Employee retention matters as organizational issues such as training time and investment; lost knowledge; insecure employees and a costly candidate search are involved. Hence failing to retain a key employee is a costly proposition for an organisation. Various estimates suggest that losing a middle manager in most organizations costs up to five times of his salary.

The BPOs in India face an enormous challenge in reducing attrition rate and this being a nascent industry needs to draw parallels, examples from other industry practices as well as develop innovative Employee Relation Initiatives as highlighted below. This has been classified into three groups

1. The Corporate level

2. Managerial/supervisory level

3. Employee Recognition Initiatives

Here this article attempts to highlight the strategies for the corporate level.

Corporate Level Retention strategies:-

Relevance of Retention Strategies in the Indian BPO Industry vis-à-vis other industries is very critical to its existence for the following reasons -

· To bring stability in business and increase customer service process.
· Nasscom has estimated that the Indian ITES industry will gross over $5.7 billion by 2005 (based on a conservative year-on-year growth of 65 percent by Nasscom).
· Staff/employee satisfaction translates directly into money quite quickly in the BPO industry compared to other industries.
· To reduce the pressure on the recruiting process.
· Recent acquisition deals both domestic & overseas by BPOs makes it even more critical to stabilize their back end operations to service new customers.

Before we proceed its important to understand the underlying reasons for high attrition rates, which are pretty steep and are around 40-50%. Currently it is about 35% in non-voice and 45% in voice call centers. About 80% of them look for better careers within the same industry. Agents want to become team leaders. Team leaders want to become supervisors. Supervisors want the job of the CEO. Based on my discussions with the experts in the BPO industry, literature and data available, the following trends are seen as below.

There are varied reasons for the same and the major reasons for attrition rate are(based on author’s sample study):-

· Money - 10%
· Night shifts - 35%
· Monotonous/boring job – 30%
· Others - 25%

As seen above from the above data, HR Strategist at the Corporate Level of the BPO Industry indeed have a huge challenge before them and their approach has to be proactive and they have to develop Innovative Employee Relation Initiatives as mentioned hereon.

· A satisfied employee knows clearly what is expected from him every day at work. Changing expectations keeps people on the edge and creates unhealthy stress. This creates insecurity and makes the employee feel unsuccessful. An employees deliverables at work must be communicated to him clearly and thoroughly.

· The quality of the supervision an employee receives is critical to employee retention. Frequent employee complaints center on these areas.

--lack of clarity about expectations,
--lack of clarity about benefits pertaining to performance based incentives.
--lack of feedback about performance,
--failure to provide a framework within which the employee perceives he can succeed.

· The ability of the employee to speak his or her mind freely within the organization is another key factor. Have meetings or dinner once a month, to share the company’s vision, the industry’s growth and where they see themselves in this scheme of things.

· Using psychometric tests to get people who can work at night and handle the monotony.

· Talent and skill utilization is another environmental factor your key employees seek in your workplace. You just need to know their skills, talent and experience, and take the time to tap into it

· The perception of fairness and equitable treatment is important.

· When an employee is failing at work, Refer to W. Edward Deming’s question, “What is about the work system that is causing the person to fail?” Most frequently, if the employee knows what they are supposed to do, then the answer is time, tools, training, temperament or talent. The easiest to solve, and the ones most affecting employee retention, are tools, time and training. The employee must have the tools, time and training necessary to do their job well – or they will move to an employer who provides them.

· Another important factor is focus on the process than on the person especially when the employee is not failing at work.

· Implement Competency Models which should be well integrated with HR processes like Selection & Recruitments, Training, Performance appraisal and potential Appraisal.

· A common complaint or lament during an exit interview is that the employee never felt senior managers knew he/she existed. In my experience I knew the MD of a company who knew the first names of all staff including workers to that extent he used to enquire about the well being of the family members if it was casually mentioned that wife or children aren’t keeping well. Senior managers refer to the president of a small company or a department or division head in a larger company. They have to take time to meet with new employees to learn about their talents, abilities and skills. Meet with each employee periodically. They will have more useful information and keep their fingers on the pulse of organization. It's a critical tool to help employees feel welcomed, acknowledged and loyal.

· The Senior Managers to be involved in the recruitment process if the Recruitment team has identified potential and cultural fit candidates.

· Involve the advisors or team leaders in the interviewing panels.

· In Company presentations to potential candidates, encourage the employees to share their experiences.

· Your staff members must feel rewarded, recognized and appreciated. Frequently saying thank you goes a long way. Monetary rewards, bonuses and gifts make the thank you even more appreciated. Understandable raises, tied to accomplishments and achievements help to retain staff.

· Select the right people in the first place through behavior-based testing and competency screening.

· Draw lessons from the Indian Army, for their command and control leadership where the troops are highly skilled, motivated and morale is high. The comparisons is drawn as both(BPO & army) have large numbers of employees and army’s style of leadership may not relevant to BPOs but it must be understood & gathered that military organizations are team oriented with continuous training. Troops expands their skills and experience capabilities they never dreamed possible, produces a highly motivated and efficient organization. Learning opportunity and responsibility is the key.

· Offer an attractive, competitive, benefits package.

· Provide opportunities for people to share their knowledge via training sessions, presentations, mentoring others and team assignments.

· Demonstrate respect for employees at all times. Treat the employees well & provide dignity of job; follow the maxim of Mr. Marriott that “Ladies & Gentlemen serve the Ladies & Gentlemen”.

· If a key employee resigns, it should be taken up on a priority basis and kept confidential as far as possible and the senior management should meet the employee to discuss his reasons for leaving and evaluate if his issues bear merit and whether they can be resolved

· Exit Interviews: Outsource this process to external consultants to get a realistic and unbiased feedback. This can be a great source of information regarding the shortcomings in a management system.

· People want to enjoy their work. Make work fun. Engage, employ the special talents of each individual.

· BPOs should endeavour to implement work-life balance initiatives to reinforce the retention strategies. Innovative and practical employee policies pertaining to flexible working schemes, granting compassionate and urgency leave, providing healthcare for self, family and dependants, etc. Work-life balance policies would have a positive impact on:
Attracting high calibre recruits
Retaining skilled employees
Reduce recruitment costs
Improve employee morale
Maintain a competitive edge

· Listen to employees’ ideas; never ridicule them.

· Offer performance feedback and praise good efforts and results.

· Implement organizational culture measurement tools like Adversity Quotient (AQ).

· Recognize and celebrate their success.

· Staff adequately so overtime is minimized for those who don't want it and people don't wear themselves out.

· Get them involved in social causes and fund drives like Tsunami Disaster Relief. Provide a meaning or a cause to their lives.

· Nurture and celebrate organization traditions like Diwali, Holi ,Christmas etc.

· Communicate goals, roles and responsibilities so that people know what is expected of them and feel a part of the crowd.

· According to research by the Gallup organization, encourage employees to have good, even best, friends, at work.

· Encourage humour & laughter in workplace to deal with stress which will ensure that the employees are happy which gets reflected in their services especially critical in voice based transaction.

· Feeling valued by their manager in the workplace is a key to high employee motivation and morale.

· Reach out to the families of the potential candidates with sustained and focused messages in the media about the excellent prospects in the BPO Industry. There is an example of this instances- Late Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi, Chairman of the Oberoi Group in efforts to makes sure that many women joined his company went to educational institutions and elicited women’s parents to come to the hotel. He told them “ I will walk you in and show you what your daughters will do with us, please help us to train them”.

· Excellent Career Growth prospects. -

Encourage & groom employees to take up higher positions/openings. If not fulfilled then they will look outside the organization.

Look for talents within the organization and encourage them. For instance, if a person has the potential to be a trainer, groom & develop the employee.

· Night shifts
1. Have people from other walks of life to talk about their experiences. Other professions like Army, Medicine, and shop floor workers also have to work in night shifts.
2. Have doctors to advise & guide them about their biological clocks and ways & means to deal with them.
3. Dietary advice:- Do’s and don’ts.
4. Create the passion that they are doing a yeomen service to the nation by bringing the much-required Foreign Exchange.
5. They are helping people (clients) to make their life easier.
6. Special lights in the office/workplace to ensure their bodies get sufficient vitamin D.
7. One distinct disadvantage of night shifts is the sense of disorientation with friends and family members. Concentrate on this problem and develop innovative solutions and ways to deal with it.

· Focused Training & Development Programs-
For Associates & Team Leaders
· A session on Transactional Analysis during the induction period so that both are made aware of the causes for Communication breakdowns & conflicts which affect their mental behavior and stress which needs to be tackled at the earliest in the right manner.
· Those who are working on services verticals – like Banking & Financial services to be imparted training/knowledge of Vedic Maths, which would help them, calculate the figures quickly without using calculators.
· Creativity & Innovation- Its all about Attitude! A job can be as monotonous or exciting as you think/believe it to be, as it is all a state of mind. Look for excitement in the job process as it is not just answering the queries or solving the problems of customers but learning more about the customer through his voice accent or visualizing his environment/culture.
· Encourage the best performers to share their experiences with others and mentor others.

The emphasis is to create the desire to learn, enjoy and be passionate about the work they do.

· Meditation Room or deep breath exercises for Associates & Team Leaders – the emphasis is that they should never be in the stress mode or upset while attending calls of a customer.
· Hire outstation candidates (from small towns like Amravati, Latur,Nashik etc) and provide them with shared accommodation.

Conclusion

It is HR's job, though not HR's job alone, to champion and shepherd effective human resource management practices at both the strategic and day-to-day levels. That is, to be effective, human resource management practices must be grounded in two ways. First, they must reflect company wide commitments as to how it will manage and relate to its employees. Secondly, HR must implement these commitments so that the ideals of the enterprise and deeds of its agents are congruent.

HR to play a key role in the development and execution of the Business Strategy of an Organisation. It should evolve from a transactional support role to partnering in the organization’s business strategy.

An Article by Rajat Joshi

Findings and Recommendations

1. The new contract cost some £1.8 billion more than planned. Incomplete data on the cost of services provided by GPs led the Department to underestimate expenditure in the first three years of the contract.  Where possible in future major changes should be piloted.
2. Since March 2003, 4,098 more GPs are working in primary care, an increase of 15.3%. ncreases in numbers of GPs are being seen in some deprived areas.
3. General practice productivity has decreased annually by an average of 2.5%.  An agreed method for measuring productivity in primary care should be developed, which has the support of the NHS, the Department, the Treasury and the Office of National Statistics. A clear strategy and timetable for Primary Care Trusts to report to Strategic Health Authorities on how their GP practices have improved productivity is required.
4. Many Primary Care Trusts do not yet have the capability to make the best use of the
   contract to maximise the benefits for patients. Primary Care Trusts should use the standards developed as part of the Department’s World Class Commissioning programme to benchmark their commissioning performance and identify priority areas requiring improvement.
5. The contract has yet to lead to a measurable improvement in services for deprived areas. The needs-based funding formula is intended to reduce inequality in service provision. The Minimum Practice Income Guarantee has, however, significantly reduced its redistributive impact, and failed to address historic funding issues. The Department should consider replacing the Minimum Practice Income Guarantee with a redesigned global sum allocation in order to move more money into areas of greatest need.
6. Access to general practice services has not improved significantly since the new contract, although the Department is taking action to address this lack of improvement.  Future Directed Enhanced Services the requirement that GPs open for longer hours. PCT must commission on this basis with a robust performance management framework to ensure this occurs.
7. The Quality and Outcomes Framework links GP pay to the quality of patient care they deliver but requires further enhancement. The Framework concentrates largely on indicators that are easy to measure, and as such there is a tendency for it to reflect GP workload, rather than improvements in population health.  QOF  needs to be aligned to national health priorities, give more weight to achieving health outcomes and allow Primary Care Trusts some discretion to agree the content of
   the Framework to reflect local priorities.
8. GP partners’ pay has increased by an average of 58% since March 2003 compared to 15% originally expected. This has helped improve recruitment and retention, but not all practice staff have benefited to the same extent as GP partners. Salaried GPs and practice nurses have only had inflationary rises in pay over the same period and some practice nurses do not have appropriate contracts of employment. Primary Care Trusts need to require practices, as part of their GMS contracts, to have appropriate contracts of employment in place for all staff and advise practices on appropriate pay rates.
   Primary Care Trusts should also, as part of the contract, require GP partners to provide annual feedback on how they have used NHS funding to improve practice productivity.

Except in the most enlightened companies, rarely are these customer communications seen as a business opportunity. However those same companies may often spend very large somes of money on direct marketing as part of the sales & marketing process.

One of the things that we know is that for most businesses, it is far more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep a customer. It is a more cost effective exercise to increase share of wallet with a existing customer than is the expense of acquiring a new one.

Too often, we hear end consumers saying how good the sales experience was, the promises that were made and expectations set. However once bought, the experience of working with the supplier becomes so-so and very me-to.

One thing that research tells us is that customers will spend far more time looking at a bill, statement or other important and essential communication than they ever will a direct mail item. I call these document types transactional documents. And it is here there lies one of the biggest opportunities for organisations.

I believe that there are two key factors to be understood in evaluating these transactional documents as a business opportunity:

1. Make good use of available White Space on transactional documents
2. Your company likely holds a wealth of data and knowledge about your customer. Use this data to make it easier for the customer to do business with you. Create customer value through the use of the combination of White Space and Data.

Sophisticated, customter centric organisations have demonstrated leadership in these areas for some time. Examine a bill from somebody like Virgin or Vodafone and you will see what I mean.

These documents are information rich and they are useful to the recipient. They tell customers how they could make their relationship with the company more cost effective through different tariffs. They advise of new products that the customer is likely to find useful.  They clearly explain how to make payments. They make offers and the make up of the document is clear. Customers can find key information quickly and efficiently. This is all achieved by making good use of organisational data and through making the most of every customer interaction whether by mail, email, phone or on a face to face basis. Let's look at these ideas individually:

Making the customer company relationship more cost effective

This might seem like cutting revenues deliberately. However, it is more likely to enhance the customer relationship. By reducing customer costs, you can probably expect the customer to trust you more and to stay with you longer as you demonstrate your willingness to be competitive. If the customer perception is that you are more competitive and more trustworthy, in the long term, they are likely to buy new products from you. It really is a win - win situation.

Using the transactional document for Product Promotion.

Because you know this customer well, you can have a pretty good idea what else they are likely to buy from you. If the promotion is relevant to the customer, they are likely to take notice. Remember that people will spend more time looking at a transactional document than they will a piece of advertising or direct mail.

How to make payments / How to interact with you organisation

This is important. In an age where customers have a lack of confidence in the results that they get from communications with customer service centres, making the process easy for the customer by giving them good directions enhances your relationship with them. It makes living with you much easier.

It also benefits operations. By reducing the time spent getting customers speaking to the right people in your company, it reduces overhead. It means you can run more efficiently, can have fewer customer service agents and that you can resolve problems faster. This is a big cost saver.

Present the document well

There are consultancies out there that understand how humans read documents it has been studied scientifically and is well understood. They know where people look and they know what confuses people. If people understand your document and can interpret the information within it well, then it is less likely that your call centre will receive 'petty' queries. It is these queries that load service centres down and that bring big peaks in traffic. Smooth these peaks by presenting information well and investing in a good document design approach.

This is just an introduction to some of the concepts of White Space management and I'll talk a lot more about it over the coming months and years.

Just one look at Progessive Insurance’s career site and there’s the immediate impression that this recruiting team gets it. The site offers glimpses into specific careers via short videos, a talent network powered by Jobster, and a selection of career paths so new grads can explore their potential. Their entire application process, from hello to handshake, is published front and center so that applicants remain educated on the evolution of their application.

I spoke with Progessive’s Brand Director of Employment and Marketing and their Manager of Executive Recruiting to talk about their recent push for brand consistency, their internal Facebook recruiting team, and the Progressive career site’s overhaul.

To continue reading click here.

If one person can make such an impact on your culture, how do you attract the right people to represent the vision of your culture? 

How to market your culture brand 

• First you have to understand your actual culture.  This is harder for leadership and management then you think.  I learned early in my career that many leaders don't realize a difference between the vision they have for a company culture and the current and actual culture.  This is not about being out of touch (although that too is the case often times).  The difference is living values and who you hire.  Are you hiring for today or the future and changing culture.  Do what you have to in order to understand actual culture and how you lead any change.  Outside influence on your understanding is often required and important.
• Model a culture you respect.  This too is harder than it looks.  Modeling and doing are different.  If you are a sales organization with personality (culture brand) that attracts sales minded personality, look at a company like jobing.com.  I outlined my experience as an outsider on my forum: Jobing.com Model Culture.
• When you have identified who you are and where you want to go, identify the personality on your team that would represent that brand.  That personal brand becomes your target market.  Note: you will have sub-cultures and that means different brands.  Your job as a leader is to make sure these teams can play together.  Also difficult yet the mark of a great company! 
• You have a product (culture brand) and a target market (personal brand).  Start networking and recruiting these people internal and external - always be recruiting. 
• Job description: stop being lazy with job descriptions when recruiting.  Part of success is awesome job descriptions.  They include a pithy company and culture description and the theme continues through the actual job requirements.  This makes for a nice document to drive interviews where tough questions are asked and even working together through problems and excitement exists. 
• Interview:  interviews can be stressful for all involved because the recruiter needs a position filled and the candidate might need a job or at least a change.  Common mistakes are only covering the bases from both sides - almost with fear of not closing each other rather than identifying fit.  If you care about culture, be straight with each other in what it is like to work together.  How does it feel.  Trust your gut on fit within culture.  

Smart candidates are conducting due diligence on you and your company.  Be sure online personal brands and company websites are great representation of what it is like to work with you.  The online experience and in person experience should not contradict.  Job descriptions, compensation plans, training and all other human resource activity are features that help represent the culture brand.  

Be the one who makes all the above important and consistent - enjoy the benefit of a healthy and productive environment you lead.  By the way...you don't need a title to be a leader...learn how to impact company culture and be a leader!

Google

CIA

Cisco

Rogers

!!!

Reference: 1223291377

A Document Controller is sought by ERS (http://www.ersjobs.net) for a position in China.

The successful candidate would have three or more years work experience in (Electronic Document Management Systems) Document Control and/or in a digital Records Management environment.

Location

China

Salary

Salary package is negotiable depending on qualifications and experience of the successful candidate.

Job Responsibilities

Process project records for access and retention in electronic document management system.

Includes prioritizing work requests, co-ordinating, distributing and tracking project documents, ensuring turn-around time commitments are being met for the project team, communicating and resolving challenges which could prevent completion of work.

Must be able to must be able to create and communicate file path structure and ensure standardization of file processes and procedures.

Ensures accuracy of data entry within project databases, co-ordinates and executes transmittals of controlled documents including processing of vendor prints.

Must communicate with managers and project team on international, multi-party project(s).

To discuss this or similar posts, please telephone ERS on 01454 203 460, or to Register your interest, register a CV with ERS, or to apply for this post, please Contact ERS on +44 (0) 1454 203 460, or e-mail cv@energyrs.co.uk. Thank you. http://www.ersjobs.net

Habitués à envisager la France comme un pays d'immigration, nous sommes mal armés vis-à-vis du phénomène de l'émigration. L'appareil statistique ne nous renseigne en rien sur cette émigration qu'il ignore sous l'emprise d'un sens commun selon lequel les Français ne quittent jamais définitivement leur pays mais s'expatrient .

Hervé Le Bras, démographe, mars 2008.

Nous entendons parler quotidiennement d'immigration et beaucoup moins d'émigration. Pourtant, ce qui caractérise les migrations, c'est bien le mouvement... Et si des étrangers souhaitent vivre en France, des français partent aussi vivre à l'étranger.

Carte de la répartition des français vivant à l'étranger en 2006

(source : La Documentation Française).

Il y a environ 2 millions de français établis hors de France.

Il est difficile de connaître le nombre exact de Français partis s'installer à l'étranger car "l'inscription sur le Registre mondial des Français établis hors de France est une démarche administrative facultative". Sur les 2 millions de Français supposés, seul 1,3 million sont effectivement inscrits au registre.

Il semble en tout cas que les français quittent de plus en plus la France :

En août 2003, Bernard Gentil écrit pour l'insee : "Après une période de quasi-stabilité de 1984 à 1990, la population française immatriculée à l'étranger augmente fortement de 1991 à 2002".

Et, en ce moment, nous pouvons lire sur le site du ministère que "Au vu de la tendance observée les années précédentes par nos ambassades et consulats, la population française établie hors de France a augmenté ces dix dernières années en moyenne de 3 à 4% par an".

Mais alors, où vont donc nos chers compatriotes ?

51% d’entre eux sont établis en Europe, 20% dans les Amériques, 15% en Afrique, 8% au Proche et Moyen-Orient et 6% en Asie.

Plus précisément, voici les 10 premières destinations étrangères des français en 2007 selon le Ministère des Affaires étrangères et européennes.

1) Suisse : 132 784

2) États-Unis : 111 875

3) Royaume-Uni : 107 914

4) Allemagne : 99 288

5) Belgique : 81 608

6) Espagne : 69 290

7) Canada : 63 732

8) Israël : 49 137

9) Italie : 44 561

10) Maroc : 34 097

LE SOLDE MIGRATOIRE FRANÇAIS :

Qu'en est-il alors du solde migratoire français ?

Le solde migratoire peut se définir comme la différence chiffrée entre immigration et émigration. Bien sûr, il n'y a pas que des français qui quittent la France ; des personnes de nationalités différentes peuvent partir, elles seront également considérées comme des émigrés. Le solde migratoire est donc l'excédent annuel des entrées sur les sorties.

Selon le démographe Hervé Le Bras, le solde migratoire est quasi nul. Cependant, il est "politiquement difficile d'assumer une position affirmant que le solde migratoire avait été quasiment nul entre 1990 et 1999 (environ 6600 personnes par an en moyenne) alors que l'opinion se sentait envahie par l'étranger. Mais cette présentation fallacieuse a un coût. Elle aura empêché l'émergence d'une réflexion sur l'émigration des Français".

---> Pour complément : Statistiques de migrations internationales transmises par les instituts nationaux de statistiques à Eurostat pour l’année 2005 (Allemagne, France, Royaume-Uni, Italie, Espagne, Pologne, Pays-Bas).

]]> http://workexposed.wordpress.com/?p=638 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:42:54 +0000 Nick Reddin http://workexposedblog.com/2008/10/02/what-not-to-ignore-about-gen-y/

The companies that are most successful in the coming years will be those that attract and retain the best talent, and realize the need to change their culture to match the needs of the workforce.

Gen Y will comprise a large percentage of the workforce so you will not have the luxury of refusing to address their unique needs. Employers that are sensitive to the following Gen Y needs will have a distinct advantage at retaining young workers and the opportunity to reap the benefits of A-level talent in the increasingly competitive marketplace:

• Flexibility: Work/life balance is no longer a buzzword among Gen Y workers. Happy to be held accountable to results, this generation wants to have control over when and how they go about their work. They desire true balance in their lives and seek flexible work schedules. They relish the option of being able to telecommute or work from a home office.
• Career-pathing: Millennials seek upward mobility. They want to not only know what is expected of them in their current job, but more importantly, what skills they need to develop to move onto the next position.
• Feedback: The annual review is no longer enough for millennials. This generation expects feedback and validation more often. Gen Yers want employers to notice and react to their performance. Show them how they are making an impact and how their work contributes to the bottom line.
• Training: If you want a job well done, employers need to tell these workers how to do it. But don’t just give orders, give the reasoning behind them. Besides offering complete training programs provide a mentor to help bridge gaps.
• Access to technology: Many Gen Yers are used to having the newest and best technology at their fingertips. E-mail and Internet access are musts. They also might expect to be allowed use of iPods and PDAs on the job.
• Open communication: Showing these workers appreciation for individuality and letting them be expressive will keep them around. Allow them to have input in the decision-making process — they want to be heard and involved in all aspects of the organization. While they are skeptical, Gen Yers value fairness and ethical behavior.

HT: Jim Peduto

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ACTION COLLECTIVE :

---> OBJET : plainte contre la France pour violations du droit communautaire en matière de libre circulation des personnes.

---> À L'ATTENTION DE : Monsieur Jacques Barrot - Commissaire européen - Direction "Justice, Liberté et Sécurité".

LA FRANCE EN FLAGRANT DÉLIT DE VIOLATION DU DROIT COMMUNAUTAIRE SUR LE DROIT AU SÉJOUR DES CITOYENS DE L'UNION

Plusieurs associations de défense des étrangers et des droits de l’homme ont saisi la Commission Européenne d’une plainte mettant en cause la France pour de multiples violations du droit communautaire régissant le séjour en France des citoyens de l’Union et leurs familles.

Ce droit est régi par des normes européennes – règlements, directives, jurisprudence de la Cour de Luxembourg – applicables en France directement ou par le biais de textes internes de « transposition ». Cependant, les très nombreux cas répertoriés dans la plainte démontrent que les textes permettant aux citoyens de l’Union et à leurs familles de venir en France, d’y travailler, d’étudier, de prendre leur retraite, ou tout simplement d’y résider, restent souvent lettres mortes faute d’être connus et/ou appliqués par les administrations concernées.

Les violations recensées dans la plainte concernent principalement deux catégories de personnes :

1) Les citoyens européens appartenant à des minorités en butte à des discriminations, tels les Roms de nationalité roumaine ou bulgare

Il ressort des témoignages présentés dans la plainte qu’en maniant la carotte (de 150 à 300 euros versés par l’ANAEM (Agence Nationale d’accueil des étrangers et des migrations) comme aide prétendue « humanitaire » pour un retour prétendu « volontaire »), et le bâton (reconduites à la frontière, obligations de quitter le territoire, menaces d’emprisonnement), les autorités, notamment en Ile-de-France, ont expulsé des Roumains et des Bulgares par centaines.

Bien souvent, alors que le droit prévoit pour les ressortissants communautaires des mesures de protection contre l’éloignement, et alors que les autres européens aux faibles revenus ne sont pas l’objet d’un tel harcèlement, policiers, agents des préfectures ou de l’ANAEM, agissent sur la foi de « déclarations » des intéressés qui sont en fait pré-rédigées et identiques pour l’ensemble des occupants du campement évacué, sans prendre le temps d’examiner les situations individuelles comme le droit communautaire leur en fait obligation.

C’est dire le peu de cas que font les pouvoirs publics français des droits acquis par ces nouveaux citoyens d’Europe. Quand les Roms réussissent à déposer un recours contre leur éloignement (délai de recours de 48 heures en cas de reconduite à la frontière), les tribunaux administratifs se sont jusqu’ici abstenus pour la plupart de sanctionner ces opérations policières, et préfèrent souvent ne pas statuer sur les moyens soulevés qui sont tirés de la violation du droit communautaire.

2) Les membres de famille des citoyens européens qui sont originaires des pays « du sud »

Après avoir rappelé le 10 septembre dernier qu’« au 1er janvier 2006, seuls 2 % d’européens vivaient dans un pays de l’Union différent de leur pays d’origine », la présidence française de l’Union Européenne a déclaré vouloir favoriser « la mobilité transnationale en Europe » [1]

Les auteurs de la plainte rappellent que le droit communautaire permet aux ressortissants européens de s’installer dans un autre pays membre depuis les années 1960 déjà, et pour que cette liberté de circulation puisse s’exercer de manière effective et sans entrave, accorde un droit immédiat et inconditionnel de séjour et de travail aux membres de leur famille également, même si ces derniers ne sont pas eux-mêmes européens.

Or, des cas cités dans la plainte révèlent que certaines préfectures refusent d’accorder des titres de séjour à des conjoints de ressortissants communautaires, au motif qu’ils ne remplissent pas les conditions de séjour applicables aux autres étrangers. Il est particulièrement choquant de voir que cette pratique illégale touche systématiquement les conjoints originaires d’Afrique et du Moyen Orient.

* * *

En entendant Rachida Dati évoquer récemment « l’absolue nécessité de former les professionnels de la Justice à l’Europe » [2] dans l’ensemble des 27 États membres, les associations signataires de la plainte demandent au gouvernement français de commencer par balayer devant sa propre porte, en rendant effectif le droit à la libre circulation de tous les citoyens de l’Union et de leurs familles en France, qu’ils soient britanniques ou italiens, polonais ou roumains.

Elles demandent au gouvernement de donner des instructions claires aux Préfets pour mettre fin aux violations décrites dans la plainte, et d’organiser la formation continue en droit communautaire des magistrats des juridictions nationales, pour que ces derniers soient en mesure d’assumer pleinement leur rôle de « juge communautaire de première instance » chargé de faire respecter ce droit.

Paris, le 30 septembre 2008

notes :

[1] Présidence française UE, discours du 10 sept. 2008.

[2] Discours de clôture du colloque « Quel avenir pour la formation des personnels de Justice dans l’Union européenne ? » le 22 juillet 2008.

Organisations signataires : CCFD, Cimade, FASTI, GISTI, Hors la Rue, LDH, MRAP, Collectif Romeurope.

---> Vous pouvez donc télécharger la plainte

---> Et rappelons effectivement que :

"Toute personne a le droit de quitter tout pays, y compris le sien, et de revenir dans son pays" - Déclaration universelle des droits de l'homme, article 13-2

]]> http://enterprisinglittlemillennial.wordpress.com/?p=32 Tue, 23 Sep 2008 23:00:35 +0000 bpkiel http://enterprisinglittlemillennial.fr.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/want-to-increase-company-loyalty-use-fun-perks/ So apparently discussing salary with co-workers is taboo.  I wanted to find out what the kids our company was hiring right out of college were making, and they told me that not only would they not share that information, but I shouldn't be asking them about it either.  Personally, I'm a big proponent of open salaries.  I think employees should be allowed to measure themselves against their colleagues, and understand what it takes to reach certain levels of compensation.

That being said though, you certainly don't compare salaries with friends.  That leads to spite, unhealthy competition, and jealousy.  So what can you talk about, and how can companies use this information to both recruit and retain employees?

The short answer would be "duh".  You can talk about cool perks.  Sure, when hiring and keeping millennial employees, salary and benefits will play a huge role.  But in a close race, perks can help close the deal.  I can't tell you how often I've had to put up with friends who have catered lunches, free laser tag, gyms in office, and gourmet coffee served by hot interns in cleavage-bearing clothing (or a shirtless hunk, for you female readers).  And there's nothing I can do about it except lobby HR at my company for more fun perks, or find a job with on-site rollercoasters.  These things don't cause the same bad blood as salary disparity, and can help promote a company to candidates.  (Nothing helps recruitment like a huge bulleted list on the "benefits" page!)  Plus, having Friday breakfasts for the office costs far less than training and hiring a new employee.  Who knows?  Maybe a donut will be the difference between an employee staying or leaving.

Right now I'm trying to get one of those single-serve Flavia machines for my desk.  And an iPhone.  And an office puppy.  And. . .and. . .and.