I started my corporate career in the midst of an economic downturn for my industry. I was working for a Fortune 100 company and to get through this difficult time, the company brought in an outside consulting group to conduct a little exercise called “Overhead Value Analysis.” Simply put, every person from the adminstrative assistant to a vice president had to stand up in front of a group of strangers and justify their existence by explaining how they were contributing to shareholder value.

This was a very stressful exercise, especially for a young man who was still finding his way to the water cooler. But thankfully I was always a numbers geek and could pull out a chart (probably drawn by hand in those days) to show what I was doing, why I was doing it, and how what I was accomplishing was tied to the company objectives. This was an important lesson in my young career and one that has always served me well through many downturns along the way.

So when I hear another round of gurus pontificating last week about the unnecessary annoyance of measuring social media activities I want to shake somebody. I am so very sick of people who have never had to work in a corporate bureaucracy or manage through a budget crisis explain that measuring social media is like measuring your mother, or your pants. Here’s another one that drives me nuts: “The ROI of social media is that your company exists in five years” … again implying that you need to do social media, just because you need to do social media. Bullshit.

Don’t you believe it. You MUST keep measuring, assessing, adjusting, improving. Never get caught with your stats down.

At some point in the life of every company, there will be a financial imperative to slash overhead costs. The bubble always bursts, at least in a free economy. When that happens, everything will be evaluated under the icy glare of number-crunchers — do we cut or not cut? This is the day of reckoning that defines the ”implied economic value” of any effort. Even something as seemingly mundane as social media. You better be able to articulate a business case, and it better be something better than page views and Klout scores, Bub.

Why? Social media is NOT FREE. Every economic activity in a corporation directly or indirectly has to contribute to shareholder value.

Let’s look at how “un-free” social media really is. Let’s assume you have one person working full-time on social media marketing. We’ll assign that person a salary of $60,000. In a typical company, standard health, 401(k) and other benefit costs equal another 50% of the base salary, or in this case, $30,000.

We’ll assign another 20% of base salary for overhead such as office space, shared services support and technology. That’s $12,000. We won’t even address travel, training, or bonuses.

So, our minimal full-up cost for one social media professional is $102,000. As a business owner, are you willing to spend more than $100,000 per year without requiring any accountability for a return? What kind of a company are you running?

I’m a practical guy. I know it may be cost-prohibitive or even impossible to determine the specific ROI of your efforts. Sometimes you need to look at qualitative tools for social media measurement. But there is no excuse for not tracking key measures that contribute to your company’s goals. To support your credibility, your long-term viability, and your personal career in social media marketing, YOU MUST MEASURE.

This is an emotional topic for some, but it shouldn’t be. This is basic business common sense. Are you with me on this one?

Originally published at BusinessesGrow.com

The study found broadband Internet users are at east 50 percent less likely to give up on job searches because of discouragement than those who do not use the Internet. Dial-up Internet users are about one – third less likely to drop out of the labor force.

"By connecting Americans to jobs and information about job opportunities, Internet usage feeds hope and encourages frustrated workers to keep on looking even when job prospects are dim," according to Phoenix Center President Lawrence J. Spiwak. "These findings suggest that broadband connectivity can contribute to economic recovery."

"Our study also shows the enormous potential benefit of community broadband centers for those who are not connected at home," Spiwak adds. "While broadband use at home delivers significant benefits, shared facilities can be a valuable solution to connectivity gaps in unserved and underserved communities."

The Phoenix Center says the new study provides insights to policymakers at a time when unemployment is  high, with government estimates suggesting the unemployment rate, when broadly defined, now exceeds 17%. In fact, large numbers of Americans have given up looking for jobs because they think none are available.

The U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is responsible for the government’s monthly data on employment and unemployment, estimates that adding "discouraged workers," as defined by the Bureau, who had quit looking for work as of December 2009, would boost the current U.S. jobless rate above the frequently reported 10 percent level.

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"The tech industry has suffered the full force of the global economic recession in the first half of this year, yet we believe it has weathered the storm better than most," said TechAmerica Foundation President Christopher W. Hansen.

"Given that technology is an important economic driver, long-term investments and globally competitive tax policies are critical for encouraging technology companies to form and flourish in the United States and add new American jobs."

From June 2008 through June 2009, tech lost 224,100 jobs, a 3.7 percent workforce decline. Over the same period the U.S. private sector cut jobs at a higher rate of 5.1 percent.

For the six months between January and June, the sector hit the hardest was high-tech manufacturing. Technology manufacturers cut 69,500 net jobs in the first half of 2009, a 5.6 percent loss, leaving a total of 1.2 million tech manufacturing jobs in June. This accounted for 11.6 percent of total U.S. manufacturing jobs lost over that time period.

Technology service providers slashed 45,500 jobs, engineering and tech services cut 21,500, communications services lost 13,600 and software services cut 10,400.
 

GlassDoor breaks it down into two categories – companies that have reported upcoming layoffs, and companies that have not:

Employees who work for companies that have reported layoffs versus those that haven’t are more likely to:		Total   n=1,331		Employees from companies that have communicated layoffs within the past 6 months n=327		Employees from companies who have not communicated layoffs within the past six months n=1004
Have concerns about being laid off in next six months		21%		45%		12%
Have concerns coworkers will be laid off in next six months		42%		87%		26%
Be working harder to avoid a lay off given the current state of the economy		52%		69%		46%
Not expect a pay raise in next 12 months		40%		49%		36%
Not expect a bonus		25%		32%		22%
To take on more projects and responsibilities to avoid a lay off		74%		84%		70%

 “This data reinforces the need for employers to be more open and transparent with their plans for the company and people. It is human nature to always think that something bad will happen to someone else but never to me. Employees often think them personally — or their company — will be insulated from layoffs and that someone else will lose their job, not them, often causing shock and denial when notified their job has been eliminated,” says Rusty Rueff, co-author of Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business and former HR executive at Electronic Arts and Pepsico, who is also a member of Glassdoor’s board of directors.

“Fourth quarter layoffs may just be a prelude of what’s to come and both employers and talent should take time now to communicate and plan short-term options and contingencies. In today’s environment there’s no reason to continue to have people surprised and not prepared for the worst,” adds Rueff.

Employees Expect Raises and Bonuses

Some other interesting stats revealed by the survey include:

– Even amid widespread company cost-cutting, 40% of employees say they expect a pay raise or cost of living increase in the next 12 months while 40% do not expect a raise and 20% say they are unsure.

– Of those eligible for an annual bonus, 57% expect a bonus and 40% do not.

Of those who expect a bonus:

– 41% expect it to be about the same as last bonus

– 28% expect it to be less than last bonus

– 15% expect it to be more than last bonus

– 16% are unsure of the amount

“Salary and total compensation are very important to employees so we aren’t surprised more than half of employees are unwilling to take pay cuts to avoid a lay off. We are surprised, however, that so many employees say they are not personally concerned about layoffs, particularly given the frequency we’re seeing people discuss layoffs in their Glassdoor reviews over the past few months,” said Robert Hohman, co-founder and CEO of Glassdoor.com, a career and workplace community bringing greater transparency to salaries and workplaces.

So if employees are so confident, what are they willing to sacrifice in order to keep their jobs?

– 74% would take on more projects or responsibility

– 60% would increase the amount of hours worked

– 46% would give up perks like commuter subsidies, on-site cafeteria, child care, dry cleaner, gym access

– 32% would accept a reduction in health and dental benefits coverage

– 30% would accept a cut in salary or wages

– 24% would forfeit paid time off or vacation

– 24% would take an unpaid leave or sabbatical

The good news here is that employees are willing to work harder and stay motivated so that they can keep their jobs. This should theoretically lead to more productivity, which should make business owners happy – a silver lining in the dark cloud of the economy.

Perhaps it’s just the mere thought that their coworkers get to pass the day in their pajamas and see their kids before 7 pm, that they don’t have to get up, get dressed, make the drive, and rush to get things done at lunch.

The study didn’t really get into those details, just that employees that remain at work while coworkers telecommute tend to be less satisfied and have a lower probability of remaining with the company. The greater the prevalence of teleworkers, the higher the chances are employees at the office aren’t happy about their station.

The study comes from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and was published in a recent issue of the journal Human Relations. It looked at a sample of 240 professional employees at a medium-sized company. That could be telling as well; the study doesn’t seem to measure the culture of that particular company and what, if any, impact that may have had on employee satisfaction.

About 37 percent of US-based and foreign companies offer flexible work arrangements like telecommuting, and the number is growing at about 11 percent a year. The increase is spurring interest in the impact such policies have on employees.

"Interest and research in telework as a work modality to ease conflicts between work and family domains has grown tremendously," said Timothy Golden, associate professor in the Lally School of Management & Technology at Rensselaer.

"Studies to date however, have investigated telework’s impacts on the teleworkers themselves, rather than on those who work with teleworkers but remain in the office. This study shifts the research lens to investigate the impacts of telework on non-teleworkers in the office."

Golden acknowledges that other factors may come into play to increase or decrease job satisfaction or intentions to leave the company. These include the amount of time coworkers telecommute, how much face-to-face interaction occurs, and the amount of job autonomy allowed to employees.

Employees who have to come into the office while coworkers telecommute may tend to find the workplace less enjoyable, have fewer and weaker emotional ties to coworkers, and feel less obligated to the company.

"While reasons for the adverse impact on non-teleworker’s satisfaction are varied, it potentially could be due to coworker’s perceptions that they have decreased flexibility and a higher workload, and the ensuing greater frustration that comes with coordinating in an environment with more extensive co-worker telework," said Golden.
 

"In addition, it may be that with a greater prevalence of teleworkers in a work unit, non-teleworkers may find it less personally fulfilling to conduct their work due to the increased obstacles to building and maintaining effective and rewarding co-worker relationships."

That doesn’t mean allowing telecommuting is a bad idea, though. It has very positive impacts on the employees who are able to do so. It may mean that employers need to be more vigilant in ensuring employees at the office get the face-time and autonomy they need. 

But don’t expect them to like neckties or high heels.
 

Kara Swisher put together a piece discussing “Google’s Growing Pains.”  Douglas MacIntyre went a slightly different route, and described recent events as “Google’s Brain Drain.”  And both of these stories relate to Kevin J. Delaney’s latest article for the Wall Street Journal, “Start-Ups Make Inroads With Google’s Work Force.”  Speaking for a moment from Google’s point of view: yikes.

Delaney lists a number of employees who have left the company, and also touches on the stock options that will soon mature and make some Googlers ridiculously rich.  Plus, it’s a simple fact that we are seeing more people quit, and turn down job offers, than ever before.  But Delaney spoke to Laszlo Bock, Vice President of Google People Operations, and Bock did an excellent job of explaining away those would-be trends.

He “says the company’s staff attrition rate has remained ‘pretty steady’ in recent years at under 5% and the rate at which Google job offers are accepted is similarly stable, approaching 90% or higher depending on the position being filled,” according to the WSJ.

Bock also “chalks any perception that start-ups are gaining on Google in recruiting to the fact that the Internet giant is hiring many more people than in the past.  With more staff and more hiring – and steady attrition and acceptance rates – in absolute terms there are more people snubbing Google for start-ups.”

Still, even if Google’s not yet encountering a “brain drain” – and a “pretty steady” rate allows for some wiggle room – it seems possible that the company will do so in the near future.

That doesn’t seem quite fair, does it? Haven’t all of us said or done something at least a little untoward? Is the googler calling the googlee a sinner? What of the googler’s past? Spotless?

Yes, the job market is competitive. Yes, I’m heavy on the throw the first stone philosophy. Yes, a candidate should shine their shoes and practice their handshaking and eye contact. But is it too presumptive, too hasty to toss out a candidate based on their googlability?

(Google’s going to love me for using their brand name with such license, but lets get real – it is a word now.)

I wonder this because I’m starting to see a trend, at least as I am perceiving it from the piecemeal coverage I see. We already know quite well that Bill Gates didn’t finish his degree – and that would have hurt him in the job market if he hadn’t made brilliant strides of his own.

Alarm:clock reports that Craig Newmark, the founder of the wildly successful Craigslist, was "too odd" to land an engineering job. "Too odd" meant the head engineer didn’t like his "anti-capitalist ideas."

The raging success of Craigslist has to have Newmark sitting back in his chair and chuckling at a statement like that.

Just before that little nugget, Valleywag asks "Is 30 too old to start a company?" The question arises because, according to Valleywag, venture capitalists assume tech entrepreneurs "peak" at about 26.

As a 30-year-old, I think that just plain sucks. Admittedly, rounding that corner hasn’t been exactly fun – spicy foods are quickly becoming the enemy and my knees and back just aren’t what they used to be – but my mind is sharper than ever.

What was I saying?

Oh yeah, it seems employers (and investors) would be wise to take a second look at the talent they’re throwing off the table for some rather arbitrary reasons. And to borrow from an overused corporate buzz phrase, that’s not exactly "thinking outside the box."

Genius rarely comes in conventional packages. Just ask Einstein, who I hear had trouble just tying his shoes (but that could be an urban legend).  

Hitwise reports the jump, noting that CareerBuilder.com received most of that traffic, receiving 13.73 percent of the job-hunting market. Monster.com was the second most visited job site, with 11.51 percent of visits. Yahoo is high on the list in yet another category, coming in third with 5.33 percent.

“Along with diet and fitness websites, employment sites experience an increase during the first week of January each year as the job force considers finding a new job as part of their New Year’s resolution,” said Bill Tancer, general manager of global research at Hitwise.

“This year career search engines experienced the greatest year-over-year growth as job hunters navigate the increasing long tail of job openings.”

The Employment and Training category overall, though, is down two percent compared with this time last year. Hitwise credits a booming economy for the drop in job-hunters.

“The decrease in visits to employment sites is most likely due to the drop in the unemployment rate of over 8 percent during 2006,” said Tancer.

According to Hitwise’s list of the top visited company websites, Americans are more grassroots, less high-falutin’, in their job quests. Though they may have all said they wanted to be doctors, lawyers, racecar drivers, veterinarians, or movie stars as kids, reality tells them a job at Target is more realistic – or a nice, cushy and secure government job.

Top 10 Most Visited Employment Sites:

1. CareerBuilder

2. Monster

3. Yahoo! HotJobs

4. Monster.com My Monster

5. Job.com

6. USAJOBS

7. America’s Job Bank

8. Indeed

9. MSN CareerBuilder Network

10. Hewitt Associates

Top 5 Most Visited Company Employment Websites

1. Careers at Target

2. USAJobs

3. UPS Jobs

4. Walmart Hiring Center

5. USPS – Online Applications

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Yahoo has maintained a strong presence in Asia, and has taken a step to reinforcing that with this latest deal. The search and portal company will trade some Overture advertising revenue for prime placement in Firefox, Search Engine Journal’s Loren Baker reported:

Yahoo made a huge investment in the Chinese market over the summer, purchasing a $1 billion stake in Alibaba and subsequently selling Yahoo China to Jack Ma’s company.

The Firefox deal gives Yahoo another way to strengthen the Chinese presence, as Yahoo and competitors like Google and Microsoft have been frantically ramping up their efforts in China and fighting over the employment of Kai-Fu Lee in order to tap the country’s growing Internet userbase and potential search advertising profits.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.

“The July findings of the Monster Local Employment Index show a decline in online job demand in half of the markets tracked by the Index, most likely reflecting a seasonal slowdown following the strong online hiring activity that took place in June,” said Steve Pogorzelski, president of Monster, North America.

“However, the fact that nine markets saw online demand increase and five held steady during what is typically a slow month for hiring, speaks to the growing strength and stability of the broader U.S. job market, which added 207,000 new jobs in July and maintained an unemployment rate of just five percent,” added Pogorzelski.

Demand for production jobs was down in most of the areas. The Local Employment Index also suggested that demand for construction jobs is beginning to weaken.

Community and social services job demand grew in most areas, as did demand for military-specific occupations with the U.S. Army, Army National Guard, and U.S. Army Reserve stepping up recruiting efforts.

Monster will release the results for its Local Employment Index for August on September 15.

Chris is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.