HR in Brief May 2014

Biggest Staffing Challenges

Is the recession really behind us? For many U.S. companies, the answer is no.

Fifty-eight percent of employers said that when it comes to their business, it feels like the recession is not over. Among small businesses with 50 or fewer employees, the number of employers who share this sentiment is 66 percent.

The national survey was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from Nov. 6 to Dec. 2, and included a representative sample of 2,201 hiring managers and human resource professionals across industries and company sizes.

“Many companies are still struggling to regain footing that was lost during the recession,” says Rosemary Haefner, VP/human resources at CareerBuilder. “Only 28 percent of employers reported that their business has returned to normal or is better than it was before 2007. Retention and productivity issues are top of mind as companies deal with constricting budgets, reorgs and long vacancies, and look to engage with current and potential employees in a more meaningful way.”

More than half of employers say they currently have positions for which they can’t find qualified candidates. In addition to recruiting high-skill applicants, some of the top staffing challenges companies say they are facing in 2014 include:

Good Deeds Don’t Go Unnoticed

Nice guys may finish last, but an OfficeTeam survey suggests nice companies often finish first when it comes to recruiting. More than four in 10 (42 percent) professionals said an organization’s participation in charitable activities is at least somewhat of a factor in their decision to work there.

Workers were asked, “To what extent does a company’s participation in charitable activities influence your decision to work there?” Their responses:

“Although not everyone cares about working for companies that give back to the community, the segment of the workforce that values corporate altruism can’t be ignored,” says Robert Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam. “Philanthropy programs can be a selling point when recruiting candidates and also help improve employee retention. Organizations can increase team morale and participation in charitable activities by aligning with causes that resonate with staff.”

OfficeTeam identifies five ways to incorporate philanthropic activities into your company’s workplace:

Give back. Organize a clothing, toy or food drive that benefits a nonprofit organization.

Get involved. Provide the opportunity for employees to volunteer as a group at a soup kitchen or beach cleanup. This doubles as a great team-building activity.

Show your support. Sponsor, host or participate in a charity event such as an auction or 5K run.

Chip in. Donate to causes that matter most to employees, such as disaster-relief efforts or local schools.

Match it. Consider offering a matching-gifts program that supplements workers’ charitable contributions or activities.

Top 10 New Jobs

Zumba instructor. Search engine optimization specialist. Big data analyst. These are three of the top five new jobs that did not exist 10 years ago, according to research from Canadian career site Workopolis.

“Many of today’s hottest jobs didn’t exist a decade ago,” says Kelly Dixon, president of Workopolis.

Granted, some of these jobs aren’t relevant for credit unions (how many have Yoga, Zumba or Pilates instructors on staff?). But several may be showing up on CU org charts very soon, if not already.

The top 10 jobs that didn’t exist 10 years ago but are experiencing rapid growth are:

1. online community manager;
2. mobile applications developer;
3. search engine optimization specialist;
4. sustainability expert;
5. Web content strategist;
6. elder-care services coordinator;
7. yoga/zumba/pilates instructor;
8. big data analyst;
9. privacy officer; and
10. user experience designer.