May 2006

The Battle for Top Talent is Heating Up One company says 2006 will be the year the bar is raised for workforce performance management According to a recent study by IDC (www.idc.com), a provider of market intelligence, advisory services and events for the technology market, this will be a pivotal year for WPM. Why? Because the battle for talent is on. That includes retaining top performers and attracting new ones. The study finds that WPM is the fastest-growing segment of the rising talent management market. Companies are getting a boost from WPM software and services, and IDC forecasts that worldwide WPM-service spending will experience a compound annual growth rate of 16.3 percent from 2006 to 2010. "The war for talent is re-emerging, and firms are recognizing they're competing for a high performing workforce, says Lisa Rowan, program manager for IDC's HR and talent management services. — J.D.

Let's Stay Together CIOs: Training is the Best Way to Retain Top People With employee loyalty sinking to new lows year after year, chief information officers are pulling out all the stops to make sure they retain their very best workers, according to a new poll conducted by Robert Half Technology, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based research firm. In a poll of more than 1, 400 CIOs from a random sample of U.S. firms, 63 percent said they're providing additional professional development training opportunities to retain their best people, while 47 percent are offering flexible schedules and 41 percent are increasing base compensation. "As the number of job opportunities for IT professionals increases, many CIOs are making retention a top priority," said Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of Robert Half Technology."Firms recognize that technology workers, in particular, value ongoing educational opportunities to enable them to keep their skills current and continue learning on the job." Lee added that effective retention programs also address work-life balance. "Offering flexible schedules and telecommuting options is a cost-effective way to improve overall job satisfaction, show appreciation and build loyalty." —J.K.

Who's Coming, Who's Going, and Why There'll be no rest for trainers in 2006, if the latest hiring projections are on target. According to the latest quarterly survey conducted by Milwaukee-based employment services provider Manpower (www.manpower.com), payrolls will continue to be added to throughout the second quarter. Of the 16,000 U.S. employers surveyed for the quarterly Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, 30 percent foresee an increase in hiring activity for the second quarter of this year, while just 6 percent expect a reduction in staffing. Fifty-eight percent report no change in hiring plans, and 6 percent have yet to determine their staffing needs. Hiring plans appear to have settled into a steady pattern. "The U.S. job market has been growing at a safe, incremental pace in recent years, and Manpower's survey data highlights the comfort zone that has emerged from this climate," Jeffrey Joerres, chairman and CEO of Manpower, says. "Employers have reported similar levels of hiring for nine quarters now, which tells us that they are not willing to throw off equilibrium with radical shifts in hiring." No matter what sector you're in, the stream of new hires to orient and train should remain strong. Employers in sectors such as construction, durable and non-durable goods manufacturing, transportation/public utilities, wholesale/retail trade, finance/insurance, real estate and services, all report little change in hiring as they look toward the second quarter, Manpower reports. Meanwhile, the employees you do let go may just make a comeback, a survey conducted by Philadelphia-based workforce consultancy Right Management, reveals (www.right.com). A poll of more than 14,000 displaced employees from more than 4,900 organizations throughout North America who found new jobs last year using Right Management's services, found that 13 percent who had previously been laid off were rehired by their former employers. The survey found that 54 percent of employers are at least occasionally rehiring former employees who were displaced by earlier downsizings. At the other end of the spectrum, those employees who leave of their own accord often do so for reasons that have nothing to do with their wallet, reports Los Angeles-based executive search and workplace consultancy Korn/Ferry International (www.kornferry.com). Based on a global survey of executive respondents who had registered online with the firm between December 2005 and February 2006, only 5 percent cited inadequate or inconsistent compensation as the primary reason for leaving their last job. When asked which improvement would make the biggest difference in organizations' ability to retain talent, four in 10, or 42 percent, cited empowering employees to make decisions. Other responses included opportunities for advancement and career development (32 percent) and better work/life quality (16 percent). —M.W.

Talent Management Under the Microscope Just when you may be despairing that no one appreciates your work, the 2006 Talent Management Survey has been released. Announced at the International Association for Human Resource Information Management (IHRIM) Conference in Washington last month, the results of the survey (http://knowledge-infusion.form25.com/newsletter) reveal that an overwhelming majority of companies cite talent management initiatives as a major sector of interest within their organizations for the next three years. Conducted jointly by San Ramon, Calif.-based human capital management technology consultancy Knowledge Infusion and Burlington, Mass.-based IHRIM, an organization for human resources technology professionals, the survey found areas such as performance and learning management, succession planning and recruiting set for growth. Survey respondents, comprised of IHRM's 3,000 members and Knowledge Infusion's customer base, are primarily in HR management, with a majority representing organizations that generate greater than $1 billion in revenue. Reasons cited for the increase in importance of talent management included recognition of the link across training, knowledge and performance, what was seen as a looming talent shortage and the realization that internal re-deployments of workers can often be more effective than external recruiting. More than 77 percent of respondents stated they see dramatic increases in talent management initiatives within the organization over the next three years, Knowledge Infusion CEO Jason Averbook said. Substantial buffing up may be needed, for instance, in the area of human resources process and technology, which more than 40 percent of organizations surveyed said they currently have little or none of. "The lack of integrated processes along with little to no measurement demonstrates that most organizations should increase their focus on talent management initiatives immediately," said Knowledge Infusion president Heidi Spirgi. And 42 percent of respondents reported little to no effectiveness in the relationship between HR and training in creating and executing joint human capital management initiatives. —M.W