There is much talk about the need for more skilled applicants to meet future needs of companies, especially in the technology industry.  Some refer to lack of math and science education, and others mention lack of manual skills for manufacturing jobs.

The American Management Association 2010 Critical Skills Survey found that managers are focused less on the basic 3R’s (reading, writing and arithmetic) and more on a general ability to respond to their environment.  These skills, the 4 C’s, communication, critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration and finally creativity, are seen as important to today’s ever-changing business environment. 

According to an article in Staffing Management (July-September 2010), the majority of executives assess both job applicants and employees on these skills.  The respondents indicated that these skills help the companies respond to the pace of change in their business and the factor of global competitiveness. 

As to how the current workforce measures up, over half the employers felt their employees were only average in communication skills and creativity and innovation.  They did rate them slightly higher in critical thinking and collaboration and team building.  They have addressed these issues in the workplace by using one-on-one coaching and mentoring, followed by professional development and training.  The report did say that managers felt it was much easier to develop these skills in students early on, rather than teaching the experienced worker.

A few years ago I attended a meeting between employers and community college educators, held to get input from the business community on what they wanted future employees to learn.  I was amazed that the issues were personal responsibility, clear communications, reliability (showing up on time and staying at work for their entire shift), and problem solving.  Sounds like not much has changed.  The real question is, why are students not learning these skills as part of their K-12 education?  That opens an entire new topic for a later time.

In the meantime, as a job seeker, be aware of these needs and tune up your skills before you apply.  Godd luck.

Tags: applications, effective learning, hiring talent, Hiring Trends, job seeker attitudes, performance management

Economic development folks always mention that new companies with new ideas are a good source of new jobs. An article in Inc. Magazine (July/August 2010) cites a statistic that young companies, (younger than 6 years old) provided the bulk of new jobs. In 2007 they accounted for 64% according to a Kauffman Foundation survey conducted in 2009. So, how do we support the folks that start these new companies—an average of 500,000 per year?

There were a number of suggestions provided in the article, and interestingly New Mexico was used as an example of how to grow a local investment community. The program created through the state committing funds to venture capital firms that opened an office in New Mexico greatly increased the number of VCs in the community. The presence of national venture capital companies has more than one benefit.

Initially of course this presence provides a more direct access to capital for local entrepreneurs. Add to that the fact that these representatives provide invaluable feedback to startup companies in the state and it does give entrepreneurs a leg up. It also makes it easier to attract investment from out of state, as the investor usually wants a local firm to partner with who knows the territory.

Another suggestion that New Mexico has also followed is having local non-profits that provide resources and training to entrepreneurs. Technology Ventures Corporation, University of New Mexico’s Science and Technology Corporation and local economic development groups can give entrepreneurs access to tools and learning to help them with their startup efforts.  The national laboratories, Sandia National Labs and Los Alamos National Lab offer tech support grants to small businesses, and encourage technology business development.

Other ideas were to expand microfinancing, fund big science, rework the SBIR and expand funding, cutting paperwork overall, and passing an energy bill. All these ideas would have a positive impact. Finally, for those who have been looking for their next job opportunity, there are opportunities to work for yourself building your dream company. Historically in times of high unemployment there are more small business startups. Good luck.

Tags: change management, entrepreneurs, Executive jobs, industry news

Interesting survey result: one in four high-potential employees believe they will be working for another employer in a year.  This statistic is from a survey done by the Corporate Executive Board of the Corporate Leadership Council.  An article in the Harvard Business Review , May 2010 summarizes results and ideas for resolving some of these issues. 
The survey, done in September 2009, found that one in three high-potential employees (rising stars and high achievers) admit they don’t put all their effort into the job, and one in five believe that their personal aspirations are different from what the employer has in mind for them.  This in spite of the fact that most companies have some form of program designed to nurture future leaders, and with good reason, as these individuals have major impact on business results. 
The survey also found that the sense of disengagement of these employees has been remarkably high since the start of the recession.  Results suggest that as the economy rebounds and the labor market warms up, companies may see the best employees leaving in large numbers. 
Working with HR departments the Corporate Executive Board studied more than 20,000 employees that were considered high-potential at 100 organizations worldwide.  Findings show clearly that management teams stumble when trying to develop the next generation of leaders. 

Mistakes noted:
- Assuming that high potentials are highly engaged.  Disenchantment has increased since the economic downturn began, and so renewed efforts to engage these employees as well as regularly checking in with them is important.
- Equating current high performance with future potential.  The survey showed that 70% of the high performers lacked critical attributes important to handling future roles
- Delegating down the management of top talent.  If you leave the selection of future leaders primarily to line managers, the selection will be based heavily on current performance.  Suggestions are to develop a leadership program handled by the executive level to help both candidate and managers to understand future potential.
- Shielding rising stars from early derailment.  Just as in the education system where there’s a halo effect if you are perceived as a good student, rising stars are given more help along the way rather than being tested more rigorously.  
- Expecting star employees to share the pain.   Research indicates that under normal circumstances the star employee puts in 20% more effort than others in the same role.  Therefore, when salary freezes and layoffs occur, it is important to find a way to shield the top employees from that pain.  Bear in mind that other companies are scoping out your stars and may lure them away.
- Failing to link your stars to your corporate strategy.  On the other hand, don’t hide the pain from your high potentials.  Keeping them engaged means keeping them involved in the process.  Find ways to share future strategies on a privileged basis with your stars.

Finally, always make these high potentials aware that the designation is mainly an assessment of future contribution.  Don’t just celebrate current achievement.

Tags: candidates, change management, employee morale, Executive jobs, performance management

An article in the Society for Human Resource Management’s staffing publication  (Staffing Management) reviews the results of the Leading Indicators of National Employment Survey released May 7.  According to the article by Theresa Minton-Eversole  the unemployed might have a better chance of finding a job in the next few months . 
Overall the survey shows that the percentage of manufacturing companies that are hiring is the highest since fall of 2007 and in services the highest since summer of 2007.  Also the survey indicates that good workers are getting harder to find.
The LINE Employment Report surveys four key areas:  employer hiring expectation, new-hire compensation, recruiting difficulty for top level talent and job vacancies.  The survey covers HR departments at more than 500 manufacturing and 500 service sector companies, which employ more than 90% of the nation’s private sector workers.
Results include employment expectation increases of 48.7% in manufacturing and 37% in service sector.  This is the seventh straight month of predicted increases.  In recruiting difficulty, manufacturing indicated an 18.9% increase and services a 14.2% increase.  New hire compensation increased in April by 7.2% in manufacturing and 10.9% in services.
LINE survey results for job vacancies cover both exempt and non-exempt positions.  This indicator can be one of the early indicators of a shift in supply and demand in the labor market.  In the manufacturing sector 18.7% of respondents reported an increase in vacancies in April. 
The survey noted that most companies had held their salary levels through the period of high unemployment and are now increasing some compensation for the harder-to-fill positions.  Job seekers are still accepting lower wages and benefits than in the past overall.   Employers may have to change tactics as the pool of candidates for positions of strategic importance gets tighter. 

Tags: applications, candidates, Executive jobs, For Employers, hiring talent, Hiring Trends, industry news, job seeker

An article in the Society For Human Resource Management (www.shrm.org) magazine brings attention to a bill introduced in both houses of Congress that affects companies using contract workers.  Known as the Employee Misclassification Prevention Act, the new proposed bill adds paperwork and other costs that may reduce the savings benefit to companies using contract workers. The employer in the past wasn’t required to keep documentation on non-employees and in many cases wasn’t responsible for payroll taxes for that worker.  Under the propsed bill that will change.

There are speculations as to why this bill is necessary.  One reaon may be that a misclassified contract worker is prevented from accessing wage and hour protections and benefits they may be entitled to. 

Among the bill’s many provisions targeting misclassification:

* Requiring that employers keep records reflecting the correct status of each worker as an employee or nonemployee and stating expressly that employers violate the FLSA when they misclassify workers.
* Increasing penalties on employers who misclassify their employees and are found to have violated employees’ overtime or minimum wage rights. Civil penalties would be imposed, up to $1,100 per employee for first-time violators, and up to $5,000 per employee for repeat or willful violators.
* Allowing double liquidated damages for employers that fail to accurately classify an individual as an employee and violate the minimum wage or maximum hour provisions of FLSA.
* Requiring employers to notify workers in writing of their classification as an employee or nonemployee.
* Creating an official Department of Labor (DOL) “employee rights web site,” explaining that employees may have additional or greater rights under state or local laws and how employees may obtain additional information about their rights under state or local laws (the web site may provide a link to permit individuals to file complaints online with the Wage and Hour Division).
* Providing protections to workers who are discriminated against because they have sought to be accurately classified.
* Mandating that states report quarterly to the DOL the results of state auditing and investigative procedures with respect to identifying employers that may have excluded employees from unemployment compensation coverage.
* Directing states to strengthen their own penalties for worker misclassification.
* Permitting the Wage and Hour Division, other administrations of DOL, and the Internal Revenue Service to refer incidents of misclassification to one another.
* Directing the DOL to perform targeted audits focusing on employers in industries that frequently misclassify employees.

Tags: employee benefits, For Employers, Hiring Trends, industry news