Recruitment and Hiring Trends report December 2010.

1. Submitted by: Joe Jiamachello, CSAM
UNITED STATES
Top Candidates Are Moving, but Employers
Fear They Won’t Find Them Management Recruiters
of Cleveland-Southwest
Increasingly, hiring managers are finding themselves in a strange BUILDING THE HEART OF BUSINESS (TM)
quandary, feeling like the drowning man dying of thirst. Headlines (330) 273-4300, Ext. 103
every day are shouting of high unemployment, long lines at work
centers, and avalanches of resumes after every job posting. Yet,
finding top candidates remains as hard as ever. The Economy is moving
In a recent survey conducted by several MRINetwork offices, November Numbers Impressive
three out of four respondents said they were still having a hard
time finding the right candidates. One hiring manager said, “We
have too many positions open and not enough support to fill all of >The Institute of Supply Management said it’s index of
them in a timely manner.” manufacturing activity rose fore the 16th straight month
Another manager, looking further in the future noted, “Lots of >A Chinese state index of manufacturing activity rose to 55.2 in
retirements are coming up, and not a lot of people are ready. November from 54.7 in October. Any number above 50 indicates
ISSUE 11
When the economy recovers, many employees will retire, but
ISSUE 12
economic expansion. Monthly readings have stayed above that
there’s a small pool of leadership talent available – we have a number for 21 straight months.
dilemma coming up.”
Despite the efforts to fill vacancies, managers note that they are >Early reports show November hiring by small businesses added
looking beyond just filling empty seats. Less than five percent of the largest amount of workers in three years, well ahead of what
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respondents said they are only focusing their hiring on
VOLUME IV
analysts had forecast.
VOLUME IV
replacement candidates.
“This is a time in the economic cycle when employers are able to Notable International Events
really pick up the type of impact players who will drive their
organization,” says Jack Downing, managing partner of • Ireland became the second EU member country to
WorldBridge Partners - Chicago, an MRINetwork affiliate. receive a bailout during the recession, accepting €85
“Companies are taking this opportunity to top grade their talent, billion. While the country agreed to steep austerity
and just generally increase the capabilities in their companies measures, Ireland was able to keep its competitive
even if positions aren’t open.” 12.5 percent corporate tax rate, which has been
credited for much of the country’s success in
2010
The portability of candidates, though, is a double-edged sword
attracting new businesses.
2010
and managers are frightfully aware of it. Before the recession, it
is estimated that 30 percent of top talent were looking for new
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opportunities, today as much as 70 percent are. A month after the Reserve Bank of Australia began
NOVEMBER
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raising interest rates, the country seems to have
DECEMBER
“It is difficult for us to achieve the goals we have set for our slipped into negative GDP growth with sharp
company without talented people in place,” said one manager. decreases seen in profits for construction and
financial services-based companies, according to
According to the Labor Department, the quit rate, the ratio of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
people who voluntarily leave their job in any given month
compared to the total U.S. workforce, has been steadily raises, bonuses, and promotions, overloaded employees
increasing since bottoming out late last year. As it grows, it become frustrated, eroding the corporate culture and leading to
indicates both the willingness and ability of employees to change inevitable departures. Bringing in new talent early to ease that
jobs. burden can raise morale and help retain the top talent that
already exists.
One method respondents cited to save their best employees,
strange as it may sound, is to hire someone else. Even with As one respondent put it, “Without the right people in place, we
spend a lot of time training, teaching, coaching, disciplining,
U.S. Voluntary Monthly Quit Rate hiring, and terminating. The right people make most of that go
away, as well as increasing employee engagement and
improving culture because the people fit well together.”
“It’s no real surprise that 99 percent of companies list talent
acquisition as one of their top five priorities,” notes Downing.
“What is surprising is how many holes employers see in their
hiring processes, yet leave them unfilled.”
Only 10 percent of respondents believed they have outstanding
talent acquisition processes in place. “We should have a more
dedicated effort toward recruitment and keep on track,” says
one manager. “We lose people in the process.”
Source: Labor Department

2. MALAYSIA companies in Malaysia. Access to financing through various
sovereign wealth funds may be part of the reason the World Bank
ranks Malaysia the fourth best business credit environment in the
Looking Past Oil, Country Seeks to Become world.
International Business Hub
Aiding in Malaysia’s economic stability is a ruling government, the
Stretching just a mile off the coast of Singapore is a commercial Alliance Party, which has been in power since 1973. Economic
shipping lane less than 90 feet deep, and one of the most programs have sought to foster a fertile environment for both
significant bottlenecks in global shipping. It connects China, via the businesses and for talent. Malaysian business schools are currently
Suez Canal, to Europe, and India and the Middle East to the producing some of the top business leaders in Asia. Additionally,
western coast of North America. In the 1700s, the bottleneck professionals in Malaysia almost universally speak English, making
caused what is now Malaysia to become an important waypoint in these graduates ready to enter the global stage.
the spice trade.
“For multinationals looking to open a regional office in Asia,
The spice trade doesn’t play the large role in Malaysia that it once Malaysia can be a top choice,” says K.K. “English fluency, political
did. Instead, today the country produces the modern day global stability, a low cost of living and its central location, means
commodity, oil and gas, revenues of which provided nearly 20 Malaysia is an ideal country to base either corporate offices or
percent of the government’s income in 2009. Oil output over the manufacturing operations.”
last two years, however, has begun to decline and, according to a
recent report by Malaysia’s Finance Minister, current proven oil Malaysia already plays host to manufacturing facilities for
reserves will last less than the next three decades. companies ranging from General Electric to Proctor and Gamble to
Dell Computers.
“Oil wealth has given Malaysia both tremendous growth and
stability,” says Teh Kwan Koon (K.K.) CEO of MRIWorldwide in K.K. notes, though, that the demand for Malaysian talent reaches
Malaysia. “But the government long ago recognized how limited a far beyond the country’s borders. “Graduates from Malaysian
resource it is and has put an effort into laying the groundwork for business schools are popular throughout Asia for companies
the post-oil economy.” conducting international business. They are considered to be
hardworking international professionals.”
One initiative the Malaysian government has taken is using
sovereign wealth funds to help shape the direction of the economy.
Khazanah Nasional is a US$25 billion fund with the specific
objective of investing in hi-tech, finance and infrastructure related
MISSOURI
Recession Sets Stage for a More Competitive
State While Missouri hasn’t thrived during the recession, it also hasn’t
done particularly badly. The unemployment rate, 9.3 percent, is in
Like many states in the American heartland, the recession has line with national averages. While Missouri’s GDP contracted in
forced Missouri to answer tough questions. High unemployment 2009 by 2.2 percent, that was less than half the contraction seen by
and a stagnant economy, as in the rest of the country, helped to Michigan or Nevada. A recent ranking of states’ ability to adapt to
raise the temperature of debate in the mid-term elections. the new economy showed it lagging, but lagging in the middle—
33rd, up from 35th in 2007.
One of the more contentious issues was the question of whether
municipalities—namely St. Louis and Kansas City—should have Yet, Missouri has done poorly enough for voters to give state
the ability to tax incomes earned within the city limits. Both cities leaders a mandate to make changes. And that mandate has given
imposed 1 percent income taxes on all workers, regardless of their lawmakers the will to start flirting with the third rails of Missouri
residency. Proposition A, which was voted into law in November, politics.
will be phasing those taxes out.
“If it starts to look like real changes are being made to affect the
But the election did little to bring an end to heated debates. competitiveness of Missouri, that could have a dramatic impact on
the attitude of business leaders who are stuck on the fence,” says
As posturing begins in advance of the next legislative session, new Heinz. “Positive changes could be the spark of the next phase of
battles are shaping up about how to revive the state’s economy. the state’s recovery.”
Possibilities on the table range from sweeping changes to tax
codes, to trimming tax breaks that many directly credit for job Missouri has a long track record of seeking out and attracting top
creation, to re-fighting a battle that last divided the state in the companies to relocate to the state. St. Louis is the headquarters for
mid-1970s: labor unions and the right to work. more financial services firms than anywhere else in the country,
except for New York City. The state is also taking aggressive steps
“This all comes as we are starting to feel the beginning of a to bring in new aerospace, energy and life sciences businesses.
recovery in Missouri,” says Chris Heinz, operations manager of
Westport One in St. Louis, an affiliate of MRINetwork. “We are not Heinz says, “With a diverse base of industries, a highly skilled labor
yet seeing hiring across the board, but businesses are often finding pool to staff them and the momentum for reform, Missouri is poised
that they cut their workforce more than the slowdown justified and to outpace its neighbors in the recovery.”
now those headcounts are recovering.”
Provided by MRINetwork www.MRINetwork.com | Edited by Sean Muir (215) 751-1762 Sean.Muir@MRINetwork.com