I hear a lot of talk about economic recessions and downturns. I’ll always remember a saying I heard (not sure who said it first), and to paraphrase - “economists have successfully predicted 8 of the last 3 recessions”.

Now, I’m not sure which way the economy will go in 2008 and 2009 - the latest figures show a slight growth in the last quarter. I do know, though, that like always some businesses will use whatever the economic outlook is to get stronger and others will grow weaker.

Whether you are trying to do more with less or trying to dominate by just doing more, your human resources will always play a huge role. Well selected, well trained and appropriated compensated employees will be leading the charge or holding strong while companies around you retreat. I’ve put up a new article - “Human Capital - A Positive Exchange Rate“, on our main site under the Resources - Industry Information section. Check it out.

We’ve moved from reality TV to reality journalism. UPS, Gap, Starbucks, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and the Apple Store get a surprise, undercover look at their employee training methods with the publication this month of the new book Punching In: The Unauthorized Adventures of a Front-Line Employee, by Alex Frankel.  This journalist spent two years getting himself hired on and trained by these big companies, and he offers a very frank evaluation of their employee training and who he feels is best at hiring and fostering loyal employees (UPS and the Apple Store, for instance) and which work environments he found stifling and uninspired (ahem, Gap.)

I wrote recently about the challenge of business training (on the main ACI Consulting website), and the difficulty of bringing together motivated employees and an effective training system.  It takes momentum and good technology to launch and maintain this kind of a program.

If you happen to read the book, let me know what you think.