Gas prices are driving companies to adjust their reimbursement policy for outside salespeople. We have seen a handful of salespeople who have taken a real hit due to the fact they are on a monthly car allowance and not mileage reimbursement. Telecommuting is already grabbing a larger foothold in the work world which is a trend that predated the gas price increase. Our local Pioneer Planet quotes a recent SHRM report regarding telecommuting: (The SHRM study) found 18 percent of employers are allowing workers to telecommute, up from 4 percent in a survey a year ago. That doesn’t sound like much, but a 4% increase in 1 year is remarkable. … Read More
Continue ReadingParsing The Unemployment Number
The Herman Trend Alert enewsletter (sorry, no link) takes a look at last week’s unemployment numbers. Some interesting items in there (emphasis mine): This increase in unemployment continues to mask the real situation. Looking at the BLS’ Household Survey, in the month of May, the national unemployment percentages among adult men and women were 4.9 and 4.8. At the same time, the rate for teenagers, ages 16 to 19 jumped from 15.4 in April to 18.7 in May, an increase of 21.4 percent. While part of this increase is due to high school and community college graduations, these new job seekers do not account for this huge increase. Rather, we… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Commute Question
We are sales recruiters so we have been fairly immune to this question, but it is even appearing in our world. For salespeople, the question is some variation of “How often will I be expected to be in the office?” This question doesn’t mean they are planning on playing hooky; the candidate simply wants to start the discussion about working from home, their car, coffee shops, etc. The Career News newsletter (sorry, no link) offers up a quick article on this topic: When it comes to making a living, how many miles would you travel? According to many hiring agencies and recruiters, people job hunting are taking climbing gas prices… Read More
Continue ReadingTop Reasons People Change Jobs
These lists seem to come out on a regular basis with different results. Yet, I’m a sucker for a list so I read them. The one consistent piece of information I read is that compensation is often overrated. People may say they changed jobs for a better compensation package, but usually it is some other factor driving them out of their current job. I’m not sure that holds up well in sales. The top reasons people have changed jobs: Downsizing or restructuring (54 percent); Sought new challenges or opportunities (30 percent); Ineffective leadership (25 percent); Poor relationship with manager (22 percent); To improve work/life balance (21 percent); Contributions to the… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Gen Y Workplace
From CollegeRecruiter.com: Generation Y a/k/a Millennials promise to: Hold only productive meetings. Hallelujah! Shorten the workday by focusing on productivity. Bring back administrative assistants — even if Gen Y pays for them out-of-pocket and even if they’re virtual. Redefine retirement by taking multiple mini-retirements. They’ll find real mentors by teaching older workers about technology and in return be guided through office politics. Put human back into human resources. Promote people to management based on their managerial skills, not their seniority. Continue to value what their parents have to offer because Gen Y respects their parents and their parents respect their Gen Y children. Trade off potential raises and promotions for… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Gasoline Tipping Point
$4.50 here in the Twin Cities. According to this Pioneer Press story: And if the price hits $4.50 per gallon, more than half of the commuters in the Twin Cities said they’ll be looking at changes in their daily commute. The survey found commuters are most aggressive about looking for options in Atlanta, Dallas and the Twin Cities. They are slowest in San Francisco. The gas price is a strong lever in sales recruiting right now, but you have to be prepared to discuss the reimbursement side of the equation. We have noticed a definitive upclick in the discussion of mileage reimbursement/car allowance. In fact, this topic is coming up… Read More
Continue ReadingCustomer Service Hall Of Shame
Here is a list you do not want your company to be on. From MSN Money: That reality is borne out in the results of MSN Money’s second annual Customer Service Hall of Shame, a ranking of companies with the worst customer service, based on a nationwide survey commissioned by MSN Money and conducted by Zogby International. The winner, or is it loser? Whatever, it is no surprise: AOL Time Warner A remarkable 47% of people who had an opinion of AOL’s customer service said it was “poor.” Analysts said that rating may have something to do with its effort to transition from an Internet service provider — where it… Read More
Continue ReadingDefinition Of Insanity-ATS And Sales Hiring
According to Albert Einstein, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. According to a recent post on Recruiting Trends and a 2007 survey from DDI & Monster regarding corporate hiring systems: Less than 50% stated that they were satisfied with current selection systems. At least two-thirds expressed dissatisfaction with the efficiency of hiring systems, even with access to automation technology to help organize and track applicant information. From our experience in the sales world, I would have to say those dissatisfied numbers are much higher when it comes to the results of their hiring system or process for salespeople. So why not… Read More
Continue ReadingAs The Job Market Churns
Quick-hitter article here from HotJobs.com – Good-Paying Jobs Are Ample, But Training Is Critical. The article is a fast read and worth your time, but here is what caught my attention: The job market is always churning. About 7 million workers lose or leave jobs each quarter and, when the economy is growing, more than 7 million are added to payrolls. Companies hiring right now include makers of aircraft and medical equipment, shipbuilders and refiners of petroleum and sugar. At the same time, losses continue to sock the textile, apparel, auto and other industries. 7 million jobs churn each quarter. That is a staggering number and helps to define what… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Best-Paying Job
Anesthesiologists. From Forbes.com’s America’s Best- And Worst-Paying Jobs: …the mean annual salary for America’s 31,030 anesthesiologists is $192,780, up 4.6% from a year earlier. Not surprisingly, the top 9 jobs are all in the medical field (surgeon, orthodontists, etc.). Oh yes, and the bottom end of the scale: The lowest paid of all? People who cook, prepare and serve in fast-food joints, followed by dishwashers, busboys and the folks who shampoo your hair. I am proud to say that I was a dishwasher in high school. Technically, we called it a “dishlicker” and we were at the lowest end of the totem pole. That is the type of job that… Read More
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