Companies Playing It Safe Leads to Employee Disengagement

According to a new BenchmarkPro survey from Compdata Surveys, 79.5% of companies have formal pay structures. The survey finds pay ranges and the average pay range adjustment for 2011 were 1.7%, up from 1.6% reported for 2010 (with a projected 1.8% for 2012); however, the length of time in which these adjustments occur is also growing. Although companies are making efforts to increase their pay rates and retain their employees, individuals are waiting longer to see these efforts put into effect, as reflected in BenchmarkPro survey results, where companies reported an average of 15.5 months since their last adjustments were made – up from 14.5 months reported in 2010, and 11.4 months in 2009.

Veteran Hiring and Assistance Increase

As companies prepare to honor our veterans on Nov. 11, many organizations are in the process of making them a part of their team. Several news releases this week indicate companies are teaming up with organizations involved with hiring transitioning veterans. Partnerships include Joining Forces and Taleo, and the National Resource Directory and SimplyHired.com. Meanwhile, realizing the benefits of veterans in the workforce, Chase is set to hire over 300 veterans on Friday.

Bonuses on the Rise – Job Cuts on the Decline

According to a new Robert Half survey, the bonus checks may be a little bigger this year. The survey finds a majority of executives expects to award the same or higher bonuses at year-end. Among companies that awarded bonuses to executives last year, 30% say they plan to give higher bonuses in 2011; only 14% expect to dole out smaller bonuses in comparison to 2010, and 53% report no change. One of the departments most likely to receive higher bonuses is human resources.

Are Recruiters Doing Social Media Right?

The latest white paper from SelectMinds, a provider of talent management technologies, finds that 86% of organizations use social media, and 72% actively engaged in some form of social recruiting. Other analysis, from Career Enlightenment, a blog by social media expert Joshua Waldman, puts that number at 89% (based on Jobvite’s “State ofSocial Recruiting Report”). Whatever the actual figure may be, social recruiting is clearly on the rise.

Turnover to Rise – As More Organizations Fail to Keep High-Potential Employees

A global average of 49% of 2,000 internal and external recruiters say they expect higher turnover going forward – whereas only 14% anticipate a decrease – according to a new survey by Right Management . As more organizations begin to see the effects of a slowly improving economy more are expecting turnover.

When taking into account the above numbers, it is important to consider the results of an AMA Enterprise survey of 562 senior managers and executives, which finds 1/4th of companies fail to keep their high-potential employees.

Employee Morale and Engagement at Risk

A recently released study from Modern Survey finds the U.S. workforce has a pessimistic outlook when it comes to work, and employee engagement has sunk to new lows: 70% of the workforce are disengaged or under engaged in their workplace environment, and 21% of workers report they are seeking new employment – with only 8% (another record low) fully engaged. According to a study conducted by Towers Watson, more U.S. companies are having difficulty attracting critical-skilled employees – with 56% of survey respondents reporting problems attracting these employees (a 28% rise from 2009), and 42% reporting difficulty attracting top-performing employees. However, this report makes note that 10% of companies are having difficulty attracting or retaining their employees generally.

Layoffs Surge, Recruiter Confidence Hits New Low

Private-sector employers added more jobs than expected in September, and one report from business leader network ExecuNet notes that 1 in 5 companies continue to hire. Yet a report from global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas notes that September planned job cuts are at 115,730, much higher than the 51,114 announced in August and even more than in September 2010 when announced cuts were only 37,151.

Finding the Fit for Those in Need

According to a new study conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the University of Phoenix titled, Life in the 21st Century Workforce: A National Perspective, 53% of employers say they face a significant challenge in recruiting non-managerial employees with the skills, training, and education their company needs – agreeing that interpersonal skills, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving are important to providing the most benefit to employers and the workforce alike.

Holiday Hiring Outlook Better?

According to a recent news release from Snagajob, a job board specializing in hourly positions, hourly hiring managers foresee a steady increase in seasonal hiring this year – compared to the last three years, edging closer to pre-recessionary hiring levels, with 51% planning on hiring this season (up 8 points since 2008). On average, each manager expects to hire 4.1 seasonal workers (including those not intending to make any hires) – a 5% increase over last year’s 3.9 workers and a 32% increase from the 3.1 workers in 2009. While this holiday period is predicted to be stronger, they’re not expecting as much employment growth as they did in 2007, when hiring averaged 5.6 workers. Among these managers, 25% believe their sales will increase while 18% believe they will fall – resulting in a projected net increase of +7%.

Compensation Is Changing

A recent news release from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) shows the economic situation continues to have an impact on benefit offerings – with a slight increase of HR professionals reporting employee benefits have been negatively affected by the economy. According to the SHRM 2011 Employee Benefits Research Report, there was a 5% year-over-year increase from 2010 (at 72%) – with nearly 77%, just over two-thirds, reporting the negative impact. This is quite relevant in terms of the employment situation. In addition, more respondents indicate offerings have decreased significantly in the past five years – with almost all benefit types seeing a decrease in offerings since the height of the recession. The only categories to see increases are Healthcare and Welfare benefits (for Prescription drug coverage) and Retirement Saving and Planning benefits (for Defined contribution plans – including Automatic enrollment, and Roth 401(k) savings plan) – with the highest rise belonging to the Roth 401 (k) savings plan from 16% in 2007 to 31% in 2011.