October has arrived, the mornings and evenings are cool and I needed a jacket often during the past week. The cool rain over the weekend highlight it is fall in New England. In chatting with a friend, she reminded me that winter is not far away and of course we are 86 days from the end of year.
Most organizations are well into their planning for the coming year. Many have completed budget projections for next year and if needed, have made adjustments based on adjusted 4th quarter projections.
As organizations look forward, human capital investments and human capital planning conversations seem to be more intense. The stress levels may be up for job seekers, but many days I see, hear and help hiring managers and top leaders who have stress levels off the chart.
What drives that stress? Their concern for the future welfare of the businesses they run. As they discuss finding talent in this tough market, planning for their future leadership business needs, retention of newer employees and retention of employees who in some cases have survived layoffs and are doing more work, sometimes with shorter hours, and in most cases with fewer other resources as well.
Solid leaders know they must watch the trends, budgets, communicate, engage employees in appropriate decisions, work with good business partners, vendors, be flexible, and make solid hiring and compensation choices. They must also plan for the elements of managing human capital that helps ensure long term success or the business may shut the doors and they too will be UNEMPLOYED.
This week working with one business owner planning for 2010, and reviewing survey data from Adecco on job dissatisfaction, I heard his concern and these questions:
How to retain current talent?
How to grow bench strength in order to grow the business and sales team?
How to find needed leaders?
How to improve customer service?
How do we do all these things needed to STAY in business?
Like many business owners and hiring managers, he is frustrated with the economy and the labor market. He shared his own frustration and concern for the many applicants that respond to job postings and talk to him about opportunities that are disgruntled, mad, pushy, and have no clue about his business.
Then he shared how frustrated he is when someone asks for an opportunity to do “anything” explaining that they NEED a job. Now, he confided when hears that he usually explains how a management or sales training position works, then feels like a sucker when next he hears, various remarks about doing ANYTHING, except of course, starting in a training position at a training level salary to learn a new business.
Then with sarcasm in his voice he stated “we don’t build rocket ships, but even industry veterans take 45 days to master our systems, and outsiders can take up to a year to master the systems”.
The questions at least one employer is asking:
With so many people out of work, where are those talented people who really do want to work and learn a new business or industry?
Are there people looking for a new job who will learn at least a little about my business before they seek to talk to me about a job with my company?
Are there people looking for a new job that can explain their skills and what they can do to help grow my business?
Are there people looking for a new job who understand that increased compensation and benefits can be reviewed based on performance and that increasing ones pay comes from contributing to the bottom line and growing the business?
As we finished our meeting, and I drove home enjoying the yellow, orange, and red colored leaves mixed in among the once all green trees, I could not help but smile.
It is clear that talented professionals with solid skills and the ability to market those skills are still in high demand and at good salaries.
What has changed in this job market is that those who are unfocused, unprepared and unwilling to do the basics to market themselves, communicate their skills, locate and talk to decision makers and hiring managers will be unemployed longer than ever.
Why? Simple, it is a numbers game. The number of people looking for work and doing a very poor job of searching and connecting with hiring managers are high. Those high numbers are crowding the market place and are everywhere. There are so many applicants per opening, employers are changing and rethinking what they do to attract talent and to manage the vast impact on the hiring process.
The great news about that is that the top talent and professionals running effect job search campaigns SHINE very bright in the crowd. Those bright stars will continue to leverage multiple opportunities while others crowd the market and find more and more of the traditional doors to job openings closed.
Mr. McNulty, consultant of recruiting company McNulty Management Group stresses: The game has changed but the rules are the same: a job seeker should look for opportunities instead of jobs. Opportunities which appear in crisis and chaos and which are still there even if the economic situation doesn’t look like fun.
I don’t think that all the people searching for a job now are not talented. Suppose, the problem is that some market themselves better. Or are luckier. So, it’s hardly fair to judge like this.