The Executive Update

“You’re Fired: Hand Over Your Entry Card and Your LinkedIn Contacts!”

If you have ever ready any of our previous blog posts, then you know that we are huge advocates of networking, both to advance your career and to advance yourself professionally. I spotted an interesting article in Forbes today discussing who owns your LinkedIn contacts. As with most legal questions, the real answer is “it depends,” but raising the question made the hairs on my neck stand up. What if you don’t actually own the contacts you have built up on LinkedIn?

When you read the article, you realize that the issue really has to do with competition and the ill-defined corporate rules of social networking. A recent UK court ruling insisted an employee turn over his LinkedIn contacts to his former employer. Including proof he had not signed them as clients for his new company. If you are planning to change jobs or start your own operation and you are considering stealing your company’s customers, partners, and vendors, then your LinkedIn contacts may be an issue, since your contact list could be considered a company asset. As the article states:

It “highlights the tension between businesses encouraging employees to use social networking websites for work but then claiming that the contacts remain confidential information at the end of their employment,” according to the Telegraph newspaper.

While it’s unclear exactly what transpired between an employer and employee based on press reports, one thing is clear: both employers and employees need to start considering ownership of social media contacts. Paying attention to the documents you sign when you are hired – or reviewing them after the fact if need be – is becoming more important for all employees.

The U.S. courts seem to differ on some of these same issues. Recently a New York district court ruled that LinkedIn contacts could not be considered a trade secret, but again, every situation is different so it depends.

Your best defense is to get make sure the rules surrounding your use of social media are clearly spelled out with your employer. The Forbes article cites some interesting statistics from a recent DLA Piper study showing that almost 40 percent of employees have connected with a colleague or business contact on Facebook or LinkedIn, 21 percent of employers have had to discipline an employee about inappropriate social media use, and only 25 percent of companies actually have a written social media policy. Social media use in the workplace is still vaguely defined.

The rules of common sense and simple ethics certainly apply. If you use your social media outlets to steal clients from a former boss, that’s wrong and probably illegal. If your job in sales or marketing relies on your social media contacts, then a case could be made that those contacts are corporate property. However, if you above board and careful in your ethical use of social media, then you are probably in the clear.

As a precaution, you should back up your LinkedIn contacts in any case. Be sure to save your contact information in another database or file format, such as a .CSV file, in case you lose your LinkedIn contacts and have to start over.

Your best defense is a good offense. Go to your company and clarify the policy. Determine in advance who owns your online contacts. If there is a question, consider creating two social media accounts so you can continue to build your personal network of contacts. But whatever you do, make sure that you can maintain those networking contacts. They are your insurance for the future.

Sector Slump Means Looking for Greener Pastures

We all know the job market has been tough in the past few years, but some segments are suffering more than others. In a recent blog post by Lindsay Olson of Paradigm Staffing she notes that the hardest hit sectors according to a new report from Bullhorn are wholesale (down 40%), IT (down 31%), and entertainment (down 28%). There are a number of factors at work here, including the European debt crisis, a lack of confidence in Wall Street, slow recovery, and more. However, as Lindsay notes:

The major issue in unemployment is the long-term unemployment which accounts for 43 percent of the unemployed. These are people who have been out of work for at least six months and are still job seeking. Long-term unemployment means they are losing skills to keep them current with the market demands – creating a gap between the candidates’ qualifications and those the employer seeks.

Employers are seeing a flood of resumes for any given posting, many of whom are not qualified for the job they’re applying for. This is taking more time and energy than hiring has in the past.

It’s a lose/lose situation for both job hunters and employers, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better any time soon.

What’s an executive job seeker to do? Get creative! If your niche market is in a slump, look elsewhere. Determine where your skills will have the most value and peddle them into new arenas that are hiring.

Or better yet, rather than looking for a job, try looking for work. As Randy Block noted this week in our Ask the Coach call, senior executives can overcome age discrimination by looking for assignments rather than employment. Find a company that needs your services and offer your expertise as a consultant. That way you find work, the company gets the resources they need without risk, and you can open up new doors. If your current market area is flat, this strategy is a great way to build credentials in a new market that is growing.

Whatever you do, keep trying! NETSHARE has resources to help you stay focused and open new doors. And your network can help you rethink your strategy and identify new markets where you can promote your personal brand. If you aren’t getting traction in the areas you have been looking, start looking elsewhere and expand your vision. Your skills are transferrable if you know how to package them and market them.

Rethinking Retirement – Time to Give Older Workers New Options

Ageism is a topic we talk about a lot, largely because NETSHARE and Executive Update are aimed at senior executives; those professionals who have earned their credentials and are senior managers because of their experience. A common problem our members experience is they are considered too old for the job. This is a particular issue for senior executives who have to report to younger bosses – no one wants their mom or dad to work for them.

I was gratified to see an industry expert say that by forcing older executives out of the workforce, we are throwing away a valuable resource. In a recent article in CNN Money by Fortune Managing Editor Dan Roth, he quoted Hans-Paul Bürkner, CEO of Boston Consulting Group (BCG), speaking at the World Economic Forum Davos in 2010:

"We have to give people a chance in their 60s and early 70s to continue to work," he said. "We have to have different opportunities for them to expand their talents and to make the best use of their talents." As populations age in places like Europe and Japan -- a country that boasts the highest percentage of elderly in the world -- society turns top heavy, with young workers supporting the masses of retirees. Of course, economists have been warning of this for decades. Now Bürkner, who is 58, says it's time for companies to take it upon themselves to craft a solution -- and to do so for their own self interest.

According to Bürkner, when companies are hard-pressed to create new jobs, it seems foolish to phase out older employees with valuable experience and insights to retirement or to make way for younger employees. BCG studies this closely calling it “demographic risk management,” i.e. identifying holes that can open up in employee staffing in the coming months and developing strategies to fill those holes. He argues that when aging workers leave, they take with them valuable information that cannot be replaced, partly because today’s schools are not preparing students for those jobs that are being cut. As part of demographic risk management, you have to understand how staffing decisions could create gaps in corporate knowledge.

Bürkner has an interesting suggestion. Don’t force older workers to retire, but provide a “gliding path” to retirement. Instead of letting older workers go or forcing them to retire to make way for younger workers, why not let them migrate into training roles? Instead of forcing them out of work, why not adjust their hours to allow them to still contribute to the company and transfer their knowledge? As Bürkner says, Rather than saying this is the path you can go -- you are in a box and the box moves this way -- you need different paths."

Of course, this kind of shift requires a whole new way of thinking, not just on the part of management but also for the workforce. We need to change our thinking about retirement, either looking at retirement as the brass ring at the end of a life of toil, or looking at forced retirement as a penalty when you still have a lot to offer. The real objective should be giving everyone a chance to contribute in the manner they wish. It’s a matter of making sure that workers have the right role for their skills and desires, rather than forcing out older workers in favor of a new batch. There needs to be room for all.

This kind of sea change won’t happen overnight, but it would address a number of problems, including the ongoing need for companies to hire experienced talent, and the challenges facing retirees as their savings dwindle in an economic slump. Let’s stop putting the most experienced workers on the bench and instead, keep them in the game so we all come out winners.

Life Imitates Cart: What We Can Learn from Generation Z’s Shopping Habits

If you think of the concept behind the World Wide Web you realize that it’s all about connecting ideas. The Web was originally created as a collaborative tool for academics and students to share research. Today, the Web has become to the “go to” for everything, from researching the latest computer technology to buying socks. But I still love the web as a forum to share ideas and spawn new concepts, and I was inspired this last week by a short blog post on Business Insider by Lockerz CEO Kathy Savitt that notes that you can learn a lot about the future by watching Generation Z and their shopping habits:

“Above anything else, Generation Z calls their own shots – they refuse to be dictated to. Whether it be by a clothing brand, a television network or a website. In essence, they are "curating" their own experiences from fashion to entertainment to communication.  Entrepreneurs should take this to heart when building a business, enabling customers to "curate" the experience or content in some way."”

And if you have had to hire or manage Generation Z workers, you will recognize that they are curating their own careers as well. They don’t fit neatly in traditional jobs and they don’t track conventional career paths. They reinvent themselves as they go, including how they get the job done, even redefining what the job expectations should be, not necessarily what they really are.

The clash of the generations is being heard loudly in HR departments and board rooms across the land, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t learn from Generation Z. This entire generation are the next generation of customers as well as workers, and need to find a way to tap their creativity and make them curators for your company as well as their own careers. That means we need to rethink current hiring practices and criteria in order to embrace this next generation and tap their new ideas and attitudes.

It’s time to rethink our attitudes and approaches to hiring. Conventional job descriptions don’t fit like they used to, and performance metrics mean less to workers who make their own rules. We need to start finding new ways to screen candidates for creativity, adaptability, and their ability to embrace and take ownership of a position and shape it in a way that matches corporate objectives. Now more than ever, “fit” becomes critically important, since the Generation Z employee will perform better if they are adopted into the corporate family and nurtured in a way that lets them flourish; matching predefined skills to a rigid job description will prove less effective.

So keep an eye on this new generation. Just as they shape the world to suit their experiences and needs, they will be shaping your company and its hiring practice as well, whether you like it or not.

The War for Talent: Ten Years Later

The recent research by McKinsey & Company  on Making Talent a Strategic Priority highlights the challenges business is facing with regard to the talent shortage. Ten years ago McKinsey identified the problem companies are having recruiting and retaining the best talent. They labeled it the War for Talent. This latest report shows that many recruiting problems still plague companies – for example, the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) says one-third of US companies have done nothing to address the aging work force. However, the McKinsey research also offers lessons learned 10 years later.

1. Build talent across the board. When McKinsey issued its initial report on the War for Talent, the report noted that companies should focus on attracting the top players – those top 20 percent who should be given up to 40 percent more in compensation because of their contribution to the bottom line. The new report shows that you can’t neglect the steady performers – the worker bees who keep the machine humming. Adopting an inclusive recruiting and management strategy creates a vibrant workforce where everyone, including the top performers, can thrive. Some companies are even expanding their definition of workforce to encompass strategic partners and suppliers, investing in training and retention throughout the value chain.

The War for Talent: News from the Front

Here are more tidbits from the McKinsey Quarterly. Ten years ago, McKinsey launched research on The War for Talent, a phrase they coined, and it looks like things have not changed:

“Ten years after McKinsey conducted its War for Talent research, the 1997 study drawing attention to an imminent shortage of executives, the problem remains acute—and if anything has become worse. Companies face a demographic landscape dominated by the looming retirement of baby boomers in the developed world and by a dearth of young people entering the workforce in Western Europe. Meanwhile, question marks remain over the appropriateness of the talent in many emerging markets.”

Talent management has been getting more attention and as the McKinsey report states, “has moved up the boardroom agenda.” Still, the findings of this new report show that most companies still look at talent management as a tactical issue, not strategic (e.g. hiring salespeople to meet short-term goals rather than addressing long-term sales needs). And while human resources technology and processes have improved, most companies still need to rethink their HR commitment.

In Other Words, “You’re Fired!”

It’s amazing how corporations go to Orwellian lengths to obscure those two simple words – “you’re fired!” There’s clearly more than one way to lay off your staff. If you have ever been laid off/made redundant/given the old heave ho (you know what I mean), then these corporate euphemisms, complements of BusinessWeek, will amuse you. They all add up to the same thing – You’re fired!

·         "Synergy-related headcount adjustment goal"

·         "Action to simplify our organization"

·         "De-verticalization"

·         "Offboarding"

·          "Rationalizing"

·         "Surplussing"

·         "Result of a strategic review of strategies"

·         "RIF-ing"

·         "Chao youyu" (from Hong Kong: it means to have one's squid cooked)

 

Well, a skunk by any other name still stinks! Enjoy your holidays.

McKinsey Survey Predicts Shrinking Global Job Market

McKinsey & Company continues to be a source of interesting data on hiring trends. I their most recent quarterly survey on the economic and hiring outlook for September 2008, which seem optimistic in terms of the overall economic picture, despite the economic climate:

“Respondents answered this survey in early September, after commodity prices had eased and Lehman Brothers had filed for bankruptcy, but before the US government bailout of financial institutions. Despite this ongoing turmoil and a notable lack of confidence in national economies, respondents indicate that many companies have some flexibility to cope: most of those seeking external funding have so far been able to find it, respondents who predict higher inflation are also likely to report that their companies will be able to raise prices, and a majority of all executives expect the productivity of their companies to increase.”

So what does the survey say about hiring trends? Well, according to the survey almost 30 percent say they expect to shrink their workforce over the next six months (up from 18 percent a year ago). Not surprisingly, manufacturing and financial services will be hit the hardest, while energy expects to see a boom with 43 percent of executives expecting hiring to rise (see the graph). At the same time, half of the executives surveyed say productivity has increased in the last year, and two-thirds expect productivity to continue to increase so they are doing more with less.

Clearly there are growth opportunities out there, despite changes in the economic climate. Your challenge is to stay focused, build your network, and create those opportunities.