by Dr. Herbert C. Smith

After years of relative stability, knowledgeable workers in global organizations have begun to behave like free-agent athletes in professional sports. For the past several years, we have witnessed an increase in the number of individuals deciding to change jobs. The decision to test the market, barter their skills on the open market, and associate with new organizations has senior leaders and human resources executives scrambling for answers. Talented individuals have caused the quit rate, which measures workers’ ability to change jobs, to rise recently, and there’s no indication of a slowdown. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the quit rate reached a four-year high in September 2005.  It seems the American workforce settled down after the events of September 11, 2001.  Now, there’s a new game being played. The stakes are very high and could impact our commercial performance globally, and it bodes well for recruiters in the Talent Acquisition Championships.

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By Calvin Bruce, M.A.

“Amid the twofold pressure of pending retirement in senior executive ranks and the increasing value of intellectual capital and knowledge management, it is more necessary than ever before for organizations to plan for leadership continuity and employee advancement at all levels.”

– William Rothwell, Corporate Succession Planning

It’s commonly understood that one of the essential missions of a forward-thinking company is to preserve the corporate integrity, leadership capability, and financial resourcefulness of the organization in the event something unforeseen happens to one or more key executives. This is why, in firms of all sizes, it’s important to have “key-man insurance” in place, as well as other legal and financial instruments to maintain the continuation and well-being of the corporation. A consulting firm specializing in corporate succession planning (CSP) points out the elements of planning analysis that are especially beneficial for family-owned businesses: Business objectives, family dynamics/objectives, owner/manager estate plans, key-employee compensation, business valuation, transition financing, tax planning, estate liquidity, active/inactive family-member issues, and senior-generation retirement security.
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Increasingly, organizations that have made a serious commitment to diversity and inclusion are taking a hard look at hiring, turnover and promotion patterns, and challenging themselves with the question, “are there subtle biases operating in these decision-making processes?” Read the full story