You can help your chances of keeping your job and avoiding that pink slip!

Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Wed, Jul 01 2009 | 0 Comments

There are a few steps that employees can do to make themselves known to employers to hopefully be promoted one day. Those same tactics are now being implemented by the workforce to not be fired when the next line of lay offs comes their way.

So what’s the secret?

According to BusinessWeek here are a few of the tips from the magazine:

1) Focus on the company’s success rather than your own. Most employers don’t have the time (or money) to deal with any potential problems you may have. When you’re at work, you are there to work and not create drag for you or your team.

2) You have to be more than willing to change. I don’t just mean use blue pens instead of black pens, you have to be ready and willing to change direction at the drop of a dime and be ready for it. If the company is looking to mix up the product lines or create a new mission statement for the company, its time to be the “yes man” and learn how to cooperate with the change.

3) Be great at your job and be useful in every aspect of the company. While this is a lot of work, it shows your employer that you have a commitment to the company by going above and beyond your own responsibilities.

4) Social hour should be after work, not during. The last thing a company needs is for its employees to be negative and do a lot of gossiping while on the clock. “No complaining, no blaming!”

5) You have to follow the rules, even the ones that may not have been written down. An example is to be at work early and be at least willing to stay late. When looking at this tip, now would be a good time to quit smoking and start bringing your lunch to work with you to avoid smoke breaks and long lunches.

6) You need to solve problems before they happen. If there’s a way to make the company more efficient (or make it more money), tell your supervisor. Of course, this means there will be some time away from the workplace and in your home where you may have to do some research about competitors and what they’re doing. Doing this ensures that you are seen as an asset to the company

7) Get to know people outside your department, especially those in human resources.

8 ) Social networking is important, if not crucial in today’s workplace. On the BusinessWeek article this tip is titled “Start Tweeting or Start Packing.” I think that this tip is more important to those in the marketing field than those in, say, the accounting department. Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are easy to set up and use. Here’s a warning: Don’t “Facebook” too much at work.

Related posts:
Is Facebook a social “superpower”?
Social Networking is turning out to be quite popular for companies

Tags: company, marketing, time to quit smoking

7500 GM workers set to take early retirement

Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Thu, Mar 26 2009 | 1 Comment

7,500 workers equals to about 12 percent of GM’s total workforce (not including other manufacturers in the supply chain, of course).

GM’s incentive to retire early was $20,000 and a $25,000 voucher for the purchase of a car.

The workers who put in their early retirement acceptance have seven days to resend their decision, many of which can resend by March 31. March 31st is an important day for GM and Chrysler because that is the day they must provide a restructuring plan to the U.S. government if they wish to continue receiving loans.

In this case, I do believe that it was the right thing for the workers to take the compensation package. If GM has to restructure enough, they will end up being forced to lay off at least 7,500 employees…at least. This way, if you thought your job was in jeopardy, you could get $20,000 and a new car…it’s kind of like winning on Wheel of Fortune.

Related posts:
GameStop is looking for a few good workers
The Pitch – Are you pulling from your retirement fund?

Tags: seven days, march 31st, gm workers

American Express to cut 10% of workforce.

Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Thu, Oct 30 2008 | 0 Comments

American Express is also going through some hard times, in an effort to cut $1.8 billion in 2009, it is laying off 7,000 workers, about the equivalent of 10% of its workforce. After four straight quarters of losses, not only is Amex going to lay off the workers, but is also going to suspend pay increases for management and not hire any new applicants.

The company said that it plans to scale down marketing, development, and technology advancements to help with the budget cut. As a result, most of the 7,000 employees to be laid off will be management.

Here’s another big company that has to reduce their workforce to cut the budget. It seems like this scenerio is happening more and more. With retail sales down and people more focused on not using their credit cards, American Express is likely not to be the only company to resort to huge layoffs.

Related posts:
Should you think about buying an American car?
Buying an American car is for SOME buyers!
American Airlines could be facing some heafty fines for sub-par repairs

Tags: workforce, dow, hard time