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News for friends of the Iowa Lee Hecht Harrison Global Partner office. |
SUMMER 2005 |
Richard L. Reasons
General Manager / Partner Perhaps you have had a few reflective moments on one of our recent hot summer days. Have your thoughts focused on enhancing your leadership or the leadership of others? Whatever your leadership development needs, consider six critical dimensions of leadership that will improve business performance. Ask yourself, "How effectively are leaders demonstrating recognizable behaviors that drive their capability for Creating Vision, Developing Followership, Implementing the Vision, Following Through, Getting Results, and Playing as a Team? " At CRG Lee Hecht Harrison, we are ready to work with you to understand your specific business situation and to design processes to make Leadership Effectiveness a core business outcome for you and your organization.
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What Job Seekers WANT and EXPECT from
Their Next Employer
Forget a company car, today's savvy job seekers are much more interested in programs and benefits that will enhance their professional capabilities and allow them more flexibility in terms of when and how they work. In our most recent client survey, we asked individuals engaged in LHH career transition programs what they want and expect from their next employer in such areas as compensation, benefits, and quality of life. The most surprising findings were the type of employee programs and benefits respondents say they want. The most desired benefit selected by four out of five respondents, was a "laptop and/or other technology." That was followed by ongoing training opportunities (77%) and flex time (67%). "Clearly, today's job seekers are interested in programs and benefits that will help them work more efficiently and effectively," says
Bob Wigger, Partner, from our West Des Moines office.There are also some noteworthy findings in what job seekers expect from their next employer. For instance, almost two-thirds expect to get a laptop and/or other technology and ongoing training opportunities, but they are less optimistic about their chances of getting other programs and benefits. "As the labor market tightens, employers seeking to attract talent may find that offering benefits many job seekers want but don't expect is a good way to differentiate themselves from competitors," suggests Wigger. Additionally, while compensation is always a consideration for job seekers, most (84%) hope for a base salary that exceeds their previous one, but they are more realistic in terms of their expectations. Only 24% actually believe they will get a higher salary in their new job. Just under half (42%) expect a base salary that matches their prior salary and 34% think they will end up with a lower salary. In terms of other forms of compensation, most respondents want-and think that they'll receive-a 401(k) plan, while 70% want, and 50% expect, a performance-based bonus plan.
Meanwhile, more good news for today's companies is that as these job seekers look for new positions, many want and expect to have new challenges. Although most want (63%) and expect (62%) their next job to be in the same general function as their last one, 56% hope that their next position will require them to develop new skills, and 42% expect that to be the case. With over 30 years experience, Lee Hecht Harrison provides information, intelligence, and insight to help impact organizational and individual performance. In this regard, we periodically survey the individuals engaged in our career transition services throughout the United States to find out their opinions about specific career topics. The results are then compiled and shared through our Career Resource Network™ (CRN), so that future job seekers can benefit from knowing what others in job transition have experienced and can be prepared for what to expect in the marketplace. These results also give our customers an advantage as they prepare for upcoming recruiting challenges.
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Training Tops Job Seekers' Lists Several years ago, a majority of job seekers wanted perks such as health club memberships and a company car from their next employer. According to our recent survey of 1,680 transitioning employees and managers, today's job seekers have more practical concerns.In the current job market, job seekers are more interested in benefits that will enhance their employability or work-life balance, rather than the flashy perks that were preferred in the late '90's. Given a wish list of programs and discretionary benefits they might get from their next employer, the greatest number of today's respondents (78%) indicated they would like ongoing training opportunities, followed by flex time (73%). Employers should take heart in the new pragmatism among the workforce. When the economy rebounds and the labor market tightens, employers seeking to attract talent may find that offering benefits many job seekers want - but don't expect - is a good way to differentiate themselves from competitors. |
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Upcoming Events |
Milestones SeminarsJuly 27 - 28
August 10 - 11
August 24 - 25
September 14 - 15
September 27 - 28The Seeds of Innovation
ASTD Quarterly Program
August 19 (11:45am - 4:00pm)
Presented by Sherry Barrett
Winning PresentationsOctober 19 - 20Go to our website www.crgpros.com or contact our office 515-453-9590 for additional events and program information.To unsubscribe, reply to this message with the word REMOVE in the subject line.
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Top Leaders Use Executive Coaches | When one Des Moines-area executive was motivated to increase growth and productivity requirements, he clearly had the technical and functional skills to drive the business to new performance levels, but needed to fine tune some "people and organizational" skills in order to be as effective as the new demands required. A recent Leadership Pulse study reflects these same findings - senior leaders are lagging in their people skills and know they need help. This is true for many of today's executives who have turned to CRG Lee Hecht Harrison's Leadership Consulting/Coaching practice - customized services that provide both organizational and individual one-on-one consulting. When an LHH coach works individually with an executive, the program may begin with assessing what motivates an executive to engage in specific behaviors, where he/she has invested their primary time and resources, and what behavior changes they can make to secure greater success for themselves and their business. "Assessment allows an executive to know where they stand and their reputation in the organization," says Dick Reasons, Partner, in CRG Lee Hecht Harrison's West Des Moines office. "It provides very specific input on how that person is performing and how they can improve. However stopping at assessment doesn't address the development of the individual, and that's where the results come from." | | For an organization, CRG Lee Hecht Harrison's Leadership Consulting/Coaching is results-based. "With many companies beginning to grow after months of downsizing, investing in valued employees is more important than ever," says Reasons. "These people often need coaching or broader organizational programs to help them better adapt to organizational changes, and make quick but smart decisions to be more effective leaders in turbulent times." "Everything about the current work environment moves so quickly that it's important to be effective even though few leaders have all the answers," adds Reasons. "Making decisions quickly that return less than outstanding results can be seen as ineffective, and some organizations aren't very willing to tolerate uncertainty. There's a real concern to help people improve their decision-making and leadership capabilities before this happens." More than ever, Leadership Consulting/Coaching is also taking the place of mentoring programs in many organizations. "With executives continuously pressed for time in terms of amount of work and responsibility," says Reasons, "they have less time to mentor younger, promising executives. Today, executives have a hard enough time keeping their own heads above water." If you would like to discuss how coaching can support a leader's development, contact Dick Reasons at 453-9590 for a no-cost consultation. |
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