| HR Execs Feel the Pinch Of the Slowing Economy |
Following an abrupt about-face in U.S. corporate hiring trends, demand is low in human-resources for all but the highest-level executives. To professionals who work on the front lines of employment issues and have their fingers firmly on the pulse of job trends, this news likely comes as no surprise.
Available job opportunities for most HR professionals began declining at the start of the year when many companies made significant staffing cuts to prepare for slower economic times, according to executive recruiters. Now, when companies hire in this field, it's usually only at the most senior levels or to fill in positions considered essential, slumping economy or no.
For example, A.T. Kearney Executive Search, an executive-search firm based in Chicago, recently recruited a vice president of human resources for a service company with $3 billion in annual revenues. Reporting directly to the chief executive officer, the executive oversees all the company's HR activity, including union negotiations, recruiting, retention, compensation, benefits and workforce issues related to mergers and acquisitions. The new VP will also advise line management concerning various business strategies, which requires a keen sense of business management.
The candidate who won the job has more than 12 years of experience in human resources, a proven track record as a partner to line management, a profit-and-loss orientation and strong communication, leadership and interpersonal skills, according to Frank Smeekes, a vice president at A.T. Kearney. He'll pocket an annual base salary of $250,000, plus an annual bonus that could bring his total annual compensation to near $500,000.
"It’s a high-risk, high-reward position and his high compensation is based largely upon meeting specific targets set by the company, along with the fact that it’s located in a larger, metropolitan city," says Mr. Smeekes. The search took about three months, which Mr. Smeekes says is more a reflection of the company’s timeframe for hiring than any specific job-market trends.
In another recent search that's typical of today's job market, A.T. Kearney placed a vice president of human resources for a division of a $2 billion company in a rural region of the U.S. Mr. Smeekes says the successful candidate had more than 12 years of experience and strong communications, leadership and interpersonal skills, as well as a background in manufacturing and company restructurings. He's earning a $175,000 annual base salary, plus bonus and equity.
Recruiters are hard-pressed to identify specific groups of employers that are hiring more than others or where opportunities are most abundant for job hunters. There's "no rhyme or reason to why someone might land a job in one place or another at this time," says Mark Haering, manager of operations at search firm MRI of Indianapolis.
He's currently conducting a search for a director of human resources for a large publishing company. The executive will work at a division level, in charge of human resources for 10 printing plants. The company seeks someone with good communication and leadership skills and 10 to 12 years of human-resources experience, with at least five in a union-centered, manufacturing setting. The director will earn an annual base salary of $105,000, plus bonus.
One Executive's Search
Stephen Gotsch, a human-resources executive in Fort Wayne, Ind., with 30 years' experience, is optimistic that his extensive background and qualifications will enable him to find another job soon. Formerly a senior vice president of human resources and administrative services, he was downsized following the acquisition earlier this year of his employer, a medical malpractice insurance company. He'd seen the writing on the wall and was already two months into his new job search when his position was eliminated in May.
So far, he’s been on eight interviews and has yet to receive a job offer. Mr. Gotsch acknowledges that the job market for senior human-resources professionals is tight.
"The oversupply of qualified candidates compared to the few available jobs has made the competition much more intense," he says.
Mr. Gotsch says companies seek candidates with experience in traditional HR administration functions, but also are asking numerous questions in interviews about how he's participated as a business partner at previous employers.
"Fortunately, I can say that I’ve played that role before, which places me within a narrow field of people who have this important qualification," he says.
Recruiters agree that HR executives are expected to play a more vital role within corporations than in the past. "Human-resource professionals aren’t in charge of just finding warm bodies to fill positions anymore, they’re expected to run their human-resource departments as profit centers that help drive the bottom line," says Charles Wilkinson, CEO of Human Resources Management Inc., a search firm in Birmingham. "These professionals need financial-management skills, strategic-planning skills and a strong understanding of the company’s business so they can work with other executives to help them achieve their individual goals."
Executive recruiters expect job opportunities for most HR professionals to remain few and far between until companies feel more comfortable with the general business outlook.
"A lot of companies are waiting for some positive signal that will spur the market on and give them the confidence to start hiring again," says Seth Harris, managing director for technology and venture for Christian & Timbers, an executive-search firm based in Cleveland. "In the meantime, they’re playing a game of wait and see." He says many companies expect to see signs of a strengthening economy toward the end of this year. "When the economy picks up again, it will unleash the demand for employees in general and companies will need human-capital experts to recruit these people," says Mr. Harris, whose office is in Boston. |
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KELLY
GATES /
Careerjournal.com |
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