CareerJournal.com has this attention-grabbing article – Getting a Raise From the Boss. I opened that one immediately. Then, I read this: Complicating matters for working stiffs: Employers increasingly are doling out money based on performance, instead of giving out across-the-board raises that were more common back in the 1990s. This year, for instance, bonuses will account for 11% of payroll, Hewitt estimates, up from only 4% in 1990. I emphasized that one part since this is a pet peeve of mine. Performance-based incentive should be the norm for all positions within a company. Almost all sales plans contain a form of variable compensation based on success. In “working stiff” terms,… Read More
Continue ReadingGenerational Differences
Let’s keep the generations topic rolling this Friday. The workplace generations are transitioning as the boomers exit and the X’ers assume leadership roles. This topic is one we have written about here and here. This week I came across an article by Kevin Wheeler titled Generational Differences Make All the Difference. The article is an interesting read as he dives deep into the 3 major generations in the workplace today. I’ll give you a sample from each generation as a preview to the well-written article. Baby Boomers Career advancement is of key importance as are promotional opportunities and the chance to make a real impact. This is a generation of… Read More
Continue ReadingHow to Manage a Staff of Young Employees – Part 2
As I was reading through SHRM’s recent survey on Job Satisfaction (subscription required), a couple of stats really jumped out at me that further indicate the gap in what satisfies and motivates the different generations of workers. Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction on 21 different aspects of their work environment. They used a standard 1 to 5 scale (1=very unimportant up to 5=very important). Here are some of the topical results broken out by employee age followed by avg. score: Career advancement: under 35 – 4.41 36 to 55-3.85 over 56-3.53 Career development opportunities: under 35 – 4.49 36 to 55 – 4.09 over 56 – 3.85 Job-specific… Read More
Continue ReadingWorking Close to Home
If you read The Hire Sense, you already know we love lists. This one is timely considering the current oil prices (they closed at a record high yesterday). Relocating for a Job That’s Closer to Home lists the shortest commutes based on time. No. 1: Wichita, KS = 21.1 minutes No. 2: Omaha, NE = 21.3 minutes No. 3: Toledo, OH = 22.2 minutes I know, tenths of a minute is a fine resolution for measurement. Nonetheless, I have recently driven to both Wichita and Omaha and you can certainly get around both towns quickly. Telecommuting will continue to be a hot hiring topic as there are few signs that… Read More
Continue ReadingTech Company CEO’s on Talent
From CareerJournal.com – Surveying the Field: Tapping IT Talent: In the survey, 66% of the CEOs said high-quality employees are the biggest contributors to growth, outranking strategy and leadership. Last year, 25% cited high-quality employees as the top growth factor. I emphasized the stats. 25% to 66% is a remarkable change and indicative of the tight (and tightening) labor market.
Continue ReadingTurnover Trouble
There was a good article in SalesForceXP’s recent newsletter (sorry no link) that quotes 2 recent surveys conducted by Miller Heiman and the Hay Group specifically looking at turnover amongst salespeople. The research concluded that not only is finding good salespeople tough (knew that), but keeping them is equally as difficult. Nearly one-fourth of the 2,176 sales executives who participated in Miller Heiman’s 2006 Sales Performance Study reported that turnover had increased during the previous year. That mirrors similar findings from the Hay Group, a Philadelphia-based management consulting company, which surveyed about 1 million employees at 330 companies in 50 countries. The least committed to a company are its salespeople,… Read More
Continue ReadingSalary Value Index
Salary.com provides a list for our reading consumption – the Salary Value Index. The explanation: The compensation experts at Salary.com uncovered the top (and bottom) US metros for building personal net worth, taking into account local salaries, cost of living, and unemployment relative to the national average. The results are in and the number 1 city is…Huntsville, AL. Now I have been to Huntsville many times and it is a great little city. Number 1 is surprising, but still a nice town. You’ll have to read the rest of the article for the overall rankings. FYI – New York City was last.
Continue Reading2006 Salary Report
From S&MM Magazine (sorry, no link): The benefits of an improving economy trickled down to a lot of paychecks in 2006. The 2006 Survey of Exempt Compensation by Business and Legal Reports found 43 out of the 44 benchmarked-exempt positions saw salary increases averaging 3.9 percent. “Respondents indicated that they were somewhat more optimistic in their pay budgeting for the coming year,” the report stated. “Exempt employees were scheduled to receive merit increases of four percent closely matching the average actual salary increase.” Among the trends: * Top gainers for the year: purchasing managers, occupational health and safety specialists, and advertising and promotions managers. All saw average salary gains of… Read More
Continue ReadingFree Agent Update
Monster.com – The State of Free Agent Nation in 2006 – is an article that discusses using “solo professionals” (contractors) as opposed to full-time employees. I don’t know if I would use the term free agent since that usually connotates someone who signs with a company. Mercenary may be a better euphimism for a short-term, contract worker. Nonetheless, good points from the author: It’s always taken courage to attempt professional independence, and the practical barriers continue to evolve. The lack of company-paid benefits is an increasing burden for free agents. “Rising health insurance costs inhibit people from going out on their own,” says Pink. “Another barrier could be that Americans… Read More
Continue ReadingMarketing to Baby-Boomers
Let’s continue with the marketing-themed Tuesday posts. We have discussed Gen X & Y on this blog and we have published articles on how to hire them. Marketingprofs.com pens an article today – A Holistic Approach to Marketing to Baby Boomers – that looks at the largest generational group. Seems silly now, but we have conveniently ignored the boomers in our posts. Let me give you one reason why we shouldn’t ignore them: An American turns 50 every seven seconds. Staggering. I am intrigued by this point from the article: Although boomers are veering away from rocking chairs, research shows the desire for achieving a balanced life as they age.… Read More
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