|
2004 2005 2006 2007 (percent) World* 4.0 3.4 3.6 3.4 Japan 2.3 2.7 2.8 2.1 China 10.1 9.9 9.5 9.0 Euro area 2.1 1.3 2.0 1.9 United Kingdom 3.1 1.8 2.5 2.7 United States 4.2 3.5 3.4 3.0
A very encouraging sign of awareness and acceptance it the fact that text book publishers have been including our HR capability profile in their books so that students will be better prepared to write our exams. BUILDING THE PROFESSION: Promoting Greater Awareness: A new promotional brochure was launched this winter and staff attended provincial association conferences to field questions and educate HR professionals about the national standards. Enforcement of the National Code of Ethics: A detailed implementation plan to enforce the code has been developed, and communication/implementation will begin in the autumn. The national office will provide guidance to provincial associations in setting up the necessary structures. Updating the body of Knowledge: The first stage of this project has been completed. Suggested revisions to the HR capability profile have been gathered from across the country and are being reviewed by our Independent Board of Examiners. In the autumn, the revised profile will be sent to HR professionals across the country for input on what stage in an HR professional’s career would it be reasonable to expect execution of each competency – early stage, or more experienced. This information will then be used to determine whether a particular competency is tested on the first or second level examination. Recertification: In consultation with provincial association representatives, a revised recertification log was approved. The revised log provides increased opportunities for approved professional development opportunities. Planning has started on communicating the revisions to members. 2. USA US MACROECONOMIC DATA AND HR TRENDS SHRM/RUTGERS LEADING INDICATOR OF NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT The latest report of the SHRM/Rutgers Line indicates that more firms expect to expand their employment in June 2006 than in any month since this report was first introduced in February 2004. This follows a strong May, during which employment expanded within both the manufacturing and the service sector. Part, but not all, of the May expansion was due to seasonality. Within manufacturing, the LINE employment index reveals that substantially more firms were expanding in May 2006 than in May 2005. In fact, within the manufacturing sector, both hiring plans and recruiting difficulty are at the highest levels since the monthly LINE reports were initiated. For the latest full report see the SHRM/Rutgers LINE: http://www.shrm.org/line/ HURRICANE EVACUEES EMPLOYMENT DATA from US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS Information gathered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in April 2006 represented about 900,000 persons aged 16 and over who had evacuated from where they were living in August due to Hurricane Katrina. Just over half of the evacuees were living in their August 2005 residences. Of all evacuees identified, 62.5 percent were in the labor force in April. The unemployment rate for people identified as evacuees was 14.9 percent. The rate was much higher for evacuees who were not living in their former homes (26.5 percent) than for those who were again living at their pre-Katrina residences (5.3 percent). For the latest full report, see the BLS Employment Situation Summary online: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.toc.htm US HR TRENDS – SYMPOSIUM ON THE FUTURE OF HR A summit organized by SHRM to discuss the future of HR recently brought together leading HR practitioners, consultants, senior SHRM staff and academic professor Lee Dyer. The discussion identified key barriers to overcome both within HR and in how HR is viewed, include: • There is a skills and competencies gap within HR, particularly with business knowledge and analytical skills. • HR may lack alignment to business • HR can be a slow adaptor of technology • HR tends toward an administrative focus • The C-Suite perception is that HR is not aligned with business, and is not strategic Participants in the symposium shared a common vision – that HR can drive the business success which leads to elevating the profession. Also that human capital management led by strategic HR can be a recognised source of competitive advantage driving revenue, profitability, productivity, and share price. Participants also felt in such a future, HR can be a source for future CEOs and business leaders. To achieve this vision, necessary behaviors for individuals and the profession as a whole were identified: • A willingness to change. • A more analytical and strategic orientation. • Greater initiative, courage and accountability. • Continuous examination and reshaping of competencies. • Greater understanding of and alignment with the business. • Greater prioritisation and focus on what really matters. • Finding and developing talent. • Even greater and more consistent excellence in execution. A full report was compiled and is available online: http://www.shrm.org/trends/ As part of the effort to elevate the HR profession, SHRM became a sponsor of the CEO Exchange, a business series produced for public television in the U.S. by WTTW National Productions in Chicago. The program was recorded live at premiere business schools and each installment featured a conversation between two prominent CEOs hosted by broadcast journalist Jeff Greenfield. Each episode touched on the various elements that feed into strategic business decision making, including human capital issues. The program aired on TV stations across the U.S. through the spring of 2006. For more information: http://www.shrm.org/ceoexchange/ SHRM NEWS SHRM SURVEY ON CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY SHRM Research team designed a survey on Corporate Social Responsibility which is currently being fielded in the U.S., India, China, and Australia (through AHRI). The survey focuses on what organizations are doing around CSR, how HR plays a role, and some of the benefits and challenges of the organisational programs in place. Data collection will continue through the summer during which time SHRM has invited Mexico and Canada to participate as well. SHRM ANNUAL CONFERENCE The SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition was held in Washington, D.C. from June 25 – 28, 2006. Keynote speakers included former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Board to IBM, Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.; winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of 1776, David McCullough; and Liz Murray with her story of triumph over adversity. SHRM expected approximately 17,000 attendees, speakers, and exhibitors to participate from more than 40 countries. PEOPLE TO PEOPLE AMBASSADORS PROGRAMME - CHINA SHRM Chief Membership Officer Gail Aldrich will be leading a delegation of HR professionals to China under the auspices of the People to People Ambassadors Program between December 1 – 11, 2006. Delegates will have an opportunity to meet with Chinese counterparts from academia, government and the private sector to share information, trends, and learn from each other. This is the second time that SHRM has collaborated with People to People in organizing delegation exchange to China. 3. MEXICO MEXICAN ECONOMIC, POLITIC AND LABOR INDICATORS 2006 MACROECONOMIC TRENDS Experts predicted that during the first months of 2006, Mexican peso would lose ground versus the US dollar. Five months later, the peso rate fell from $10.47 to $11.13, export and petroleum prices are at their highest levels and annual inflation rates descended from 3.75% to 3.41%. POLITICAL TRENDS Five parties worked on their campaign to win the Presidency for the 2006-2012 period. At the time of writing official survey results indicated the increasing likelihood that a different political party to the ruling PAN (Partido Acción Nacional) would win the Presidency. The election took place on 2 July and official results showed Felipe Caldéron of the leading party to have won by 0.58% against the PRD (Partido de la Revolución Democrática ) candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador. However the election outcome is still disputed due to allegations of fraud and the close run nature of the outcome. UNEMPLOYMENT According to official data from INEGI which is the National Institute Of Statistics and the Social Security Institute , the unemployment rate for the first two months of 2006 is lower lthan for the same period last year. In February this year there were 13.2 million people in registered employment, representing annual growth of 5.0%. SOCIAL TRENDS and HUMAN RESOURCES ISSUES A blast at a coal mine in Coahuila State in February has led to considerable industrial unrest and the unions have asked for the resignation of the Minister of Labour. AMEDIRH NEWS MEMBERSHIP At the start of 2006 AMEDIRH reported a slight increase in membership and the organisation is planning to raise levels further by promoting tailormade products designed to address the specific needs of new members. GRUPO RH+ The first of three meetings planned for 2006 took place at the end of March. The theme of the session was “The Killers of Productivity”, in which issues such as change management, communication and teams were analyzed by the members of the group. AMEDIRH ANNUAL CONFERENCE The 12th Human Resources Forum will be held on September 13 and 14 at Centro Banamex in Mexico City. Human Resources executives from all over Mexico usually attend this event, which is regarded as the top event in HR in Mexico. Four sponsors have already confirmed their participation at the annual exhibition: DDI, Manpower, GlaxoSmithKline, and Movistar. Four more partners are due to confirm their participation. 65 small booths are also available. Well known international personalities are planned to participate as keynote speakers and 10 concurrent sessions are confirmed. AMEDIRH NEW DIRECTOR AMEDIRH's board of Directors have named Pedro Borda as its new Managing Director. Pedro was the President of AMEDIRH in the 1980's and was in charge of their 50th anniversary celebrations when Mike Losey was keynote speaker. He is a former President of the Exalumnus University and is very well known in the community, not only for his social network but also his capacity for negotiation. He worked for 42 years in Human Resources in high profile companies and has directed the Government Office for Senior Citizens for the last 5 years. |
For the latest issue of Worldlink, click here.