Keeping 'Overqualifieds' on Board
Recruiters Say Desperate Workers in a Down Economy Now Seek Greener Pastures
Employers who snapped up top talent on the cheap in the depth of the recession should start worrying about defections, recruiters and management watchers say.Companies that continued to hire during the slump found they were able to nab talented but recently laid-off workers at bargain salaries, or into jobs for which they were overqualified. Now, as the job market slowly loosens up—and those overqualified hires become more frustrated—some of them are considering greener pastures.
"Last year, the focus was getting a job, period. Now those who had no choice before are regretting it," says Russ Riendeau, senior partner of Barrington, Ill., recruitment firm East Wing Group Inc.
More broadly, Google Inc.'s move last week to give all employees a 10% raise underscored the risk of defections among highly sought-after talent even in a weak overall job market.
Overall, turnover remains low but is inching up. When adjusted for seasonality, the percentage of total employees who voluntarily quit their jobs in September was 1.6%, up from 1.3% in September last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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"They'll be surprised when these overqualified folks get up and leave," says Peter Cappelli, management professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
Mr. Riendeau, the recruiter, says about one in five candidates who call him now say that they are trying to get back to their previous salary after having been in their current job for a year or less. Last year, fewer than one in 10 candidates said that, he says.
Over the past six months, recruiter Nick Corcodilos, who also publishes jobs advice site AsktheHeadhunter.com, has seen a "significant increase" in chatter among headhunters on his site about overqualified hires looking to improve their situations. "Employees try first to pitch for higher-level roles within their companies, but if they can't get that, they're looking elsewhere," he said. Some companies are taking pre-emptive steps.
During the downturn, Salt Lake City-based Zions Bancorp. was able to recruit candidates from the coastal banking centers, which had been difficult before, says Connie Linardakis, the company's chief human resources officer.
Now, the company is exploring the expansion of flexible work arrangements and extra time off, in part to retain those employees, she says. It also gave employees a 2.5% average merit raise this year after two years of spotty or no raises, she said.
In the last six months, officials at New York-based consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP have seen some of their clients become concerned about overqualified hires looking to move to higher-paid positions, says principal Sayed Sadjady, who runs the company's talent management practice.
Generation Gap: On Their Bosses, Millennials Happier Than Boomers
What do twenty-somethings like? Their bosses, it turns out. In a recent study, members of the so-called Millennial generation rated their managers more highly than did Generation Xers or baby boomers. Sixty-eight percent of surveyed Millennials, born between 1982 and 1996, rated their managers' overall performance "good" or "very good."Their older colleagues weren't nearly as impressed with their bosses' skills. Fifty-nine percent of Generation Xers rated their bosses' overall performance favorably, while only 55% of baby boomers did. Only 51% of boomers said their company values their contribution, while 60% of Millennials did.
In other measures, such as their boss's ability to manage people and keep commitments, respondents fell into in similar age-group patterns.
The survey, from human resources firm Kenexa, was conducted in February and March this year and included 11,000 respondents.
Brenda Kowske, research manager at Kenexa, says younger people may be more open to being managed.
"Millennials are more willing to take direction and accept authority," she says. "As we grow older, our ideas become more concrete and less flexible."
David Lewis, president and chief executive officer of OperationsInc LLC, an human resources consulting firm, says baby boomers' muted praise may also stem from being "traumatized" by the soft job market and having endured several economic downturns.
Younger employees may not be as embittered about stripped benefits or frozen salaries, he says.
The downturn also displaced many more-experienced workers, forcing some to take jobs for which they feel overqualified, he says.
"Now that companies can get seasoned, skilled workers at a fraction of the cost, many boomers are reporting to people they don't respect or who are less experienced," Mr. Lewis says. "That builds a level of anxiousness and resentment."
She can be reached at JLitvin@MicroSearchSF.com
