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

The Herman Trend Alert September 30, 2009 US Brain Drain More than 50 percent of the science graduate students in the United States are foreign-born. Due to a lack of emphasis on the STEM (Science, Engineering, Technology, and Math) subjects and the fear that the curricula will be too challenging, native-born students have passed up these post-college options. Filling the void have been the foreign-born for whom a US graduate degree was and is a meaningful ticket to a prosperous future. A trend we forecast numerous times is now official: Within the next five years, hundreds of thousands Chinese and Indian immigrants who in the past would have stayed and worked for US companies will go home permanently. This history-making trend was recently revealed in a recently released study, Professor Vivek Wadhwa of Duke University. The Brain Drain is already affecting US companies and will have increasingly devastating consequences. There are several reasons why this homecoming is taking place. First, there are increasing job opportunities for them at home. In the last two years, the economies in India and China both grew much faster that the US. Not only are they welcomed with open arms, but because they have studied abroad, they have a better understanding of how to do business in the US. China even offers financial assistance and housing incentives to lure skilled workers home. Second, because the Asian cultures are so different from those of the US, there is a strong comfort factor that is missing for workers choosing to stay. They miss their loved ones and rarely enjoy the same support systems. Finally, US immigration laws and attitudes (fueled by 9/11 and recent economic challenges) discourage immigrants from staying. The now long and arduous process of obtaining one of the relatively few H1B visas or applying for green card status dishearten even the most enthusiastic. Though Wadhwa only studied students from Asian countries, the same situations apply to graduate students from South America, Africa, and the Middle East. The good news is that we believe that once the US economy really recovers, the rate of departure will slow somewhat; however the cultural and home economic factors will remain. © 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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