We get many press releases every day that mainly announce new products. However, I did get one from CareerBuilder.com that was fairly interesting. The topic is sales hiring in 2009 and, not surprisingly, many companies are going to be “cautious.” The format is basically a survey of 2009 trends and the press release lists highlights of their findings. I apologize for not having a link though I suspect it may be on the CareerBuilder website now. Here is what caught my eye: 2. More Flexibility – Flexible work options continue to be an important benefit for sales employers to provide workers. Nearly four-in-ten (37 percent) of sales employers will provide… Read More
Continue ReadingDeath Of The Fax
Just a simple thought here – when will the fax machine go away? I talk to prospects and collect their contact information for our CRM. I had the thought, “Why do I ask for their fax number?” Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I sent a fax to a prospect or customer. I scan it in and email it…again, that way I have a record of it in our CRM software. My outside number is 5 years until it goes down to the level of the typewriter.
Continue ReadingRFI?
Unbelievable. I have been solicited in a disgusting, disturbing manner. Read this (my emphasis): This request for information (RFI) shall not be construed to be a Request For Proposal (RFP) and no agreement/contract will be entered into with/awarded to any vendor based on responses to this RFI, and it shall in no way be considered as authorization by <company> for vendors to undertake any work. Nothing in this RFI shall be construed as a commitment to issue a RFP. Response to this RFI will not create any obligation. Neither <company> nor vendors answering this RFI shall be bound by any aspect of their response to this RFI. RFI? Yes, I live… Read More
Continue Reading2009 Prediction Time-Talent Management
The Herman Trend Alert offers up some expected predictions, some insightful ones and some surprising ones for 2009. Here is one that falls in the expected/not surprising category: 1. Certain Skill Sets Continue to be in Short Supply. In spite of the global economic slowdown and massive layoffs, certain skill sets are in short supply. All but the most short-sighted employers will continue to respect talented workers in all fields for their contributions. I don’t think that is surprising at all, but not all companies subscribe to that approach. Here is an insightful prediction: 3. Fear and Apprehension Reduce Productivity. As we have written about some months ago, there is… Read More
Continue ReadingThe End Of The Keyboard
Nothing like the end of the year and the obligatory futuristic predictions. Yahoo offers a story that predicts the end of the keyboard as we know it: “Talk and touch are common technology interfaces. People have adjusted to hearing individuals dictating information in public to their computing devices. In addition ‘haptic’ technologies based on touch feedback have been fully developed, so, for instance, a small handheld Internet appliance allows you to display and use a full-size virtual keyboard on any flat surface for those moments when you would prefer not to talk aloud to your networked computer.” The idea is to incorporate this technology into a cell phone to make… Read More
Continue ReadingKeep The Perks
The Herman Trend Alert has a surprising report on a survey looking at employee perks for 2008. The economy may be tanking, but employers are aware of the need to retain talent. In spite of the drastic effects of the economy on the labor market with announced workforce reductions up 30 percent, a surprising majority of companies (66.7 percent) have chosen to preserve their employee perks. Ten percent of those employers said they had considered trimming perks, but decided to leave them at current levels. Despite their need to reduce their expenses, almost 55 percent still plan to distribute year-end bonus checks this year (2008). Only 20 percent of the… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Extended Unemployment Rate
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has put out their numbers for October and the unemployment rate rose to 6.5% and non-farm employment fell by 240,000. The job losses occurred across all industries other than healthcare, which rose by 26,000 for the month. Not surprising, the Healthcare industry has grown in employment by almost 350,000 in the past year alone. Manufacturing took the biggest fall with over 90,000 losses (27,000 of them are the results of strikes in the aerospace sector) with construction employment second, falling by 49,000. But reading a post from Liz Wolgemuth over at US News & World Report provided some interesting facts that I had not seen before. The extension… Read More
Continue ReadingJob Churn
The Career News newsletter has a short article about “job churn” that provides some good news for our present economic situation. The immediate reaction of companies, in a slumping U.S. economy, is to pull back on hiring activity, declare hiring freezes and even make layoff announcements. But these are only short-lived strategies as employers soon realize that they are deficient on talent in a competitive job market. After a period of reactionary cutting and freezing, hiring activity will return to a level of normalcy. Hiring is largely a function of ‘job churn’ and there is no evidence that churn will do anything but accelerate in the coming quarters. Churn is… Read More
Continue ReadingHiring Obstacles
According to the most recent Workforce Recruiting newsletter (sorry no link available), 1,100 employers were asked what the main reason was for them not being able to hire their top candidates over the past two years. Their responses were as follows: 35.9% – Said they went elsewhere for higher perceived pay. 15.5% – Said they went elsewhere for better perceived career development opportunities. 8.0% – Said they went elsewhere for better perceived work/life advantages. 7.1% – Said they went elsewhere for higher perceived long-term incentive/equity compensation. 1.5% – Said they went elsewhere for better perceived benefits. 31.9% – Said they were able to hire the majority of their top candidates.… Read More
Continue ReadingQ4 Job Forecast
Recruiting Trends provides a summary of CareerBuilder and USA Today’s Q4 Job Forecast and there are some interesting trends. First, according to the survey workers are postponing active job searches but are open to a change if the right one comes along. Of the 6,100 workers surveyed, 38% are planning to sit tight for the next year and wait for the economy to swing back while 41% plan on staying until retirement. This “squatting” will create some tension in that 23% of employers plan to add full-time, permanent employees in the next three months and 34% say they are having a hard time finding qualified candidates, especially in highly-skilled areas. Not… Read More
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