as the top driver of customer loyalty. Not surprisingly, lowest-priced Walmart emerged as the dominant retailer in many categories---reflecting a reality of the Great Recession. Costco, known for great service and the dominant 2008-index retailer, had the highest customer loyalty ratings in three out of five of the Mass Merchant regional categories. Regionally in the Grocery Sector, Kroger in the Midwest, Publix in the Southeast, and H-E-B in the Southwest all bested Walmart. These chains offer low prices and higher levels of customer service. (From experience, we can tell you that H-E-B is simply the best-run supermarket chain with the highest levels of customer service we have encountered anywhere; their long employee tenure and high employee engagement are the reasons.) For a complete analysis of COLLOQUY's latest study, download their white paper titled "RetailTALK: What Price Loyalty?" at www.colloquy.com/files/2010-COLLOQUY-RetailTalk-White-Paper.pdf. In other survey results released recently by Accountemps, 46 percent of CFOs surveyed said "bonuses were the most effective way to acknowledge a job well done; only 21 said time off was the best way. Other types of rewards deemed popular were departmental gatherings (15 percent) and tickets to events (4 percent). "When resources are limited, rewarding staff with extra time off . . . or a department celebration. . ., can help boost spirits and motivate teams," said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps. (Better yet, we suggest when financial resources are not available, ask employees for their best no-cost ideas. We have seen some amazing results from this facilitation.) We suspect these same attitudes are present around the world. When money is tight, cash is king. As economies slowly recover, we expect to see a shift back to the importance of customer service and time off for external and internal customers respectively. However, as you read in last week's Herman Trend Alert, we expect India, Brazil, and Costa Rica to lead the way. © Copyright 1998- by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: RETENTION SPECIALIST PROGRAM A growing number of people have expressed an interest in attending our Employee Retention Specialist Certificate Program. We'd like to schedule on that's convenient for those who want to attend, but need your feedback to do so. Please place RETENTION SPECIALIST in the subject line and Joyce will personally call you back to schedule the workshop. Or you can call Joyce directly at 336-210-3548 (PDT this and next week). BUSINESS IS PICKING UP Most employers are unprepared. The recovery will bring a new set of challenges for employers that have been in prolonged contracted mode. They will need more skilled workers or will need now to begin to upskill their current staffs. But organizations can not engage in Strategic Workforce Planning, when they don't know how. That's where The Herman Group can help. We can help you with your "People Review"----large or small---so that you will know who you will need and when you will need them. . . and we can also guide you to the best sources for the people you will need. For more information, call Joyce at 336-210-3548 or e-mail joyce@hermangroup.com. FIND OUT WHAT YOUR EMPLOYEES REALLY THINK AND FEEL Discover what’s really going on in the hearts and minds of your employees. Our InnerViews interviewing service uses SPHRs and PHRs, certified human resource professionals to probe for the information you really need to know. Exit and Stay Interviews, as well as Why-Didn't-You-Take-Our-Offer Interviews. Call Rosalie Catalano at 937-416-7066, or read more at: http://www.hermangroup.com/retentionconnection/exit_interviews.html. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

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