Coaching Blahs: What impact does coaching really have on employee performance? According to Skillman, New Jersey-based consulting firm BlessingWhite, not much. In a recent survey, the consulting firm found that 91 percent of managers either like or love to coach, indicating a growing interest in coaching as a training tool. Nevertheless, only 43 percent of employees say they receive an adequate amount of coaching, with only 2 percent acknowledging they get "more coaching than I need or want."

Abbott's Jobs: A planned expansion by pharmaceutical giant Abbott Laboratories Inc. could result in as many as 12,000 new jobs. The Wisconsin Department of Commerce, in its largest financial incentive ever awarded, will lend Abbott as much as $12.5 million to develop a 500-acre parcel of land in Pleasant Prairie, near Kenosha. The company has not disclosed its exact plans, although published reports say the new venture could include light manufacturing, research labs, support facilities and other offices. The loan would be forgiven once 2,400 new jobs are created, and the land is being zoned to accommodate as many as 12,000 jobs.

Kenexa Shares: Kenexa Corp. is planning a secondary public offering of 5.35 million shares aimed at raising about $61 million to pay off debt. The Wayne, Pennsylvania-based company, which provides tools to help companies automate human resources functions, plans to sell 2.4 million shares at $27 each. Underwriters also could sell as many as 2.8 million shares for the same price. Kenexa said part of the anticipated proceeds would be used to pay off a $25 million revolving loan obtained from PNC Bank. The rest of the money may be earmarked for acquisitions and other corporate uses. Kenexa in January acquired recruiting software company Webhire of Lexington, Massachusetts, in a $34 million deal.

Age Bias:  Age discrimination is alive and well in Great Britain, new research shows. Law firm Thomas Eggar reports that 74 percent of human resources professionals surveyed acknowledge that their companies discriminate against applicants based on age, "either consciously or unconsciously." The legal firm undertook the anonymous survey to gauge how well prepared companies are for pending age-discrimination laws that take effect across the United Kingdom in October. Only 14 percent of respondents say their companies' management teams are "suitably aware" of issues surrounding age discrimination. Roughly 48 percent of companies concede they have done nothing to prepare for implementing the requirements of the soon-to-be-enforced statutes. Even worse, only 7 percent were confident their internal processes would pass compliance muster.

Military Learning Online: Transition Assistance Online, an online recruiting company geared toward members of the military, is launching a new venture with eLearners.com. The new site, www.taonline.elearners.com, aims to help active members of the military make the transition back to the civilian workforce. It provides links to about 90 accredited online education institutions and other related information. Companies seeking career-minded military members and other people who possess security clearances use TAOnline.com. ELearners.com specializes in distance learning programs. Private equity fund Halyard Capital of New York acquired a majority interest in eLearners.com in June.

Medical Staffing: Telescience International Inc. will provide staffing of physician assistants at Irwin Army Community Hospital, a 250-bed U.S. Army facility in Fort Riley, Kansas. The six-month agreement could be extended up to four years and be worth an estimated $1.26 million. Telescience provides medical staffing services to government agencies and is one of two subsidiaries of Medical Staffing Solutions Inc. of Vienna, Virginia, which in 2005 purchased Nurse PRN, a provider of nurses to acute-care facilities.

Monster Sheds Ad Business: Monster Worldwide is selling its Asia-Pacific interests in TMP Worldwide Advertising & Communications, a branding advertiser that helps companies recruit employees for job vacancies. Sydney, Australia-based holding company HarlenWalker is purchasing shares of a TMP unit in New Zealand and Australia with nine offices and 210 employees. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Also not revealed were details of a separate deal, including the buyer, in which Monster disposed of its TMP unit in Singapore. New York City-based Monster also closed its TMP office in Hong Kong. TMP was founded in 1967 as Telephone Marketing Programs and acquired Monster in 1995.
 
Meanwhile, Monster has named Stephen J. Pemberton chief diversity officer, responsible for recruiting and retention of minority employees. Pemberton was vice president of Monster Campus and was a co-founder of Road to College, a college admission consulting service..

TWC Merger: TWC Group has acquired HR Impact, which specializes in outsourcing of human resources functions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but TWC said in a statement that the merger creates a company with $10 million in revenue. Audubon, Pennsylvania-based TWC specializes in workforce recruitment and retention. HR Impact of Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, provides services that include transactional and strategic support for compliance, compensation, benefits programs, employee development and executive coaching. TWC's customers include Fortune 500 companies in energy, financial services, health care, information technology, manufacturing, optics, pharmaceuticals and the telecommunications/wireless industries.

Kearney Goes Private: A.T. Kearney once again is privately owned. The Chicago-based management consultancy has completed a management buyout from EDS, a $21 billion technology services company. Terms were not revealed. Equity owners in the new company include more than 170 officers from 26 countries, the company said. An 11-member elected board of directors will govern the company. EDS bought A.T. Kearney for about $600 million in 1995.

Also, A.T. Kearney Executive Search was sold by EDS in a separate transaction to an investment group led by Edward Kelley, formerly president of European operations for Korn/Ferry International. A.T. Kearney posted revenue of about $860 million in 2005.

Get Fit: Insurance brokerage Keenan & Associates of Torrance, California, is launching a Web-based portal to encourage employees to eat right and exercise more. The company says the goal is to help companies curb rising health care premiums. The new service, KeenanFit, offers customized plans for cardiovascular and strength training, nutrition, personal self-improvement and exercise/nutrition plans for families. Self-assessments are also provided so employees can keep track of specific health risks.

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