Q TIPS:
Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
Job-hunting tips from the July 21, 2003 issue of
QuintZine.
An on-going sluggish economy continues to depress corporate salary budget increases in 2003, and the projections for 2004
aren't much better, according to the Salary Budget Survey, released by WorldatWork, the association of compensation and benefits
professionals. The annual survey includes data indicating that salary increases this year will be about a half a percent lower
than what was projected last year, which is the same decreasing trend the survey revealed between 2001 and 2002, and marking the
lowest level in the survey's 30-year history. Respondents are WorldatWork members who are employed in the compensation and
benefits departments of more than 3,100 diverse companies, representing 15.8 million U.S. employees.
Read the full story.
Despite improving expectations on Wall Street, Americans still face a tight job market, according to a survey of employers
released recently. About two-thirds said they don't expect to hire any additional workers, and 9 percent plan to eliminate jobs during the
July-to-September quarter, said temporary-staffing firm Manpower Inc. Although 20 percent of employers in the survey said they plan to add
jobs, competition for work is expected to be high. Six percent are uncertain about their employment plans. The company collected the
most recent data in April during the war in Iraq and the SARS crisis, which analysts say could account for some employer pessimism.
Read the full story.
Satisfied employees are not necessarily hard working or committed to a company's bottom line performance, and a
majority of U.S. workers admit to having a low level of commitment to the job they do and the company they work for,
according to a recent employee loyalty study released by Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) Intersearch. However, the same study finds
significant room for improvement in that the best performing Fortune 500 companies are bucking this trend with significantly
higher levels of employee commitment. Workers at these companies give management higher ratings on issues of business ethics, innovation,
and competitiveness. At the same time, they report receiving higher performance evaluations, having increased their productivity, and
taken fewer days off due to sickness and personal reasons.
The TNS study surveyed 20,000 workers across 33 countries. Two thousand full-time employees were surveyed in the U.S., ranging
from corporate executives to front line and administrative employees in all industry groups. The U.S.-based employees worked for some of
this country's, and the world's, largest organizations. The study classified employees into four groups:
Ambassadors (Global 44 percent/U.S. 41 percent): The most committed -- those who are fully committed to the company and
to their work.
Company Oriented (Global 8 percent/U.S. 8 percent): The next most committed group, which includes those who are fully committed
to their company -- more so than their work and career.
Career Oriented (Global 14 percent/U.S. 20 percent): Includes those who are more interested in furthering their career and their
needs over the needs of the company.
Disengaged (Global 35 percent/U.S. 31 percent): The employee segment that no company wants, but has in abundance. They are
neither committed to their company nor to their career.
An on-going sluggish economy continues to depress corporate salary budget increases in 2003, and the projections for 2004
aren't much better, according to the Salary Budget Survey, released by WorldatWork, the association of compensation and benefits
professionals. The annual survey includes data indicating that salary increases this year will be about a half a percent lower
than what was projected last year, which is the same decreasing trend the survey revealed between 2001 and 2002, and marking the
lowest level in the survey's 30-year history. Respondents are WorldatWork members who are employed in the compensation and
benefits departments of more than 3,100 diverse companies, representing 15.8 million U.S. employees.
