Millennials are no different than their parents, just poorer:  Millennials are probably tired of being called out all the time.  Truth is, they are very similar to previous generations (and for those Millennials reading this, the Boomers got a lot of flack as well in their time).  Millennials, long presumed to have less interest in the nonstop consumption of goods that underpins the American economy, might not be that different after all, a new study from the Federal Reserve says.  Their spending habits are a lot like the generations that came before them, they just have less money at this point in their lives, the Fed study found. The group born between 1981 and 1997 has fallen behind because many of them came of age during the financial crisis. “We find little evidence that millennial households have tastes and preference for consumption that are lower than those of earlier generations, once the effects of age, income, and a wide range of demographic characteristics are taken into account,” wrote authors Christopher Kurz, Geng Li and Daniel J. Vine.  Source:  Bloomberg 11/29/18

Process for H-1Bs may be changing:  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced last Friday a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions to first electronically register with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) during a designated registration period. Under the proposed rule, USCIS would reverse the order by which USCIS selects H-1B petitions under the H-1B cap and the advanced degree exemption, likely increasing the number of beneficiaries with a master’s or higher degree from a U.S. institution to be selected for an H-1B cap number. The proposed rule includes a provision that would enable USCIS to temporarily suspend the registration process during any fiscal year in which USCIS may experience technical challenges with the H-1B registration process and/or the new electronic system. The proposed temporary suspension provision would also allow USCIS to up-front delay the implementation of the H-1B registration process past the fiscal year (FY) 2020 cap season, if necessary, to complete all requisite user testing and vetting of the new H-1B registration system and process.  Source: USCIS 11/30/18

Are recruiters the new dinosaurs? The questions sound familiar: “Describe a time when you went above and beyond.  Tell me about a time when you had to deliver bad news to a customer.” But in this telephone job interview, there is a twist: no human is on the other end of the line.  As companies compete for workers in the tightest labor market in decades, more employers are trying to streamline the hiring process to nab promising candidates before they can get away. For some, that has meant rethinking the tried-and-true phone interview, rolling out one-sided, automated exchanges in which applicants give recorded responses to a series of questions. It is much like leaving a voice mail—only one with a job on the line.  Major companies such as laboratory-test provider Quest Diagnostics Inc., hospital operator HCA Healthcare Inc., and insurer Allstate Insurance Co. use such interviews for some hiring, as do retailers, restaurant chains, and law firms. In May, job site Indeed introduced a set of text- and audio-based skills tests for employers to assess job candidates at no extra cost, including an option for a one-way phone interview, meaning that even the smallest U.S. businesses can now use them in the hiring process.  Source: Wall Street Journal 11/28/18

Agile performance discussions rated higher than performance reviews:  A new survey of professionals by Korn Ferry shows that while significant amounts of time and energy are spent on annual performance reviews, they should not be relied upon as the key way to measure employee effectiveness.  The vast majority of professionals surveyed (87%) say they have an annual performance review with their boss, and nearly a third (29%) say they spend seven or more hours preparing for the review. However, nearly all (96%) say real-time feedback and ongoing performance discussions with their bosses are more effective than an annual review, and nearly half (46%) say that the goals they set in their reviews are no longer applicable a year later when they sit down to measure performance. Nearly a third (30%) of respondents say annual reviews have no impact or a negative impact on their performance, and 43% say reviews had no impact or were unhelpful at helping them understand what to do more of or differently to improve future performance.  92% say 360 feedback from bosses, colleagues, direct reports, and clients is useful, with 48% saying 360 reviews are extremely useful.  Source: Korn Ferry 11/29/18

How well communicated are performance expectations for new hires?  New hires say their top concern is understanding what their boss expects from them, according to a new survey by TalentLMS, a cloud-based training platform. That concern was followed by worries about learning how to perform their job. Only one-third of respondents felt their onboarding gave them the tools and resources needed to address those concerns.  Source:  HR Dive 11/28/18

Need a lawyer, talk to your accountant:  Accounting firm KPMG currently employs 1,800 lawyers in offices across 75 countries, and it has plans to expand the number.  Within the next few years, KPMG hopes to have 3,000 lawyers working in its global legal services arm, Law.com reports.  KPMG’s legal services arm has four core lines, according to Law.com. They are business structures and transactions; tax disputes and investigations; employment and immigration; and “new law” and global, which handles regulatory process work.  This new competition is having an impact on law firms.  According to ALM Intelligence and Altman Weil, law firm leaders are already losing business to this latest source of competition, and many more are concerned that this could be just the tip of the iceberg.  Source:  ABA Journal 11/27/18, September 2018