The 2010 “State of Our Business” survey of Indiana CEOs contains a wealth of data that should provide plenty of ammunition as people debate what needs to be done to keep the state’s business recovery moving. That’s the thing with surveys, lots of data that people can selectively chose to support their own arguments and points of views. So given the opportunity to opine on what the survey means for Indiana Businesses’ Human Resources, here goes nothing. A review of the Human Resources section of the survey will show three key findings:
Considering the state of the economy, few would be surprised by those findings. There have been massive layoffs so it is logical that there are more potential employees than available jobs. The economy is improving so it makes sense that firms will start hiring soon. Considering the poor job market, those who still have their jobs are probably just thankful and little attention needs to be spent on them. Those are reasonable conclusions to make based on the survey data but are they the right conclusions?
There is no question that there are more Hoosiers looking for work than jobs available. With a 10 percent unemployment rate, it is not unusual to get hundreds of applications for a single job posting. The survey shows that supply exceeds demand in every job category. But are they the right people?
Assuming that the perfect person for your job is available and easy to find may be a big mistake. Think back to layoffs you were forced to make. Were the people you let go the best of the best? Did you hang onto underperforming employees and let your top performers go? Of course not. The truth of the matter is that a significantly high percentage of those currently out of work were not the top performers at their former place of employment. Sure, their old company may take them back if they were “good” employees. However, logic tells us that if they were spectacular employees, they would never have been let go in the first place.
So what is a CEO to do? First, you may want to look internally to see if there is someone who can be promoted or groomed for that open position. You already made the decision to hang onto certain employees. Now may be the perfect time to give them a chance to move into new, key positions. Second, start early if you have to look outside for candidates. If you want your pick of the better candidates out there, you may need to begin the recruiting process sooner rather than later. To use a rough analogy, no one enjoyed being picked last for a pick-up basketball game but it’s important to realize the team wasn’t thrilled about it either.
The final finding of a reduced concern about turnover and job satisfaction is even more disconcerting. For the last couple of years, employees have had wages cut, hours reduced and benefits eliminated--all for the good of the company. Most took the reductions because they indeed had nowhere else to go. While that still may be the case, many would argue that it is a mistake to assume that condition will last indefinitely and that you don’t need to start reinvesting in your employees. There have been numerous articles written about employees’ feelings of being asked to take on more work with less compensation and less recognition. A recent Wall Street Journal article cited a survey showing that 60% of current employees plan to look elsewhere when the job market opens up. They are still resentful of many of the steps firms took to minimize expenses during the downturn.
With all this in mind, the proactive CEO may consider taking the following steps:
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