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Section 4: Human Resources and Diversity
The fourth section of the questionnaire asked respondents their opinions about the "demand for" (Q10) and "availability of" (Q11) specific types of workers, employee-related areas of concern and perceptions of specific career-related educational resources in the state.
Results of responses to both questions appear in Figure 14.
Note that responses to question 10 regarding demand appear on the horizontal axis while responses to question 11 regarding availability appear on the vertical axis. The presentation of responses to both questions in a single graph allows the reader to simultaneously assess perceptions of demand and availability. However, it is worth emphasizing that the questions are somewhat asymmetrical in that question 10 asked about demand for a type of worker by the respondent’s organization specifically, not demand for that type of worker in general, whereas question 11 implies a more general availability for that type of worker.
The diagonal line represents an exact match between perceptions of demand and availability. Worker types above the line would represent those for which perceptions of availability exceed perceptions of demand, while those below the line indicate a perception of demand exceeding availability.
The three arrows indicate statistically significant shifts in perceptions compared with 2009 results. All of the significant change has been in the direction of greater availability and lower demand as might be expected during the general employment downturn.
A new type of worker, the non-skilled worker, was added to the list for 2010. As seen in Figure 14, this type of worker is perceived to be readily available but in low demand. Most demand for non-skilled workers comes from medium sized companies, those with 25 to 500 employees.
In short, availability for all types of workers is perceived to be relatively high, ranging from means of about 4.9 ("non-skilled workers") to about 5.5 ("administrative/clerical"). There is much wider variability in perceived demand, ranging from a low of about 2.1 ("bio-tech/life sciences") to a high of about 4.7 ("sales/marketing"). Respondents believe that availability will exceed demand for all types of workers, though there is perceived to be a closer balance of availability and demand for "information technology" and "sales/marketing" workers than for the other categories tested.
Trends in demand and availability can be seen in Figure 15a through Figure 16b.
It appears 2008 is the high point in the recent demand cycle for all types of workers. In most cases the demand for workers has dipped below or come very close to the levels indicated in 2007.
Demand for positions in "sales and marketing," "administrative or clerical," and "para-professionals" are all significantly less than in 2007.
Almost all availability trends are moving consistently in the opposite direction of demand, not surprising given the state of the economy. CEOs perceive that bio-tech and life science availability is relatively flat compared to all other professions but it does appear to be the only profession trending down slightly from the 2007 level. Availability of positions in "administrative or clerical" and "skilled trade" are significantly higher than in 2007.
A new question for 2010 asked CEOs their opinion about adding employees. Respondents indicated slightly above the midpoint that they would be hiring again. See Figure 17. Here a small company is defined as one having fewer than 25 employees; a medium company has between 25 and 500 employees; and a large company has more than 500 employees.
The next question asks executives to rate their level of concern with each of several issues related to the organization and its workforce. Responses to this question appear in Figure 10. Note that concern is significantly lower for three of the six issues compared with the 2009 ratings. Additionally, the trend graphs in Figures 19a and 19b show that all the workforce issue concerns are trending down and in a fairly significant way.
For the fourth year in a row, "job satisfaction" remains at the top of the ratings as a workforce concern, and it continues to share that ranking with "acquiring talented managers." Also high on the concern scale is "loyalty in the workforce." However, the concerns are well below the levels seen in 2007 and in 2008.
"Immigration," "turnover or attrition," and "finding skilled trade workers" all dropped significantly from 2009 levels as concerns and as with the other issues in this question, have dropped well below the 2007 level in terms of importance.
As can be seen by the trend graphs in Figures 19a and 19b, all three of the issues that received lower ratings appear below the scale midpoint indicating these issues are of less concern to our respondents. As was the case in 2009, respondents outside central Indiana express higher levels of concern than do central Indiana respondents on the issue of finding skilled trade workers.
Trends of these concerns can be seen in Figure 19a and Figure 19b.
A new question on current legislative issues was asked in 2010. As seen in Figure 20, "card check," "cap and trade," "health care reform," and "right to work" initiatives are perceived to have a negative impact. "Government support of the economy in 2010" is thought to have a slightly positive impact for 2010.
Issues received different ratings depending on the size of the company where a small company was defined as having fewer than 25 employees; a medium company was defined as having between 25 and 500 employees; and a large company was defined as one having more than 500 employees.
Small companies are more concerned about these issues, except "right to work," perhaps because they are small and cannot easily absorb new initiatives.
