Tis' the Season

Welcome back to the Employers Edge. It has been a wild summer and fall, but all for a good cause. Our foray into the wild world of seminar training has been a great success. But it leads to a lot of questions.

It seems that everywhere you look today, gloom and doom seem to rule. Are you as sick as I am about the "global economic meltdown". Buried in the back of the local newspaper are reports that in the third quarter, our Canadian economy is growing by 1.3%.

Now it has been awhile since my economics studies in University, but I am almost positive that a recession, or a "meltdown" if you prefer, does not include growth.

A good friend of mine in retail sales just finished telling me that they are enjoying some of their best ever post Thanksgiving revenues. Apparently someone forgot to tell his customers about this meltdown.

Now, I am not trying to say that there are no tough times out there, that would be silly. But I am saying that even in a period of slowdown, there are tremendous opportunities.

If our red hot Alberta economy slows down a little just think of the opportunity to tune up your workforce plan. Are your employees getting the training they need and want? Do you have a succession plan in place to replace talent that may be leaving in the next 5 years? What about addressing staff shortages, there may be more to choose from now.

Someone once told me that the glass is neither half full or half empty. It's always full! Half water and half air. A little slowdown can be a good thing if we are prepared for it and use it to wrap up all the loose ends that appear when we spend so much time going flat out.

Food for thought, I plan on updating on a much more regular basis through posting and twittering. Till next time, hope you are getting into the holiday mood and enjoying this time of year to its fullest.

Jim