Bring Your Pet to Work Day Extended

Perhaps bring your pet to work day should be every day, that’s according to American Pet Products Manufacturers Association at least.  Currently only about 17% of American employers allow animals in the work place, however this movement, particularly in regards to dogs, is building momentum.  Industry leader such as Google, Zynga, and Amazon all have pet friendly work place policies and quickly growing start up seem to be following trend.

Our pets enter the workplace in a variety of different ways.  For Leib Lurie the story was comical, his German Shepard made a daily 1.5 mile trek to his office every day to find him.  Finally Lurie decided it would be easier to take the Shepard with him to work as opposed to having the dog search for him and changed his company’s pet policy.  For other entrepreneurs their canine companions were the other founding partner of their company and therefore the company has grown around them.  In other companies an amended pet friendly policy is a question of the culture the office wishes to portray.  For software company G5, their pet policy is definitely cultural.  They hope to foster a culture which promotes a sense of freedom for their employees and this freedom makes them thrive.

Naysayers may argue that having your canine companion under your desk would be a distraction; however advocates of the movement believe the exact opposite.  Having dogs in the office is believed to foster a safer, friendlier, more collaborative work environment.  According to the survey done by American Pet Products Manufacturers Association companies which allow pets have a lower rate of employee absences and also see a higher percentage of willingness by employees to put in longer hours.   The logic behind this, Debrah Schnackenberg, VP of Emergency Services for the American Humane Association, believes is that “People feel comfortable spending that extra hour or two at the office when they know their dog is right there with them."

Also contributing to the pro-pet office policy argument is that it may generate more employee loyalty for the company as a whole.  In the past two years One Call Now has seen a notable drop in the turnover rate.  Again, why?  Because dogs make people happy, they’re always happy to see you and eternally optimistic.  This attitude is particularly good in high stress work environments.  Our furry friends can not only get a smile on our faces, but also ease the tension in the office.

  

Obviously a pro-pet policy won’t be a good fit for every employer, however for those that have tossed the idea around or simply would like some extra time with their pets it’s something to consider.

Looking for a Job? Try Linkedin

We all know that looking for a job is a much different process than it was ten years ago.  No longer do you just pick up your local paper to see whats open and send a resume.  Now you have to check numerous job boards, have various different file types of your resume, and fill out additional online applications to companies you often times don't even know the name of.  Well all that may be changing again.  Accolo, Inc has released the numbers and it appears that Linkedin and social networking sites like it are about to become the leader in new hires.  Linkedin alone has grown by over 466 percent in the last quarter.  Although it has been suspected that social networking sites have changed the landscape of recruiting this is the first empirical proof we have had.

Why the switch?  We can only speculate however social networking sites offer some advantages that traditional recruitment methods may not.  For one they make the referral process considerably quicker and easier for both applicants and employers and they are able to reach a much broader audience than they once were able to.  They also give an applicant a canvas on which to paint a much more vivid picture of who they are and what they about as an individual.  With this in mind companies and recruiters are better able to identify those that would be a good fit in the open positions and within their respective institutions.While in the past much emphasis has been put on skill set alone, ones "fit" with a company is equally as important because it is one of the greatest projectors of longevity and therefore return on the company's investment. 

Based on current trends, it is highly likely that social networks will surpass even the largest job boards as the primary source of hires within 36 to 48 months.  Start composing your profiles now.