Staffing is a leading indicator

Saving monies and being lean are on everyones radar of late. With labor being such a large component of costs what is your competition doing
to keep costs low? How do the industry leaders gain competitive advantage in this area?

Did you know flex staffing s a “leading indicator? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leading_Indicators#Types_of_Indicators)

Have you ever noticed how orders tend to come in clumped together? Like cars at a toll booth or a pocket of traffic on a highway?

How can you use these observations and tips to your companies advantage???

Email me your questions and I would be  more then happy to respond  Always@semperllc.com

Dave Regan 

CEO

Semper

Semper’s quarterly printing industry survey results.

Hi, Thanks to all of you who participated. Please find the results of the survey.

Q1 Survey Analysis – January 2009

Thank You again for your responses – this was the first time we posted on twitter and other Social Networks and the response was trebled.

Let us get right to it- WOW. Glad the fourth quarter is over, but the first could be just as interesting.

The highlights: 

Profitability seems to have increased again- clearly this indicates the cost cutting measures and the reduced costs of raw materials and fuel are helping.

The question regarding how you find employees was interesting. Notice that many more of you are using online resources like printworkers.com or Gain’s job bank than help wanted ads in newspapers. I wonder about the reasoning behind that fact, considering the parallel decision our clients must face between print and new media expenditures.

The hiring section – the Staying the same percentage is continually dropping, with laying off increasing but hiring actually started to show an increase. This would indicate that companies top lines are still being squeezed; they lay off but then find they are unable to meet demand when it comes in. So they have to rehire- A shameless plug but this is a classic temp staffing utilization situation.

Again, we suspect the GDP numbers to be released on Jan 30th 09 will have to be revised even in six weeks lower than even the shocking contraction they first indicated. We are glad to see many of you understood the severity of the situation and took the steps needed to reduce costs last quarter.  All the doom and gloom from Davos aside, we feel that the upturn will start sooner than later. The speed of its improvement is the question. It seems that most responded that business was stable  the last two weeks and expected things to stay the same for the quarter. Lets hope we start to see improvement top line wise shortly there after.

The number one concern of respondents was the economy and it’s impact on clients budgets followed by predatory competition for those budgets. The Fed calls that deflation. Let us all hope that trend and fear is fleeting.

We have enclosed the entire Survey results below, if you have questions or would like to see additional areas explored please let me know.

daver@semperllc.com

Survey Charts: CLICK HERE

Twitter Backgrounds

There are many Twitter clients out there that help you stream line your Twitter experiences. Yet at the expense of seeing the many wonderfully designed backgrounds people do. Here are a few cool ones that help give Twitter a better visual feel.

http://twitter.com/PrintWorkers

http://twitter.com/Semperllc

http://twitter.com/aGEEKspot

http://twitter.com/CustomTwit

http://twitter.com/eddiebreen

 

The richness the backgrounds add is well worth viewing Twitter using the actual Twitter site.

 

The two things I would like to see added in the near future.

 

1) Ability to add links within your background

2) The various Twitter apps allowing full view of backgrounds.

 

My $.02 Twitter view point

Personalized print content/news/editorials

Things that seem relevant and important to keep an eye out for or create.

 

First is the ability to print content that is relevant to you and unique to you. Personalized news and information delivered daily.  The ability to pick and choose interesting topics as well as selecting editors/content providers I am interested in hearing view points from.

 

The important question would be:

a)     Would I pay for this service?

b)    Why not just read it from a website?

 

I believe the answer to the both questions is YES. There are many points in a day where I just don’t want to or can’t whip out a laptop to read content. The ability to have paper in my laptop bag to read is very appealing and even more so when it is personalized content. Paying for this personalized information is worthwhile as it condenses my habitual reading into a single source.

 

Just my $.02

 

Brian

Who is John Galt?

The question “Who is John Galt?” — John Galt is a man disgusted that non-productive members of society use laws and guilt to leech from the value created by productive members of society, and furthermore even exalt the qualities of the leeches over the workers and inventors. He made a pledge that he would never live his life for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for him, and founded an enclave, separate from the rest of the country, where he and other productive members of society have fled.

The Key here is the prospective of what is NON productive – It is very important that you fairly way and view a given issue- There is a reason our Founding Fathers wanted each voter to be a person of means or with a stake in society (yes they messed up by on the race and gender issues I gather from my readings they felt the battle they faced was big enough). The point is that it is assumed if you have something at risk you will strive to make a wise choice.  Is Darwin’s view correct, Those that can change and be flexible will most likely survive? 

In a company it would seem since the roles are so specialized and each person becomes an expert on their own area that management with buy in from the whole team should make the calls about who is productive- BUT with the help of the team means that if a team mate is proven to not be contributing the group has a right to act in self defense depending on the severity of the situation.

Rand argues that independence and individual achievement enable society to survive and thrive, and should be embraced. But this requires a “rational“ moral code. She argues that, over time, coerced self-sacrifice causes any society to self-destruct.

The Rational MORAL code is a critical component in the entire argument- So given the facts, people can decide for themselves to sacrifice or not to the survival of the group and it’s goals – critical to this is accurate facts,  a just endeavor and belief in a fair response to situations.

Who is John Galt.

Semper International™ Introduces Google Lively To Interactive Media Job Recruiting Services

First multimedia job staffing firm in Second Life™ expands services at Semperllc.com/lively

 

    Semper International™, a leading printing, graphics and interactive media staffing firm, today announced its use of Google Lively, the latest web-based virtual environment and social networking application.  Semper was the world’s first staffing firm to use Second Life ™ as a recruiting platform and its entry into Lively confirms Semper’s commitment to cutting edge interactive and multimedia job recruiting.  

    “Virtual worlds continue to draw our attention,” said Brian Regan, president of Semper International LLC. “At Semper, we look at them from a marketing standpoint; but we’re also using them to enhance our internal process and how we interact with ourselves as well as our clients and candidates.”  

    Google Lively (www.lively.com) is a user-friendly virtual world described by Google as “a chat experience in which you can communicate and express yourself using avatars in your very own space.”  Semper has created a variety of rooms in Lively for conducting interviews, as well as integrating a main public room into the Semper website (http://www.semperllc.com/lively/).  Semper recognizes the importance of meeting the needs of a new breed of job applicants and is committed to matching staffing profiles in a compatible landscape.  As they’ve accomplished with their Second Life™ location, Semper will utilize Lively as an internal collaborative tool as well as establishing its external role as an interactive space for multimedia and video game job seekers.

    “Virtual spaces like Second Life and Lively create interesting opportunities for social interaction. Lively and its chat-room style approach will enhance initial interviews and eventually help our recruiters work with interactive media job applicants as they register through our website,” says Regan.  Semper refuses to play catch-up with major technology shifts, preferring to map new ground, establishing new industry templates along the way.  While Regan is quick to point out that Lively is “not quite advanced enough to be used as a business grade application,” he recognizes “a clear potential for consolidation. The ease with which we can integrate the chat room to a web page makes its widespread use a no-brainer – especially when interacting with Digital Natives.”

    Semper’s global strategy is to continue to identify and establish new and better ways of reaching the widest spectrum of online multimedia job applicants.  The integration of virtual worlds like Google Lively is only the beginning of a long term adventure.  

 

 

Semper's public Lively room

 

 

Google Lively Rooms on my Ning site

This is a pretty cool option from a 2D social network meetings a 3D social network sort of way. Google Lively gives you the code to add your room(s) to your website. I tested it out on one of my Ning sites and not only could you have one running but multible Lively rooms running at the same time.

I can see this option as a nice customer service tool for many companies websites. It works very well from the social network stand point and with more than one room option it can be a blast for those multitaskers like me.

Hmmm… Interview rooms and client/applicant interaction areas.

Very cool option

 

Check it out here – CLICK ME

Second Life and Google Lively – Want them to work together

After feeling left out for the last few days as I was on vacation and Google decided to launch Lively… I have been catching up this weekend.

 

There are some cool features to Lively and I see a lot of potential in this platform. Would like to be able to have more than one video playing in a room and be able to control when they play and stop, but I am sure those are going to be fixed soon enough. 

 

This VW is nothing like Second Life, not really in the same ball park. I would say at this point it is a great way to introduce a larger audience to virtual worlds and then they can graduate into the amazing world of Second Life or some of the other more powerful VW’s out there.

 

Really like how the avatar movement is done, very intuitive. In fact as I was bouncing between SL and Lively I kept wishing SL movement was the same as Lively’s.

 

Was driving home this morning and thought, why not have one of the projects I am working in SL connect to Lively?? Went home and tested out the concept, hoping the in SL browser would open lively (Would have also solved the Mac issue of no Lively option). 

 

So I made a prim, added the web link script and the URL to the room in Lively I wanted and……  NOPE, platform not supported. Only way to do it was have a separate browser open up which defeats the purpose a bit. 

 

Would be interesting if this concept did actually work at some point.

Click on image to see larger.

 

 

Not 100% sure how to leverage the two platforms together in one immersive experience, but have some ideas…….

Internet, Google Earth, Disney and collisions

Many of you that know me and have heard me rant about Second Life, Video Games and in general Virtual Worlds and how they could become the way the internet looks in the 5 – 10 year range. Another factor in what was running through my mind was the concept of combining Google Earth and Second Life into a real life version of the real world. While there has been a lot of talk on blogs and in the media about these concepts, we all have our own takes and visions of how it will play out.

Today three significant announcements leaped from the internet to give me a double punch. Two are from Disney, and one in general, but each one is very significant to what a lot of us geeky Virtual World people have been thinking and talking about.

The first is Google Earth. Now Disney world is in the latest version of Google Earth. Check out this info and video. Its a step in the right direction, but it is is singular experience, they will need to make it so that you have other people in there with you to really pull it together, you really need to immersion and interactivity between people to reach the level of engagement needed to hold attentions. They will also need to integrate the 3D camera’s and Nintendo Wii type controllers so your avatar will look like you and pick up your facial expressions as you do them and your movement. The 3D camera and Wii style controllers exist today and I have seen demo’s of them working, so I give it 12 months until its out there for mass consumption.

http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/2008/06/video-disney-wo.html

The next significant bit of info is that a company of Disney’s size and scope sees that their internet division and Interactive media division are not separate, that the blending of the 2D web and 3D web are coming quickly. This move by Disney makes it very clear they see this blending happening sooner than later.

http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/2008/06/disney-merging.html

The third is the estimates on the user base. Just how many people will be using these things? Can the average person learn how to use them and do they have the computer power and high speed internet to handle it? The answers are many people and yes and yes. The fact is that the newest generation is living these things now. Digital natives are so comfortable with these technologies that they can handle working within 3-5 at any given time. The largest amount of investments in Virtual Worlds today is focused on the age group 4 – 18. In essence we are training our children to operate in this new world. Another example is the intensity in which education is embracing this technology. With gas prices so high and the cost of travel so it it makes sense that we eliminated or substantially reduce it. Add in the overwhelming issue of the impact on the environment and its a recipe for a shift of this magnitude.

http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/1-billion-virtual-world-and-mmo-users-by-2018-383126

Mind you 12 months ago this stuff was still fantasy, now its a major leap forward and in 12 more months we will see a lot of work on integration and operability. The various segments will be defined. No longer will it be Virtual Worlds in general, but Virtual Worlds with a niche, such as Business, education, Entertainment and Medicine. This step is critical for the development of serious applications focused on the specific needs of each category.

Brian Regan

Semper’s Q2 Survey Analysis – April 2008

First, Thank You all for the huge number of responses. 

We honestly use this survey as a benefit for the industry in general 

and not for commercial reasons.

 

I think we all can be glad the first quarter is over; except for the fact that the 

second quarter, so far, seems to be even worse then the first. The last 2 

months have seen a severe contraction in most areas of the economy and 

in all geographic areas. The Fed’s actions last Summer came several sessions 

too late to avoid this contraction. The relentless negativity from the media over 

the last two years reached a crescendo of hysteria in August that has scarcely 

abated till just recently. We all are grateful for the news media’s recent more 

positive bias!!

 

A Big question now is have the stock markets hit bottom? If so, then the 

recovery will be approximately six months from that bottom. If you look at the 

current stock charts for Apple, the Dow and the NASDAQ over the last two 

years, It appears that we have hit the bottom and are on the upturn (barring 

another terrorist shock). If the charts are correct, then we should start to see 

improvements as early as September – October. Flex Staffing tends to be a 

leading indicator, like the stock market, so we at Semper should see improvement 

three to four months after the bottom. We will let you know. 

 

Another BIG change in the Industry this year was the demise of Annual report 

printing. One manager I spoke to, mentioned that last year they printed 100 Annual 

reports- this season only four. The result of the SEC allowing companies to post 

the reports “online.” This single change has had a huge negative impact in that 

segment of the industry. I think of what will happen to Blockbuster and the movie 

theatre chains once the movie studios release first run movies directly online. It 

will likely be a similar issue- MAYBE I should sell any holdings.

 

Now to the survey results:

 

As you recall, the results are in the new easier to read and understand format 

which reduces the need for commentary.

 

The question on profitability I am sure is high on everyone’s list. The trend line is 

clearly indicative of the stress we would expect to see ; this is a MACRO issue 

not just your firm.

 

The question on profitability I am sure is high on everyone’s list. The trend line 

is clearly indicative of the stress we would expect to see ; this is a MACRO issue 

not just your firm.

 

The hiring question reinforces the above two responses. Hiring has dropped off, 

but it seems staying at the same staffing level is the course most firms are going 

with. Maybe others agree that things will improve sooner than later. (br>

Clearly, keeping expenses limited is on everyone’s mind, with base pay and benefit 

costs showing big jumps in concern from respondents. Supply costs in general are 

now the largest percent concern of firms as opposed to technology issues.

 

In closing, we see positive news here in the expectations of sales for this quarter. 

Take a close look at the actual results and feel free to ask questions or give 

feedback – daver@semperllc.com

 

Click here to view the Survey:

http://www.semperllc.com/printing_survey/Semper_Survey_2008_Q2.pdf

                                                                  

Thank You