I read the blog via bloglines. Do you get stats regarding readers who get the info via RSS feeds?

I would love to see more info about what the various regions are doing that are both innovative and successful.

Hello Bill -- I appreciate this blog. I am planning to make more of a regular effort to read your stuff in this space. I've only opened it up to read about 4 or 5 times, but it only takes a minute to find something useful, intriguing or thought-provoking.

I am a marketing copywriter, but used to be in sales. I sold advertising at DM News for 5 years. So, when things get this tough, I think about how challenging it must be for the sales teams, trying to sell print ad space and online space. I wonder, "what would I do if I were one of them?"

One idea that crossed my mind recently was this: --and perhaps it would only be feasible for the NYLJ--but, "what if....." we held a live auction for ad space? We could invite a few dozen advertisers to lunch at a pleasant NYC venue. And maybe before, or during, or after the lunch we could have a professional auctioneer, (or an actor who can simulate one) conducting an actual auction for a pre-designated issue...maybe the NYLJ Magazine?

It's a crazy idea. I've been known to have a few. But I believe that in unusual times (a funky recession, for example) you sometimes need to do unusual things.

I think the main benefit of such an auction would be to let people/clients have fun in a very social/networking kind of setting. Meanwhile you treat your advertisers to lunch and give them a memorable time. I realize that some sales people do not love the idea of their competing advertisers being together at the same event at the same time. I also know that some might think that such a method of selling space in an auction undermines the integrity of the process in general and cheapens the product.

I don't think this is necessarily true. As long as participants understand that this is a one time thing only--and definitely not any change in the way we are conducting business as a matter of course, then it might be a risk worth taking. After all, we occasionally offer 2-for1 pricing in specially selected issues. The auction concept is not too far off from that kind of "gimmick" approach.

Luke--I'll check to see if the stats I get include those who read via blog aggregators like Bloglines or FeedDemon. I doubt it. In which case, maybe I should claim even greater readership of my blog!

Mark--Auctioning off advertising space?!? Sounds crazy, except for the fact that that's pretty much what Google is all about. Seems to be working out pretty well for them.

--Bill

Hey Bill,
Hard to believe you are already archived, seems like just yesterday... I've been reading and have had a few comments and don't take the time to type them in.
1. regarding Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" I loved the line "if there is an elephant in the room, introduce it"
2.Kudos on reminding the team to stay healthy, I'm a one woman vigilante on getting colleagues to quit smoking. It truly affects all of us.
3. Healthcare is not always a given in companies anymore. If you've ever tried to find a HC plan outside of a company and you plan to have children, it is virtually impossible. Most insurance companies have pregnancy clauses considering it a preexisting condition and you cannot get insurance. I will gladly share what my husband and I had to go through to get insurance when we first moved to Texas.
4. Do you think, given our current economic state that companies should abandon the requirement of paying into a 401K during this time or make it voluntary for a period of time?
If you ever get serious about selling ads on the blog, just let me know (only kidding, sort of). I keep hearing how things are getting bleaker and bleaker with ad sales and remember back in 1990 when the Persian Gulf war was going on, I was selling political ads at a little newspaper on Capitol Hill for a guy named Jim Glassman. There were only three of us on staff in sales and we tried everything. I used to stuff walnuts in envelopes and send them to Fortune 100 companies with a note saying "You're a tough nut to crack!" to get their attention. No one was buying anything. Jim encouraged us to stay close to our roots and would even help us write ad copy for local advertisers. Over time things changed and that little newspaper just bought another media company for 43 million. If it's done right, it will all work out and Jim is still my professional mentor today. We are going to be better than ok, I know it.
Best, Kelly

Hi Bill,

I appreciate what you are asking for in this blog, and my comment/question goes somewhat in line with the post above this one, "Health Insurance Blues." Don't worry, I am not complaining about our coverage - I feel extremely lucky to have it when so many people don't.

But the notion of keeping costs down by asking us to be healthier is what peaked my interest. The Wellness initiative has been nice and I enjoy getting those newsletters and do read them, but I got to brainstorming about what might be differentiating employees like us from employees at Google, for instance. Of course, it would be silly to have personal, gourmet chefs come in and make us all three square meals with all organic ingredients (though I wouldn’t argue). And if you designated a “yoga hour” in Texas, I’m pretty sure there would be a revolt.

But what are the big differences? Why are those employees so happy and healthy? Why does Google have such amazing employee retention? Why is their company flourishing? What can we learn from Google?

I, of course, “Googled” that question and found several articles that pointed to more paid holidays or vacation time and several articles full of stats that the U.S. is severely burnt out and overworked. Then I checked out the holiday schedules on InHouse and noticed that our Canadian offices get 12 per year, as do the NY offices, though the rest of the U.S. Incisive employees get 10. (Well, with the day after Christmas being added since – and HUGE thanks for that by the way – NY gets 13 and everyone else gets 11.) I figure it is worth asking if anyone has looked into providing more personal time to in hopes of employees being more productive/happier and in turn, healthier?

One article I read:

“Think back to high school. Remember the week before your summer holidays started? You couldn't wait to kick off your summer holidays. Fast forward ten weeks later. You were looking forward to starting a new school year, to seeing all of your friends again, and, most importantly, you were looking forward to getting off to a good start and finishing the year with good grades. When the last school year ended, you were tired of it; when the new school year started, you were fresh and alert.
Now you work. No more summers off. No more time off at Christmas. Maybe you've worked for years without a holiday. You might be burnt out. But you still work. Maybe your company forces you to overwork yourself.
Would you agree that the way you're working, you're probably not as productive as you could be if you just had more energy? Longer vacations worked in high school. Why wouldn't it work in the corporate world?”

Articles like this led to other articles about sabbaticals making a big comeback (and a new program at Deloite allowing employees to leave for as long as 5 years with a promise of rehire), as well as company-paid training/continuing education and better mentoring within companies for a new, younger generation of managers.

Which then got me thinking about Generation Y (of which I am a proud member) vs. the Boomers. Generational marketing and the Generational Gap in the workplace are extremely hot topics right now in the world of HR and on the minds of every employee, I think. There are huge gaps in what employees “expect” from their companies between these demographics. I would LOVE to hear your take (and our HR department’s) on some of these issues and whether any changes are being explored for the future to continue to retain this new and extremely motivated generation.

PS: I think the new widget is awesome and a great step!

Thanks so much,
Laura

To build off of some of the things Laura is talking about, there are some great things to benefits like flex time and increased vacation days. Businessweek two years ago talked about how BestBuy rolled out a company wide 100% flex time schedule :
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_50/b4013001.htm After seeing 35% increases in productivity among its experiment group participants. As well IBM has been known for its flexible scheduling (not tracking vacation days) which has been cited by employees for one key reason why they stay. Not just improving the overall health of your employees, its quite reasonable to argue your boosting your overall productivity at a fractional cost.

Christian,

That is amazing - I'd never heard of what Best Buy was doing. This is brilliant:

"At most companies, going AWOL during daylight hours would be grounds for a pink slip. Not at Best Buy. The nation's leading electronics retailer has embarked on a radical--if risky--experiment to transform a culture once known for killer hours and herd-riding bosses. The endeavor, called ROWE, for "results-only work environment," seeks to demolish decades-old business dogma that equates physical presence with productivity. The goal at Best Buy is to judge performance on output instead of hours."

Thanks for posting!
Laura

Laura/Christian,

Some great comments here on the importance of time off for clearing your brain and recharging your batteries. As it turns out, one of the projects that our HR department is exploring right now is a look at our vacation policies, especially for those who are newly hired. On the one hand, we know that our policy is competitive with other media companies of our size. On the other hand, that doesn't mean that finding ways to give more time off wouldn't have benefits for both our staff and the company. So we're taking another look.

On the question of paid holidays, just to correct Laura's comment, everybody who works for Incisive in the US has the same number of paid days off, with one exception. There's a group of NY Law Journal employees who follow the NY court calendar with respect to days off. That allows for a couple of extra holidays off relative to the rest of us (ie. Veteran's Day and Lincoln's Birthday). On the other hand, they work the day after Thanksgiving while the rest of us are enjoying our leftovers. In our old building, the landlord used to cut the heat off for the long weekend, so those on duty had to work in the cold. We'll soon find out if that's true for our new building.

Incisive staff in Canada, the UK and Hong Kong follow local laws with respect to national holidays. That's why we have a different holiday list for our Canadian staff.

--Bill

Kelly,

There was a point in your comment above that I wanted to address. You ask whether companies "should abandon the requirement of paying into a 401K during this time or make it voluntary for a period of time?"

I don't know about other companies, but Incisive has no such 401K participation requirement. We do initially enroll all new employees in the 401K because we strongly believe that everyone should be saving for their retirement. But any employee--new or otherwise--can reduce the percentage of their salary being contributed to their 401K or withdraw from participating altogether. This is not a mandatory program.

That being said, I would urge everyone to keep on putting money aside for retirement. Most of us simply cannot count on the social security system to support us after we stop working. The 401K allows a convenient way to save, with an automatic return on the investment through the company match. And there are tools and advice available on the JP Morgan website to help participants figure out how best to invest given their retirement goals. Just go to www.retireonline.com.

TGIF Bill,
I saw you posted to the group and then to me separately. I did say "companies" not ours specifically. You are correct to say that we cannot rely on Social Security. I know the ins and outs of the Social Security System as my husband just spent the last 8+ plus years in Washington trying to get it reformed from a non-partisan platform. It will be gone in 2041. Not only won't we be able to live off of it; we will not be getting it unless someone can figure something out quick. President Bush made a pledge to our country at the State of the Union address in 2004 saying he would be the one that signed the legislation to reform it. He's leaving in several weeks and it didn't happen; not pinning blame, just stating the facts.

I doubt many middle class folks will have the luxury of retirement. Case in point; my father in law just "retired" due to health reasons but until then he'd worked every day and some weekends as a funeral director. He turned 85 in May. 85!
I'm glad ours isn't mandatory. I'm not sure this is appropriate for the blog, but it's important information to know. I still haven't recouped what I lost in 1999 in the market and these daily variables are a constant reminder of that. Maybe a support group for people who have lost too much money in the stock market?
Have a great weekend, Kelly