The Herman Trend Alert newsletter (sorry, no link) provides some interesting statistics from a Cisco survey:

Now the international technology giant Cisco Systems has just released a study of its own organization demonstrating these benefits and more. Using telecommuting, Cisco estimates annual savings of USD $277 Million. In its in-depth “Teleworker Survey” of almost 2,000 company employees, the company evaluated the social, economic, and environmental impacts associated with telecommuting.

The study found that telecommuting significantly increased employee productivity, work-life flexibility, and job satisfaction. In addition, the report cited that “a majority of respondents experienced a significant increase in work-life flexibility, productivity, and overall satisfaction as a result of their ability to work remotely”.

The productivity gains were impressive. Approximately 69 percent of the employees surveyed cited higher productivity when working remotely, and 75 percent said the timeliness of their work improved. Sixty-seven percent reported work quality improvement. Telecommuting can also lead to better employee retention; more than 91 percent of participants said telecommuting was somewhat or very important to their overall satisfaction and 80 percent believed they enjoyed an improved quality of life.

Couple things here – the study does appear to be self-reporting - “…of the employees surveyed cited….”  This type of reporting is always a bit of a concern.  It would be more helpful if there was a technique for putting an objective metric to their productivity.

Second, the value of telecommuting in a candidate’s eyes is noteworthy.  91% said it is very important to their overall satisfaction.  When it comes to hiring salespeople, this is a crucial fact to keep at the top of your mind when designing a compensation plan.

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That is the ratio of jobseekers for every advertised job opening in April of this year.  The data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics by way of the Career News newsletter (sorry, no link).

…there were 5.4 job hunters for every advertised opening in April. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey said the April ratio was up from 4.8 in March, and up dramatically from 1.7 in December 2007, when the recession began.

That is one tough market for jobseekers.  You notice the reference to “advertised” openings?  At some point, maybe already, networking will become the highest priority for jobseekers in their search for job openings.  The fact that Gen Y is a driven, networking generation leads me to believe they will rely on networking for candidate sourcing before advertised job postings.

Nonetheless, the ratio is remarkable for today’s economy.  The fact that hiring is a trailing indicator means this ratio will likely increase over the next few months.

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I’m beginning to think Gen Y is the most overanalyzed generation in…a generation.  BusinessWeek.com offers up this article - Why Certain Cities Attract Gen Ys.  The big city has a general appeal to the Millennials which is probably true for most young generations.  However, Gen Y does face a difficult career path due to tenure.  Here is a surprising graph (emphasis mine):

The appeal of big cities stems from a simple economic fact: They offer thicker labor markets with more robust job opportunities across a wide number of fields. Getting ahead in your career today means more than picking the right first job. Corporate commitment has dwindled, tenure has grown far shorter, and people switch jobs with much greater frequency. The average American changes jobs once every three years; those under the age of 30 change jobs once a year.

I’m not sure where those numbers originated, but they are noteworthy.  The days of starting a long-term career with a major corporation are fleeting. 

Jobs are clearly important. Gen Y members ranked the availability of jobs second when asked what would keep them in their current location and fourth in terms of their overall satisfaction with their community. In both cases, the highest-ranked factor was the ability to meet people and make friends. Makes perfect sense, since Gen Y intuitively understands what economic sociologists have documented: Vibrant social networks are key to landing jobs, moving forward in your career, and one’s broader personal happiness.

Second?  Surprising, maybe, but clearly networking is supreme for this generation.  I wonder if the tools at are available today are part of the drive to network.  I am astounded by the fact that Gen Y provides updates as to what they are doing at that moment (think Facebook or Twitter).  I have tried to accomplish this feat and always come up lacking…I just can’t bring myself to do it.

Yet these young people are forging networks that a sure to become immense as they mature.  The implications for selling are staggering – networks will become the top resource for prospecting.  Decision-making within companies will be information that can be attained through one’s network.  Heck, the decision-maker may be 1 step away within a network.

This sea change is happening in front of our eyes, but I’m not certain everyone is observing it.

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Hiring, that is, and it appears that it is going to be an even rougher road over the back half of 2009.  If you are in the recruiting, hiring, assessing business you are aware of this fact.  9.4% unemployment is remarkable.  From abcnews.com:

The percentage of people without jobs in this country is now at the highest point in nearly 26 years. Every month since January 2008 we have seen jobs disappear.

So far the economy has shed 6 million jobs since the recession started push (sic) employers to start handing out pink slips.

I’m still looking for the report that lists the number of jobs “saved” by the stimulus package.  I suspect I will have to wait a bit longer for that information.  But fear not, the bleeding does seem to be slowing down:

The Labor Department this morning announced that another 345,000 Americans lost their jobs last month, pushing the unemployment rate up from 8.9 percent in April. Economists had expected a loss of 550,000 jobs and the news that significantly less were lost initially shot the stock market up.

Again, more economists with an inaccurate prediction.  I dare say the economy is too dynamic, too multi-faceted for any one person to accurately predict…much like the weather.  Yet, here is a development for which I was unaware (emphasis mine):

The (EEOC) commission received an unprecedented 95,402 complaints during a 12-month period ending in October. That’s up 15 percent from the prior year. Of those, 24,582 are charges of age discrimination, a massive 29 percent increase.

I think most of us know that companies often use down markets to purge employees whether deserving or not.  A recessionary economy provides cover for companies to layoff workers from a protected class with less liability.  I’m not condoning the practice, just being brutally honest.

This uptick in complaints seems to support this unwritten business practice.  I think an aspect that the reporter did not address is the overall aging of the workforce.  If the Boomers are the majority of the workforce, there stands to reason that there will be a continued increase in age discrimination charges simply based on the numbers.  That data would have provided a needed context to the article.

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Here is a funny clue from the abcnews.com article:

To be direct: If Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel or John Mellencamp has written a melancholy song about your city, it’s probably on this list.

Good line for a sad story.  I wonder how some of these towns are going to be affected by this present economy?  Here is the top 10 most downsized cities:

10. Providence, RI
  9. Lansing, MI
  8. Pittsburgh, PA
  7. Toledo, OH
  6. Buffalo, NY
  5. Dayton, OH
  4. Detroit, MI
  3. Cleveland, OH
  2. Flint, MI
  1. Youngstown, OH

It is almost shocking how close these cities are to each other and how they followed similar paths – reliance upon automotive and steel industries.  I’ve been to 7 of these cities and the economic trouble before the recession was startling.  I can only imagine what it is like today.

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This is a new trend, I think:

As unemployment numbers hit historic highs, “pink slip” parties are popping up in big cities around the country. Hundreds of axed employees are going to happy hour meet-and-greets, where one can enjoy a drink and discuss career prospects with eager recruiters.

People are finding creative ways to stand out above the pack. In order to get a job in this economy, people have to get out there. And while there are no guarantees of gaining anything more than good conversations and a few contacts, some pink slip attendees have had success in finding new employment. Pink slip parties offer those on the prowl for jobs a chance to share information among themselves.

“If you take your network and compare it to the network of a total group, you get access to more people - if you can help each other, it’s a win for everyone,” said John Challenger, CEO of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Pink slip parties are just one extension of social networking.

That is from the Career News newsletter.  Quite the creative idea as long as the parties include the “eager recruiters.”

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We’re fans of Jeff Thull here at The Hire Sense and his latest article on the Salesopedia.com only supports our belief.  Anyone who has been in sales longer than a day has seen a sea change in the customer relationship over the past couple of years.  Rapid commoditization is a huge problem even for “unique” solutions.

Here is the crux of what is happening (emphasis mine):

Seeking competitive differentiation through increasing uniqueness and complexity can be a deadly double-edged sword, especially if building that differentiation exceeds the needs and understanding of your customers.  You and your competition may believe you have a high-value product or service, but if your customers can’t comprehend, calculate or measure that value, they see a sameness and will respond by ignoring the features they do not need or simply won’t care.

Many sales hours are wasted building differentiation that may, or may not, be of vital interest to the prospect.  This is also known as qualifying and it is in great demand in this economy.

Thull provides 4 suggestions for handling the downward spiral to commoditization.  Here is a taste of one suggestion:

In the complex sale, the search for a mythical buyer - “the decision maker” - is fruitless. Today the majority of decisions, quality decisions, are the result of a consensus building effort – an effort that the best of sales professionals orchestrate with multiple people either deciding on or influencing the decision to buy. It is your responsibility to manage the issues of the transaction from multiple perspectives. You must connect your unique value offer to each individual in the context of his or her job responsibilities and their own self-interest. Using the same approach from middle management up through the C-Level will prove to be futile.

Read the entire thing…

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If ever there was a time to make a move into the healthcare sales market, now is it.  According to RecruitingTrends.com:

“Healthcare continued to add jobs in February, with a gain of 27,000. Job growth occurred in ambulatory healthcare (16,000) and in hospitals (7,000). Employment gains in the industry averaged 30,000 a month in 2008,” the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this and last month alongside news that the nation’s overall number of unemployed individuals increased by 5 million over the last year.

Select Metrix is located in the Twin Cities which is home to United Health Group, Medtronic and most of the other medical device players.  This market is one that continues to hire as the Baby Boomers continue to age.  The demand is only going to increase over the next decade or two.

My generation – Gen X – will not put the same demand on the healthcare system since there is far fewer of us in comparison to the Boomers.  But that layoff is many, many years away.

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Also from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal (emphasis mine):

Nielsen said “member communities” are now at 67 percent participation while e-mail is at 65 percent.

The study found that of Internet users throughout the world, two-thirds visited a social networking site last year. Of those Palo Alto, Calif.-based Facebook is the leader, with visits every month by 3 of every 10 Internet users, the Nielsen study reports.

In fact, Facebook had a 168 percent increase in users, the study said, while Mountain View, Calif.-based LinkedIn had a 137 percent increase.

The biggest growth spurt for Facebook has been in the category of users from 35 to 49 years of age.

I believe it.  I volunteer to work with teenagers and they all are social site users who mock my antiquated references to email.  That is the generation moving into college and then into the work world.  Be prepared for the change is already underway whether you realize it or not.

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Ok, I’m confused – from our local Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal:

Gallup, Healthways and America’s Health Insurance Plans earlier this week ranked Minnesota as fifth in the country for the overall health of its people. In the case of emotional health, Minnesotans were ranked fourth.

The ranking, derived from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, comes about a week after the Minneapolis metro area came in 19th in BusinessWeek.com’s list of the 20 unhappiest cities in the United States.

In Minnesota, we refer to the Twin Cities as the “metro area” and the rest of the state as “outstate.”  Apparently happiness is found in the outstate areas.  This distinction is even more pronounced this weekend as our state high school hockey tournament is underway.  You have to live here to appreciate the enormity of this tournament.

Anyway, isn’t this a sign that we have way too many polls occurring in this country?

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