Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN) announced today the launch of the Manpower Island in Second Life (http://www.secondlife.com/), the online virtual community where residents, known as avatars, live and work in a variety of 3D environments. Manpower Island is a place where job seekers, employers and entrepreneurs can come together in an interactive forum to learn about and explore the World of Virtual Work, share ideas and identify new opportunities in traditional and non-traditional meeting spaces ranging from an amphitheater to a relaxing spot on the virtual beach. Built as a learning community, Manpower Island features a variety of virtual work resources, including an orientation trail to teach "newbies" how to move around, interact and teleport around Second Life; and a series of work-related stations offering advice on creating a virtual resume, preparing for both Real Life and Second Life job interviews, obtaining appropriate attire and finding a job in the virtual world.
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Manpower's presence in Second Life will be launched with a live virtual event where an expert panel of Second Life avatars will discuss the range of employment issues arising in the World of Virtual Work, from recruiting and job-seeking to virtual collaboration and cultural rules of engagement in virtual worlds such as Second Life. Hosted by Manpower chairman and CEO Jeffrey A. Joerres and moderated by CNET's Daniel Terdiman, the panel will include:
-- Tammy Johns, Manpower Inc. senior vice president of workforce strategy;
-- Dr. Colin Parris, vice president of digital convergence, IBM Research
Group;
-- Algis Leveckis, co-founder and CEO of QuestG, a development and
consulting company for the media-savvy workforce;
-- Kimberly Rufer-Bach, owner, designer and producer of The Magicians, a
3D interactive software development company that specializes in
creating Second Life content; and
-- Alayne Wartell, owner of Shiny Things, a popular Second Life fashion
retail outlet.
"Manpower's mission is to help people, companies and governments understand what's coming next in the changing world of work. The virtualization of the labor market is a key issue for all of these groups and our presence in Second Life will enable us to further define the next stages of virtual work, which are emerging in 3D worlds," said Johns.
Virtual working is defined as work done outside of the traditional physical office or work space, where individual workers or teams are based physically away from each other, either at home, in different departments or countries, or in a virtual environment like Second Life. Telecommuting and outsourcing are currently two of the most common forms of virtual work.
"The virtual labor market is similar to emerging labor markets in many countries of the world, facing many of the same infrastructure challenges as it develops and matures," said Joerres. "Manpower's decades of experience in helping employers and employees navigate the ever-changing world of work means we are ideally placed to help them make the transition beyond current definitions of virtual work to take full advantage of Web 2.0 opportunities."
Manpower has developed a short informational video about the World of Virtual Work, which is available at http://www.manpower.com/SecondLife. The video examines how, in an environment of global competition, virtual work has become a powerful way to connect skills and demand, regardless of the distance between them. Today's challenging labor market demands these contemporary forms of working, which will define the workplace of the future.
More than five million individuals now have a presence in Second Life alongside the more than 7,000 businesses operating in this virtual world, which include some of the largest organizations in the world as well as thousands of small businesses that exist only in the virtual world. Manpower has helped individuals and organizations large and small understand and benefit from practices such as telecommuting and outsourcing, and will bring the lessons learned from these experiences to bear in the virtual world in this next phase of virtual work.
The panel discussion will take place in the Manpower amphitheater in Second Life at 2PM Central U.S. time (Noon Los Angeles / 9PM Paris on Thursday 12 July, and 4AM Tokyo on Friday 13 July). Journalists and others are invited to attend, either as an avatar within Second Life http://slurl.com/secondlife/Manpower HQ/100/89/27/, or by visiting Manpower's global Web site, http://www.manpower.com/SecondLife, where the event will be accessible via live video stream.
About Manpower Inc.
Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN) is a world leader in the employment services industry; creating and delivering services that enable its clients to win in the changing world of work. The $18 billion company offers employers a range of services for the entire employment and business cycle including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment; employee assessment and selection; training; outplacement; outsourcing and consulting. Manpower's worldwide network of 4,400 offices in 73 countries and territories enables the company to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, including small and medium size enterprises in all industry sectors, as well as the world's largest multinational corporations. The focus of Manpower's work is on raising productivity through improved quality, efficiency and cost-reduction across their total workforce, enabling clients to concentrate on their core business activities. Manpower Inc. operates under five brands: Manpower, Manpower Professional, Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management. More information on Manpower Inc. is available at http://www.manpower.com/.
First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: linda.granose@na.manpower.com
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SOURCE: Manpower Inc.
CONTACT: Britt Zarling of Manpower Inc., +1-414-906-7272,
mobile, +1-414-526-3107, britt.zarling@manpower.com
Web site: http://www.manpower.com/
http://www.secondlife.com/
