Hiring Trends in 2009

Posted on March 3, 2009
Filed Under baby boomer retirement, hiring trends | Leave a Comment

As a PhD in organizational dynamics and business strategies consultant for more than 30 years, I have been doing a lot of research around hiring/employment trends and the effects of baby boomers retiring at rapid rates.

As the baby-boomer generation is entering retirement, corporations are losing valuable knowledge at a faster rate than their mentorship or talent development programs can compensate for. This knowledge gap is presenting businesses with a growing challenge of how to maintain the top expertise and strategy development they need to be competitive when their talent pools are too small are not developed enough to replace the expertise leaving their corporations in record numbers.

The economy is also forcing many businesses to downsize and cut staff by large numbers. Businesses need the expertise to manage high level operations and strategy, but can’t afford to maintain a large staff of executives and support networks in this uncertain economy.

In addition, the economy has forced many retired professionals to continue working. So, what are employers doing to manage shrinking funds and address vacancies in expertise? One of the trends we are seeing is the increase in consulting and contract positions that both provide the flexibility that seasoned professionals and retired consultants are looking for and that also give businesses the expertise they need to operate effectively despite cutbacks. CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson recently wrote a great article describing this and six other trends in hiring to look out for in 2009:

Trend No. 1: Bigger paychecks
Despite the fact that many employers are looking for ways to cut costs, they don’t anticipate trimming salaries as a way to do so. Sixty-six percent of employers plan to increase pay for existing employees and one third of hiring managers estimate increasing salaries on initial offers to new employees in 2009.

Trend No. 2: Flexible work arrangements
Companies are catching on to the flexible work arrangements that allow employees more freedom in the office. Thirty-one percent of employers say they plan to provide the following options for workers in 2009: alternate schedules (70 percent); telecommuting (48 percent); compressed workweeks (40 days); summer hours (19 percent); job sharing (13 percent); and sabbaticals (7 percent).

Trend No. 3: Green jobs
Employers have tried to gain traction using environmentally friendly policies for a while and the New Year shows more of the same. Last year, one-in-ten hiring managers added “green jobs,” which are environmentally conscious positions, compared to 13 percent of employers who plan to add them in 2009.

Trend No. 4: Recruitment tools
As employers slow down on hiring, recruitment budgets shrink as well. As a result, more employers are using the Internet as an employment medium. Twenty-three percent of employers say that although their hiring budgets will decrease in 2009, they will spend money on the following staffing vehicles: online recruitment sites (19 percent); newspaper classifieds (15 percent); career fairs (12 percent); staffing firms and recruiters (12 percent); and social networking sites (7 percent).

Trend No. 5: Retaining retirees
Though baby boomers are approaching retirement age, many are continuing to work — both out of desire and necessity. Employers are looking at ways to retain these workers; 17 percent say they will likely rehire retirees from other companies in 2009 and 12 percent plan to offer incentives for baby boomers to stay on with the company longer.

Trend No. 6: Diversity recruitment
Hiring managers will also focus recruitment efforts on employing diverse workers. Employers said they plan to hire Hispanic, African American and mature workers aggressively in 2009. Eighty-eight percent of companies say they will continue to recruit bilingual candidates, as well.

Trend No. 7: Freelance or contract hiring
To continue their cost-cutting efforts, employers are using freelance or contract workers to help support their businesses. Twenty-eight percent of hiring managers expect to utilize these workers in 2009.

Read the full article: “7 Hiring Trends to Follow in 2009“. The market is full of seasoned, expert professionals looking for career opportunities that will both enable them to apply their specific expertise and also find jobs that will fit their “second career” and future retirement goals. Now is the perfect time for these candidates to find work that fits their needs, as many companies are realizing the best way to maintain the expertise they need is by providing flexible working arrangements and by hiring professional consultants to fill their expertise vacancies.

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