Summary
This article argues that engaging employees to provide passionate customer service can help build lifetime consumer loyalty, yet companies often overlook this opportunity. To illustrate this point, the article looks at how 3M, the diversified technology company, and South West Airlines seek to engage with their employees. It also provides four best practices for turning employees into passionate brand ambassadors, such as informing employees of the organisation's brand values and the behaviour expected of them and reinforcing expected behaviour through rewards.

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Identity, work patterns, and cities are the focus of ‘Technology 2020: Public Worlds’. The Futures Company report examines issues of identity related to the internet, with a focus on complex relationship between privacy and security. It also looks at how increased monitoring and the flexibility of the knowledge economy is changing employee/employer relationships, with extended working and the growth of outsourcing. Finally, it addresses trends in city life and planning, focussing on how access to data can influence systems such as transportation, security and pollution control.

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A recent report on the US workforce reveals record highs of unengaged and underengaged employees and record lows for those who are fully engaged. Rather than handing more money to staff, companies would be better off aligning them with the company's purpose, mission, vision and values. This article offers advice on the five key guiding principles that companies should focus on when trying to reinvigorate their employees and corporate culture and uses examples such as how KPMG handled the introduction of its new global strategy and 'high-performance culture' campaign to the launch of Nokia's N-series phone.

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Female breadwinners: 2011 How the rise in working women is influencing spending patterns’ highlights the impact of female demand on categories such as health, clothing, time saving devices, health and weight-control products, and luxury goods. Working women also consume more goods such as financial services, cars and electronics. Overall women make up about 40% of the global workforce, but are concentrated in service industries and are five times more likely than men to only work part time. Though education, wages and access to jobs has improved for some many women still face discrimination, income inequality and do the majority of unpaid work in the home.

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The Changing Face of the Global Job Market: Working and Unworking Patterns’ notes that Gen Xers are the largest share of the global workforce, and China and India have the largest workforces. Trends covered include flexible working, employer’s rights, the predominance of service industries in the developed world, increased mechanisation, increased female participation in the labour force, and demographic shifts in employment. It also looks at the effects of rising unemployment, such as reduced hours and/or wages, government response, and declining consumer confidence due to unemployment or fear of redundancy.

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This article discusses the need for a reinvention and restructuring of businesses in the wake of the credit crunch and economic downturn. Marketers are urged to take on board the fact that customer demands will be strengthened as a direct result of the recession. Suggested techniques include having an increased focus on customers' needs, improved (even "over-the-top") service and a greater spread of price points, reflecting the squeeze on household budgets exerted by the recession. Businesses are also advised to sustain their employees' morale, through a "fun and games" strategy, running humourous competitions and offering treats such as manicures and yoga classes.

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Ian Foulds, senior advertising planner at News International argues that brand-led recruitment advertising in the press assists both perception of the advertiser as an employer and its corporate reputation. He illustrates his thesis with examples from Cauldwell Communications,the NHS and Vodaphone.

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The recruitment industry faces four major problems: shortage of quality staff, high staff turnover, industry consolidation and low customer loyalty. Mike Stevenson describes how marketing can help address such issues in an industry dominated by a sales mentality and includes tips on how to get management to take these ideas on board.

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This article on where people look when searching for a job is based on a Times Newspaper study entitled the Job Seekers Survey. It lists the sources used with the internet, newspapers, trade magazines and recruitment consultancies being the most popular. However the author emphasises that word of mouth is still important especially at very senior levels. The author discusses the impact of the internet on classifieds and states that the predictions of the internet eliminating classifieds as we know them has proved to be overstated. The e-recruitment industry is now in a period of reflection and consolidation. The question of trust features in the survey with the vast majority of respondents considering it to be very important. The author predicts job seekers will integrate the internet into their portfolio of job seeking sources and the key to success will be the recruitment brand.

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The author reviews the position of the regional press within the total media market and shows a breakdown of revenue by category which emphasises the importance of recruitment to the medium. Cross media strategies developed by individual newspapers are described along with an outline of Fish4, regional newspapers' umbrella site which offers an on-line service for recruitment, property and motor classified advertising. The U.S. market is reviewed with radio, the internet and TV all threatening newspapers by pitching for the lucrative recruitment market. The author outlines plans to harness traditional and non-traditional media in order to maximise revenue and readership.