Job Market Barometer

Unemployment Rate

Help Wanted Index

Source: The Conference Board

TWC's senior recruiters share their top picks for the summer of 2005:

1. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

2. Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham

3. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker

4. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

5. The Art of War by Sun Tzu

At last week's 57th Annual Exposition and Conference, SHRM announced the results of its 2005 Benefits Survey. Among its findings:

· The percentage of employers offering dependent-care flexible spending accounts increased from 73 to 79 percent.

· HMO coverage increased from 51 to 53 percent; employer-funded health reimbursement accounts dropped from 18 to 17 percent.

· Domestic benefits for same-sex partners increased to 32 from 27 percent.

· Vision insurance increased from 71 to 80 percent.

· Organizations offering paid family leave increased from 24 percent to 30 percent.

· 93 percent of organizations continued to offer professional development opportunities to their employees.

Should You Outsource Your In-house Recruiting?
By Kevin Wheeler, President and Founder of Global Learning Resources, Inc.

Smith and Co.'s three recruiters are overwhelmed with requisitions. At the end of last week they had more than 150 open positions to fill, many of them requiring hard-to-find candidates. Most of these requisitions had been open for more than two weeks, and hiring managers were upset. Many hiring managers had not seen any candidates, and the few who had were not pleased with the quality of what they saw.

At this week's staff meeting, one of the recruiters suggested that Smith and Co. outsource at least some of the requisitions to an agency. At the end of the meeting, the team had agreed to find out a bit more about outsourcing and what it would really mean for their company.

This situation is increasingly common. I find that many organizations are turning to outsourcing as a solution either to the problem of too many requisitions and too few recruiters, or to that of too many hard-to-fill positions and no talent pool or legitimate candidate sources.

But many organizations are turning to recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) firms out of desperation, without a clear strategy or well-defined goals. The most successful RPO efforts involve in-depth consideration of four critical issues.

read more...

Recruiting Strategies in a Tightening Labor Market
By Mike Sweeny, Vice President of Human Capital, TWC

Anyone who has been hiring recently knows that it is becoming tougher and tougher to find good candidates.

As recently as a year ago, companies had their pick in the labor market. Qualified candidates were vying for their attention, and companies often had the luxury of choosing between two or three closely matched candidates.

Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case. If you’re recruiting for new employees in 2005, the tactics you used in 2002 through 2004 don’t work anymore, because we’re in a tightening labor market where the candidates, not the companies, are beginning to get the upper hand.

full article...

The Friendly Factor: Creating a Work Environment that Attracts and Keeps the Workforce
By Gregory P. Smith, President of Chart Your Course International

By year 2011, the U.S. will face a worker shortage of 8-10 million people. In many industries today, jobs are going unfilled. It should go without saying, if you cannot attract and keep your workforce then you must change what you are doing or face the consequences.

Take your pick. In which organization would you prefer to work: One that is cold and gives you a sense no one cares, or one that makes you feel good and appreciated? Money and benefits are important, but studies show in the long run the work environment--the feeling they get when they come to work--is more important in retaining and motivating people.

People like a friendly place to work. The friendly-factor does not require a large investment and expense, but it does require time and thoughtful consideration.

read more...

This newsletter was sent by
T. Williams Consulting, LLC
2570 Blvd of the Generals
Suite 110, Audubon, PA 19403