Determined to retain your most talented executives? Well, here's some counterintuitive advice: The best way to keep them from leaving is to prepare them to do just that.

In tough economic times like these, retention becomes less of a priority for many companies as they focus on more-immediate business concerns. But companies that neglect this issue during a downturn may be in for a nasty surprise just as things start looking up: Historically, there is a significant increase in the number of executives leaving their companies as market conditions improve and more job opportunities open up.

That's why it's crucial that companies get serious about retention now. And that means giving executives opportunities to take on greater responsibility, broaden their skills and cultivate a network of relationships with their peers. These are the things that executives we have surveyed consistently say they want most from their jobs.

Read the full article.

Tags: talent management, executive, recession, economic downturn, retention

Categories: News | The Economy

Despite the sluggish economy, the talent management software market has enjoyed an active summer and fall.

Leading vendors Taleo and SuccessFactors sought to broaden their horizons, while other software providers introduced new features as companies continued to purchase the products.

While growth rates are less than what was projected a year ago, the talent management market as a whole is growing by about 15 percent and should reach $2.5 billion this year, says Josh Bersin, head of research firm Bersin & Associates.

Far from shriveling amid the recession, the talent management software field is expanding as business-services giants IBM, Accenture, Mercer and Hewitt build strategies to deliver a combination of talent management software, consulting and outsourcing, Bersin says.

Talent management software refers to applications that help organizations with key HR tasks such as recruiting, employee performance management and compensation.

Read the full article.

Tags: talent management, software, recession, economic downturn

Categories: News | The Economy

Employers throughout Asia Pacific continue to keep a tight rein on the purse strings in 2009, as salary increases remain at low levels, according to an Asia Pacific Salary Increase Survey conducted by Hewitt Associates (NYSE:HEW), a global human resources consulting and outsourcing firm. This trend looks likely to continue in 2010 as base salaries are projected to rise only slightly in most Asia Pacific markets.

The Hewitt 2009/2010 salary increase survey sees a dramatic decline in salary increase in the two prominent markets of China & India for the first time over the last five years. The 2009 actual salary increase rate went down by 4 percent and 8 percent respectively, which is also the lowest salary increases recorded since 2005.
This year, there is no Asian market which experienced a double digit salary increase. India had the highest percentage pay rise in the region with the average overall salary increase at 6.3 percent. Indonesia ranks second, with the average overall salary increase at 6 percent, followed by China (4.5 percent) and the Philippines (4.3 percent).

Read the full release.

Tags: economic downturn, recession, compensation, asia pacific, talent

Categories: Research | The Economy

In these bleak times, companies are depending on their star performers as never before. Organizations need their top talent to be in peak form—firing on all cylinders—so they can succeed in a market that is the toughest in living memory. How are employers handling this challenge? In a word, badly.

To start with, leaders are seriously distracted. Caught between clamoring clients and vaporizing value, a CEO understandably might find it hard to focus on talent. People issues tend to translate into layoff strategies: How many should you let go? How should the cuts be distributed? Should you act surgically and strike deep or should you dribble out the reductions over time?

When it comes to talent management, CEOs are also hamstrung by outmoded thinking. In times like these—marked by massive losses and rising unemployment—it's tempting to imagine that there's no need to worry about motivating talent. People are so grateful to have a job, the conventional thinking goes, that they can be relied on to contribute 110%. Right? Wrong.

Read the full article.

Tags: economic downturn, recession, talent management

Categories: The Economy

The study, conducted in May 2009, analyzes the future importance and current performance of people management practices relative to a manufacturer’s business success. It also reveals the challenges manufacturers are facing with talent shortages and offers strategies to address them.

Read the full article.

Tags: skills gap, talent management, management, performance, economic downturn

Categories: Research | The Economy

(The Associated Press) -- Going to work may never be the same again.

The Great Recession has reshaped the American workplace and work force in ways that will last years, if not longer.

The work force is graying as college graduates can't find jobs, young workers get laid off and older workers delay retirement. People in white-collar jobs are feeling increasingly vulnerable to economic downturns, an insecurity that blue-collar workers have known for years.

Perhaps the most enduring change is the permanent loss of millions of jobs across the manufacturing, services and retail sectors.

Read the full article.

Tags: economic downturn, recession, manufacturing, blue collar, services, retail

Categories: News

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Employees report their bosses use threats and intimidation during the financial crisis, according to a national study of leadership funded by the University of Phoenix. “Questions get you written up and/or fired,” one worker said. The study’s results also showed employees increasing distrust what their bosses say.

Belligerent behavior and eroding employee trust are disturbing leadership trends in the financial crisis, according to Dr. Ruby Rouse and Dr. Richard Schuttler. Employees repeatedly described threatening communication:

• “Be thankful you have a job.”
• “You can be replaced.”
• “There are lots of qualified people on the street who would love your job.”

Such statements remind workers their jobs are on the “chopping block.” According to Rouse, some supervisors seem to foster a “culture of fear” to maintain control during the financial crisis.

Despite significant economic changes, leaders reportedly have not changed the way they communicate with employees.

• 64% of supervisors use a “business as usual” mentality
• 82% of employees expressed frustration with supervisors’ lack of adaptation
• Senior leaders were significantly less concerned about employee issues, such as layoffs and downsizing, than front line workers.

Read the full report.

Tags: employee engagement, economic downturn, leaders, trust, morale, communication, managers

Categories: News | Research

Organizations across the country have been affected by the recession, and the not-for-profit industry is no exception. Pay increase budgets have fallen and healthcare costs are up placing mounting pressure on the industry. Organizations are looking for ways to enhance their compensation packages without affecting their bottom line. As national unemployment rates linger at over 9.5 percent, the not-for-profit industry is facing a slow recovery.

Access a new whitepaper, "The Real Effects of Today’s Economy on the Not-For-Profit Industry" and gain a clearer picture of what's happening at not-for-profit organizations across the country.

Read the white paper here.

Tags: economic downturn, recession, not-for-profit organization

Categories: Research | The Economy

Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) -- In a new study of more than 2,000 low-income unemployed workers age 55 and older, 46 percent need to find jobs so they don't lose their homes or apartments, and approximately half (49 percent) have been looking for work for more than a year.

In July 2009, there were two million unemployed workers age 55 plus; the unemployment rate for this age group was the highest since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tabulating data by age in 1948.

The perfect storm - a recessed economy, increased competition for jobs, and age-related employment barriers - has created a crisis for America's older low-income workers, according to the new study conducted by Experience Works, the nation's largest nonprofit provider of community service, training and employment opportunities for older workers.

Read the full release.

Tags: economic downturn, unemployment, generations, barriers

Categories: The Economy

Eight days ago, a 32-year-old France Télécom worker died after throwing herself from the fifth-floor window of company premises in Paris following news of further corporate reorganisation.

The suicide, the 23rd among staff at the former phone monopoly in 18 months, triggered anguish about stress at work. Didier Lombard, the company's chairman, was summoned to a meeting with Employment Minister Xavier Darcos and efforts to provide psychological support to employees during restructuring were stepped up at companies across the land.

The sense of workplace stress when you cross the threshold of a French office or factory doesn't seem notably greater than anywhere else in Europe in these difficult times. But in asides and emails, employees frequently complain about how over-loaded they are.

Read the full article.

Tags: france, economic downturn, recession, stress, workplace

Categories: International | The Economy