Faced with the sudden change that the new normal generated in companies, employees are challenged to increase their skills to work remotely, adapt to more flexible contracts and refine their technological skills and cognitive qualities.
Telecommuting has become an everyday occurrence among companies in the region, which have had to adjust to the restrictions imposed by governments due to the outbreak of covid-19.
In the context of the economic crisis, it is estimated that companies in Central America have reduced the working hours of employees to an average of 32 hours per week.
As a result of the spread of covid-19 in the countries of the region and the imposition of strict home quarantines, demand for products and services has fallen considerably in most markets.
Having general ideas of how a computer can look at an image and identify a stop sign, a pedestrian or a car, is fundamental for business leaders to be able to empower humans with the help of artificial intelligence.
The development of artificial intelligence tools suggests that human work will be abolished, something that could be far away, since these technological applications are for now used for the execution of specific business tasks and not for problem solving.
Applying artificial intelligence tools and complementing it with increasing the technological capabilities of employees is essential to significantly improve the performance of companies.
According to reports by Harvard Business Review, companies have been found to achieve the most significant performance improvements when humans and machines work together.
Although working from home is considered a non-wage incentive because of the flexibility and benefits it provides to the employee, this mode of work is not yet a trend for companies in Guatemala.
Implementing work from home or home office, is a modality increasingly popular among executives and professionals who see the benefits that telecommuting provides.
Although new jobs will emerge, technological changes will have a strong impact in the Central American region, where there is a high proportion of jobs with a high risk of automation.
According to forecasts made by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in 2018 it was estimated that 75% of workers in Guatemala and El Salvador are in high-risk automation jobs.
In Costa Rica a law iniatiative pretends to force companies to have 25% of their workforce composed by young people aged between 17 and 24 years old.
EDITORIAL
The problem of unemployment that affects thousands of young people in Costa Rica and the Central American countries will not be solved simply by forcing private companies to hire a certain proportion of young employees, regardless of their qualifications and skills, or even worse, without considering whether there is an actual need for hiring or not.
Offering more freedom of action and decision-making can generate more committed employees than an atmosphere of joy and fun.
Using happiness at work as a way of retaining human talent is being questioned.
In principle we must recognize that, given the many factors that can bring this about and personality differences, it is impossible to guarantee complete happiness for all employees in a company.
The private companies should have to consider the risk posed to Costa Rica's business climate by the excesses of state union leaders.
EDITORIAL
Costa Rica's democratic traditions pale before the attempt made by a trade unionist to silence the media by threatening the safety of journalists.
An article in Crhoy.com quote statements made by the union member Fabio Chaves regarding the news in Costa Rican media revealing information about unacceptable privileges enjoyed by many officials, acquired against article 57 of the Constitution itself: "Wages will always be equal for equal work under identical conditions of efficiency."
There is growing use of the 'Vale Panamá' electronic cards as a means of compensation and bonuses payments to employees.
The main advantage of this mechanism is that the compensation paid by the company is exempt from labor costs, and can be used by employees in shops to buy food, medicine and other items.
Ana Lorena Broce, general manager of Vale Panama, reported that a lot of companies have migrated from the paper system to the electronic cards that are accepted at more than one thousand outlets.
The world today is Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity: job security and long-term retention concepts are doomed to extinction.
EDITORIAL
Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity (VUCA) is a concept originally used by the military which defines "those situations where strategy, planning and decision-making take on extraordinary levels of difficulty, because the decision maker lacks minimum parameters required to guide their judgment. "
If done right, teleworking yields great results. If done wrong ...
Good methods for managing teleworking depend on several factors: matching time zones, mutual cultural adaptation, the ability to define processes more or less strictly, and especially clear rules on the responsibilities of each of the parties: employer and employee.
An analysis of the issue appears in an article in Elnuevodiario.com.ni, which states that "Making people accountable," is one of the basic principles of teleworker management. The telecommuter needs "a set of rules in black and white" which they can follow.
Times have changed, and today it is unthinkable that a person will be employed by the same company for the whole of their lives, as happened in the past.
And if companies can not promise to keep a worker in office for life, it is obvious that workers can not promise a lifetime of loyalty to the company ...
An article in Americaeconomia.com looks at the changes that have occurred to the employer-employee relationship, from one fact: employee’s commitment to their companies is becoming increasingly more fragile.
To fill a position it is customary to choose candidates from those in the labor market, but many of these may be mediocre malcontents.
In reality, the way to get the best people is to look among those who are enjoying their current job, and who are not actively looking to change firms or position, but would accept an attractive offer. They are called "passive job seekers."
As unemployment rises and poverty increases, the Costa Rican Minister of Finance has declared "urgent" the payment of bonuses to central government officials.
EDITORIAL OPINION
If you are an official in the central government of Costa Rica, your bonus this December will average 15.6% higher than 2010. But if you are poor, and most likely also unemployed, the only thing that will increase is the number of your neighbors in the same situation.
Recognized Brazilian company of backhoe loaders, telescopic, articulated and other types of cranes looking for companies interested in representing the brand and distributing their machinery in Central America and Mexico. The company manufactures and sells telescopic,...