career guide - Don Huse's Blog

Your work becomes you

All legitimate work, done with excellence, has transforming power. Our work, and the way we work, plays a significant role in shaping us into the people we are becoming.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/jobs/16boss.html?ref=business

Employer survey is revealing

A recent OI Partners-Venturion review of 262 companies revealed some interesting insights:

• Almost two-thirds (64%) are apprehensive they may lose managers in a better job market.
• About half (48%) are concerned about losing executives.

Replacing an executive or manager who leaves for another job, or one who turns out to be a bad hire or promotion, can be costly, according to the survey:

• Average of 2.5 times an executive's salary
• Average of 2 times a manager's compensation

The costs are for recruitment and training of the employee who leaves and his or her replacement, lost business, and severance pay and benefits.

Additional insights include:

Consequences of hiring or promoting wrong executives:
Lower employee morale: 81%
Decreased worker productivity: 74%
Lost business and market share: 53%
Higher employee turnover: 48%

Consequences of hiring or promoting wrong managers:
Lower employee morale: 84%
Decreased worker productivity: 82%
Higher employee turnover: 59%
Lost business and market share: 52%

Top reasons why executives do not work out:
Fail to motivate workers and build teamwork: 65%
Unable to accept changes that have occurred in workplace: 45%
Lack skills critical to success in their jobs: 35%

The top reasons why managers do not work out:
Fail to motivate workers and build teamwork: 56%
Unable to accept changes that have occurred in workplace: 55%
Lack skills critical to success in their jobs: 51%

Importantly, more than half (52%) of surveyed organizations said their managers do not have the right skills to achieve their goals. Over one-third (35%) said their executives are lacking the right skills to move their organizations forward.

This means there is a great deal of opportunity for those can effectively articulate a value proposition to an organization and have the strategies in place to get the opportunity to talk to a decision maker.

Signs of improvement

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, February marked first time in 15 months, since October 2008, that the number of employees voluntarily leaving jobs exceeded those being laid off.

Month                 Voluntary Quits            Layoffs
April 2010            1.98 million                  1.75 million
March 2010          1.92 million                  1.82 million
February 2010      1.85 million                  1.82 million

This has obvious implications as to the perception of the supply and demand for talent. When everyone feels "lucky to have a job" employers hold all the cards. Now, employers are beginning to fear losing their best people as opportunity increases.