There are certain windows for sourcing salespeople that are better than other times of the year. Right now we are in the best window for sourcing salespeople for the entire year. The reason is that many salespeople are on commission plans that pay out the highest total after the year is completed. In many instances, that commission payout occurs towards the end of January. I spent many years selling on these types of plans and can tell you that I would not leave in January since I was waiting for my largest commission check of the year. The different variations of commission plans I sold under usually had some accelerated… Read More
Continue ReadingJob Discrimination Increasing
I’m not sure what to make of the numbers from this short article: Job-discrimination complaints filed by workers against private employers rose in 2006 for the first time in four years. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Thursday that complaints increased to 75,768 during the 2006 budget year from 75,428 the previous year. I suspect a part of the rise complaints is due to the increased hiring that has occurred over the past few years. A 340 complaint increase out of 75,000+ total does not seem greatly significant. But it is the first increase in 4 years.
Continue ReadingWhat’s In A Name?
We’re still getting over the Super Bowl this morning so I thought we would start out with some lighter fare. Our local Pioneer Press offers up an interesting article on names – What’s in a name? Maybe your next job. The thesis is the fact that “old-fashioned” names tend to scream older applicant. I think the author is correct on this topic. Case in point: Larry, Mary, Linda, Lisa, Michael, James, Robert. … If one of these names is yours, you are apparently shouting to the world, “I’m at least 40, and probably closer to 60.” On the other hand, names like Taylor, Sidney, Ethan and Jacob all have baby… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Underpaid CEO
I am all for people making as much as they can in their careers which is why I do not understand the emotional attachment to CEO pay. If those CEOs can make that kind of money, more power to them. It doesn’t bother me that Bob Nardelli made big money at Home Depot – good for him. If I could make that type of money I would. Now you know where I stand, check out this article from American.com – Why Do We Underpay Our Best CEOs? That’s right – “underpay.” The article is a thorough explanation of the trends occurring in CEO hiring due to the national witch hunt… Read More
Continue ReadingStats On Gen Y Web Use
Inc.com’s article Seven Out of 10 Employees Admit to Abusing Office Computers, Phones relays some stats from a recent Harris Interactive survey. Nearly 72 percent of workers ages 18 to 24 said they check personal e-mail accounts at work (compared to 61 percent of the general population), and 77 percent are using the Internet personally (compared to 69 percent of workers overall), the survey says. Seventy-one percent of the young respondents said they maintain some sort of personal website. Personal blogs are the most popular among young workers, while 52 percent use networking accounts, such as MySpace or Facebook. Thirteen percent of workers 18 to 24 have an online dating… Read More
Continue ReadingFinding Dream Jobs
Foxnews.com offers this article – Workers Want Fun More Than Money When it Comes to Dream Jobs. This CareerBuilder survey states that fun is more important than money: “That fun was more important than, that was reassuring when you’re looking at the workplace and what defines happiness for people in their jobs,” said Jennifer Sullivan, spokeswoman for CareerBuilder.com. Overall, 84 percent of respondents said they are not in their dream jobs, the study found. “Dream job” is certainly an emotionally-loaded phrase and one that most likely elicits a longing response. What I mean is most people believe there is a better opportunity out there. This longing explains why they keep… Read More
Continue ReadingProductivity From Presenteeism
A timely article from CNNMoney.com – ‘Presenteeism’ infects businesses. Timely in that some super bug has made it’s way through Select Metrix which has knocked yours truly down this week. For some background on this phenomenon: “presenteeism,” or going to work when sick, is a persistent problem at more than half of U.S. workplaces and costs U.S. business a whopping $180 billion a year, research shows. Think of it as the opposite of absenteeism. Let’s cut to the chase on the whole issue: As often as two-thirds of the time, sick people go to work because they feel they have too much work to do, according to the CCH study.… Read More
Continue ReadingWhen Drivers Of Retention Are Misaligned
I’m a little late to the party on this post from Spherion’s The Big Time blog. The post covers many interesting topics. To start (emphasis mine): 23 percent of companies are already dissatisfied with the talent available. One-third of HR managers mention turnover/retention as a key concern. On average, employers expect 14 percent of their workforce to leave within the next year. 31 percent of workers believe there is a turnover or retention problem at their company, and 39 percent of workers themselves expect to leave in the next year. Less than half (44 percent) of workers believe their company is taking steps to retain its employees. You can see… Read More
Continue ReadingEmployee Retention Wake-Up Call – Part 2
A couple of months ago we posted on an article from the Pioneer Press titled Speaking Up Helps Keep Star Workers. One of the surprising findings was that 47% of the 16,273 stellar workers surveyed are mailing out resumes, going on job interviews, even contemplating other offers. I just recently caught up to an article from a WorkForce Management newsletter of a survey Yahoo HotJobs conducted on 5,300 people. They found that nearly two-thirds are open to switching jobs, with an improving job market cited as the chief cause for such optimism. Here are some interesting points they found: 39% cited unhappiness with wages as the chief issue 75% cited… Read More
Continue ReadingProductivity Loss Due To The Super Bowl
This story from Yahoo seems like a stretch – Super Bowl slowdown costs U.S. employers $800 million. Here is the logic behind the number: Assuming employees, for example, spend 10 minutes a day talking about the game, making bets, surfing the Internet or shopping for a new television, their bosses will lose some $162 million per day. In a five-day workweek, that adds up to $810 million, based on average earnings and expected viewership. The Super Bowl talk definitely dominates the water cooler topics for a couple weeks so maybe they are accurate in their estimate. The game comes around every year so “lost productivity” seems a bit nonsensical –… Read More
Continue Reading