by Rod Johnson of AMR ResearchThis article is excerpted from an article that originally appeared on our sister site, www.crm-forum.com"As long as repeat business is important, and as long as customers have a choice to go somewhere else, companies must deliver the highest levels of customer satisfaction in order to stay in business." This simple-yet-powerful observation by University of Michigan Business School Professor Claes Fornell, one of the world's leading experts on customer satisfaction measurement, ri

Current economic times are leading to a variety of challenges for employers. From the shrinking labor force, to retention, to the "free agent" mentality, the world of work is changing fast and furiously. "As we work in the trenches helping companies plan for and manage the talent they will need to compete, the myriad issues facing today's employers is virtually unparalleled," says Caela Farren, CEO of MasteryWorks.

When the economy takes a downturn, people turn to the number crunchers to make things better. This translates into more and better jobs for those with a financial background. Enter the accountants. As business schools are decrying the decline in attendance in their accounting programs, the need for those who can generate and understand the numbers is growing.Many graduates are reporting multiple job offers and ease of finding jobs in this troubling economy.

Cap Gemini Ernst & Young LLP has said that it will cut 2,700 jobs across its global operations due to an economic downturn and overlap issues arising from the merger between Cap Gemini and Ernst & Young's consultancy practice. Worldwide employment at Cap Gemini totals approximately 60,000.Jobs will be cut in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Scandinavia, and across the firm's telecoms operations. In addition to the job cuts, another 700 employees are to be transferred as company divisions are overhauled.

The economy may be slowing down, but technology training is picking up, and there may be a direct correlation between the two.

A recent story in The Wall Street Journal listed several innovative methods companies are using to cut expenses in the current economic downturn. Perhaps some of these ideas will apply in your company. How is your company saving money? Have you made any cost-cutting suggestions to your clients?

PricewaterhouseCoopers has released results of a study, which show the impact of the Internet on today's fastest growing companies. For the study, PwC interviewed CEOs of 441 product and service companies identified in the media as the fastest growing US businesses over the past five years. Surveyed companies ranged in size from $1 million to $50 million in annual revenues.

In an unsurprising vote along party lines, the House of Representatives approved President Bush's budget, which incorporates a $1.6 trillion tax cut. The budget, if approved by the Senate, holds the government to a 4 percent increase in spending, and will become effective October 1, 2001.

Fair Isaac, the company that can either be your friend or your foe when you apply for a loan, has finally decided to make its secret credit analysis scores available to the general public. Previously, these top secret scores were only available to lenders.The scores are based on information that is available in standard credit reports. The point of the scoring system is to give lenders a picture of how likely a particular consumer is to repay a loan and to make the payments on time.There are five criteria used in determining the Fair Isaac (FICO) score.