Talent Development

Building the Workforce: Sarah Sladek and XYZ University Announce Training Partnership With Build California

Every day, the shortage in the skilled trades becomes more acute. The trades lost nearly a million skilled workers during the recession that have yet to be replaced, and as older workers retire, the crunch will get even tighter. Combined with the changes in education that eliminated trades training from schools, we have experienced the perfect storm that threatens to leave the skilled trades industry with a severe worker shortage in the years to come. The need to engage young talent...

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by Sarah Sladek

Partnering for a Better Tomorrow

By Heather Thomton-Stockman Recently I had the pleasure of presenting a series of Generations@Work trainings for a local construction company. With each training I was reminded of just how significant the Skilled Trades Industry is to our daily lives. Without the Skilled Trades, we wouldn’t have roofs over our heads, hospitals for medical care, clean water to drink, safe roads to travel on, and the list goes on. Each time I have the privilege to speak with a group of Skilled Trades professionals, I am always in awe at the pride expressed in their profession....

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by XYZ University

Workplace Etiquette: The haunting truth of ‘ghosting’

By Sarah Sladek, XYZ University CEO Workplace etiquette. Turns out, that’s a pretty controversial subject right now. Recently I presented at a conference for healthcare executives and heard many complaints about the youngest generations in the workforce and their disregard for etiquette. Topping the list of complaints: quitting via text, not showing up for work, and calling the boss by his first name. Is the etiquette divide the indication of a generation gap or a social shift? Turns out, it’s both. Across the United States,...

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by Sarah Sladek

How Long Will Your Organization Exist?

How long will your organization exist? Have you ever stopped to ponder this question This week I attended a presentation given by a state demographer who shared considerable research and data on the outlook of the national workforce—and suffice it to say the nation is headed towards a shocking reality. The bottom line: Our workforce is aging. Millions of workers will leave the workforce over the course of the next 15 years, and employers and government alike are largely unprepared for...

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by Sarah Sladek

The Coffice: Season 1, Episode 1 (ROWE)

Work-from-home employees have grown by 103% since 2005 and 3.7 million employees (2.8% of the workforce) now work from home at least half the time. Coffices (coffee shop offices) are on the rise as more workplaces embrace flexibility. Read the reflections from one of XYZ U's remote employees. Coffice: A coffee shop one makes into an office where non-coffee shop work is performed. It's in Urban Dictionary and it's becoming the norm. Walk into any coffee shop and you're bound to see a...

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by Sonja Moseley

The Construction Conundrum

Harley-Davidson is a true American icon with real brand cachet. For a particular breed of leather wearing motorcycle enthusiasts, there is simply nothing on par with Harley. The motorcycle company was founded in 1901, but it wasn’t until the arrival of the Baby Boomers (1946-1964) that sales skyrocketed. Boomers embraced the Harley bikes as totems of rebellion in the 1960s and 1970s and drove its growth in the ensuing decades. Youth. It’s why Harley thrived under the Boomer youth regime, Nike thrived under the...

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by Sarah Sladek

It’s 2010: Do You Know Where Your Employees/Clients/Members/Volunteers Are?

I continue to be amazed by how many organizations I work with who either do not use or do not value social media. They refer to social media as a tiresome chore (Do we really have to be on Facebook?) and consider it a silly pastime (I don't want my employees chatting with their friends all day!). In fact, I recently had a heated debate with someone who insisted that social media was 'over'. Seriously?! You still think this is a trend that...

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by Sarah Sladek

Millennial Nomads, and how it could affect retaining employees…

According to a survey conducted by AfterCollege networking site, 59% of current job seekers look for a flexible work schedule from a prospective employer, while 70% said they’re more likely to accept a job if there’s the option to work from home at least one day a week. Both of these rank second to work/life balance. So, how is the Millennial Nomad life style possibly affecting your work culture? A Millennial Nomad, someone who sees themselves as an explorer, a thinker, a person...

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by Sarah Sladek

Keynote Urges Associations to Solve Global Workforce Crisis

Sarah Sladek issues up a call to action to the global association community to solve the workforce crisis at the Association World Congress. Yesterday, I was in Vienna for the Associations World Congress. I had the incredible honor of being an opening keynote presenter, and I took the responsibility quite seriously, issuing up a call to action to the global association community to solve the workforce crisis. The following are excerpts from my speech, which was largely based on my new book, Talent Generation,...

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by Sarah Sladek

A Call to Action for Hospitals: “We’re going to have deaths”

Healthcare is now the fastest-growing industry in the nation, partly because people are living longer and partly because the Baby Boomer generation—the largest generation of the 20th century and the largest percentage of the healthcare workforce—is now entering their retirement years. The team at XYZ University works with clients worldwide. In our travels, we learn about industries and see firsthand how generation gaps are threatening the future of workplaces, governments, and membership associations. Sarah Sladek shares her insights from South Carolina Hospital Association’s...

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by Sarah Sladek