The Center for Community and Economic Development at the University of Wisconsin has created a calculator to help you determine your cost of employee turnover.

The online calculator, which is included in the online story, How Much Does Your Employee Turnover Cost?, breaks down the tangible costs for conducting exit interviews, administrative functions, severance pay and the cost associated with a position that remains vacant for a specified time.

...More after the jump.

This Fortune CNN article confirms that Any Rubin, Google’s VP of Engineering, has purchased at least one md4-1000 drone aircraft from Germany’s Microdrones GmbH. CEO Sven Juerss has been quoted, sharing his hope to deliver dozens more unmanned drones to Google soon. The question is, what does this mean?

Each small drone can house a camera, a GPS, a small computer and can fly as high as one kilometer. The article hints at the possible use of a drone fleet to supplant Google's fleet of Streetview cars for streetmapping. There is good reason for such speculation:

According to digital research firm, ABI Research, by 2015 the worldwide installed base of digital radio receivers, excluding handsets, is expected to reach nearly 200 million units. This includes the U.S. based HD Radio format.

Digital radio technologies, including satellite radio and Internet radio, are expected to reverse trends of decreasing listenership. Listeners will have access to niche programming targeted to narrower demographic segments and will respond to a more interactive user experience enabled by program guides and other enhancements.

...More after the jump

Leslie Koch, head of Governor’s Island Preservation and Education Corporation, put that forgotten little 172-acre island—a stone’s throw from the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island—on the cultural map. Koch increased Governor’s Island visitors from 8,000 to more than 275,000.

At a recent conference, Koch shared five simple marketing principles. Among them: really listen to your customers. Don’t discount their honest feedback about your service—do something about it. “Only when you’ve identified your true customer can you develop a realistic strategy.

The CEDIA Technology Council reports that CEDIA members are increasingly being called upon to install more home office technology. Driving this trend is fluctuating gas prices, flexible work schedules and more advances in telecommuting.

“While many new products are marketed as do-it-yourself projects, their integration really requires a talented and educated professional to ensure that the system works to its maximum performance and reliability,” says Dave Pedigo, senior director of technology.

...More after the jump

Scott Belsky, founder and CEO of Behance, a creative products and services firm, reminds us to stay true to our areas of specialty. A case in point: the “everything” delis in New York, which offer everything from pizza to brisket, sushi, Indian cuisine, salad bar and lottery tickets.

“They try to do it all,” Belsky says. “The jack-of-all-trades cooks cannot possibly be excellent at all of the cuisines.” Belsky reveals that prospective clients may perceive you as “less of an expert" once you start expanding and pursuing new business opportunities.

Do your system designers know the right speakers to specify for the right job?

While some speakers lend themselves to certain applications better than others, is there such thing as a true audiophile-quality theater speaker?

More after the jump...

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