Surveys Examine Outlook for Import/Export Professionals

Demand for Engineers Growing,Pushing Up Salaries, Surveys Find

The demand for engineers is growing rapidly as businesstrends have created a greater need for the position.

At the same time, the average age of an engineer is 52, ac-cording to one survey, and many more engineers are older andheaded rapidly towards retirement. Meanwhile, that survey said,there are not enough recent graduates to make up the differ-ence.

These trends are pushing up salaries for many engineers andboosting the use of bonuses, according to several surveys.

There are more projects that require the skill and knowledgeof an engineer, Richard Zambrecca, president of Randstad Engi-neering, told Bloomberg BNA. Graduation rates of engineershave increased slightly but not enough to replace baby boomers,he said.

IN THIS ISSUE

Demand for EngineersGrowing, Pushing UpSalaries, Surveys Find ...... 1

Surveys Find CompaniesStruggle to Find CriticalTalent............................. 6

Calendar ....................... 7

Compensation Strategies:Consultants Advise aCoaching Culture toImprove Performance .... 10

Surveys Examine Outlookfor Import/ExportProfessionals................. 12

Surveys Report More Pay,Demand for IT Help DeskProfessionals................. 13

News Briefs .................. 16

EBRI Survey ReportsMost Workers SatisfiedBut Want Change in Mixof Benefits and Wages

Rebounding Job MarketHas Employees Lookingfor Better Opportunities,Study Says

Research ShowsHousehold Income Rosein 2014, But Not FromWage Increases

Future Issues

Studies Find Pay, Need for IT Professionals On the Rise Consultant Advises Changes in Engagement Strategies Study Examines HR and Big Data

Survey on Administrative Staff Salaries

Report Details Pay for Credit Professionals

Report on Salary Surveys

ISSUE 22-3 March 2015

The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts rapid jobgrowth for many engineering positions. Between2012 and 2022, the BLS projects the averagegrowth to be 26 percent for petroleum engineers,22 percent for biomedical engineers and 20 per-cent for civil engineers.

The last of these [civil engineers] is interesting,since the BLS may be responding to the need to re-place the countrys aging infrastructure, PatrickGlaser, director of research at McKinley Advisors,told Bloomberg BNA. McKinley Advisors supportsdata collection by the American Association of En-gineering Societies, an industry organization.

From our data, and based on economic trends,I would predict that bioengineering, and energy-related engineering disciplines will be important.These are areas that have been growing at a verygood pace, but also link to the needs of theeconomy going forward. Our statistics reflect sup-ply, Glaser said.

New graduates also in demand. The de-mand for new graduates is just as strong, accord-ing the National Association of Colleges and Em-ployers (NACE). The NACE Salary Survey foundthat employers that plan on hiring new engineer-ing graduates intend to hire 7.8 percent more thisyear. In addition, engineering majors are projectedto be the top-paid bachelor degree graduates fromthe class of 2015.

AAES tracks the number of engineering enroll-ments, the number of degrees that are awarded inengineering fields, and engineering salaries,Glaser said. Generally speaking, weve certainlyseen significant growth in the number of engineer-ing degrees that have been awarded, and this in-cludes bachelors, masters and doctorates. In par-ticular, this includes fields like aerospace, bioengi-neering, chemical, civil, environmental,mechanical, nuclear and petroleum.

There have been slightly fewer graduates in cer-tain engineering areas, such as engineering man-agement, systems, computer engineering andelectrical engineering, according to Glaser. How-ever, there has been growth in masters and doc-torates in these fields, he said. It may be a sign thatthe science has matured and the value of an ad-vanced degree in the area may pay off, he said.

Engineers confident about job security. En-gineers confidence in their job security increasedin the past year, according to the Randstad Engi-neering Employee Confidence Index, a measure ofoverall confidence among U.S. engineers. The in-dex is from an online survey, conducted by the Har-ris Poll on behalf of Randstad Engineering among116 employed U.S. engineers (ages 18 and over)in January, February and March of 2014.

The Randstad index found that 84 percent of en-gineers reported it was not likely they would losetheir job in the next 12 months, and 66 percent areconfident in their ability to find a new job. How-

2 (No. 3)

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ever, only 29 percent of engineers said they arelikely to look for a new job in the next 12 months,the survey reported.

Engineers are not that quick to change jobs, ac-cording to Zambrecca. Engineers are very muchin the drivers seat. They tend to find comfort in do-ing what theyve trained at. To get them to move, itwould have to be substantial, Zambrecca said.

The reluctance to switch positions may be whyRandstads hot jobs in demand analysis found thatthere are over 130,000 current engineering joblistings in early 2015, with an average ratio of 17candidates available per job opening. Overall, 75percent of companies say its difficult to find quali-fied people who are the right fit and it takes four tosix months to hire an engineer, according to theRandstad survey.

To fill in some of the job gaps, 84 percent ofcompanies use contingent workers for engineeringpositions, according to the Randstad engineeringsurvey.

Pay differs by title and region. Despite thedemand, salary levels have remained fairly con-stant, according to the 2014 Workplace Trendsand Salary Guide from Randstad Engineering.Salaries increased at 34 percent of organizations,while it remained about the same at 63 percent,the Randstad Engineering survey found.

The Randstad guide is based on a survey with2,000 participants and the salary data includes in-put from the Economic Research Institute (ERI).Salaries differ widely by title and region in theRandstad Engineering survey. A petroleum engi-neer earns the highest median salary across theregions, with $133,494 in Mid-Atlantic and$132,744 in the Pacific states (see Table 1).

An engineering project manager is another highearner, pulling in $114,776 in the Mid-Atlantic.

For most titles, the top-paying regions are in theMid-Atlantic and Pacific regions.

The top in-demand jobs for engineers includemechanical engineers, electrical engineers andquality engineers, according to Randstad. The de-mand outpaces the supply of mechanical engi-neers, who earn a national median salary of$83,550, according to Randstad.

Consider hiring across industries. Ratherthan offer large salary increases that might lead topay compression and pay scale distortion, compa-nies might consider using bonuses, according toZambrecca.

Organizations might also offer relocation fees,and cover cost-of-living differentials for an engi-neer moving from a low-cost to a high-cost area,for example, Zambrecca said.

Table 1Median salary for engineersby type and region

Miid-Atlaantic

MMountain West

New England

Northheast Central

Northwest Central Pacific

SouthAtlantic

Southeast Central

SouthwestCentral

Industrial enggineer $81,8555 $74,382 $79,293 $76,446 $772,728 $81,826 $77,753 $72,185 $72,5220 Qualitty manaager $108,1022 $98,684 $105,018 $100,983 $996,794 $107,373 $103,146 $96,324 $97,0777 Mechanical eengineerr $88,2444 $80,306 $85,562 $82,421 $778,596 $88,0449 $83,945 $78.07 $78,5111 Civil eengineer $82,5911 $75,064 $80,015 $77,134 $773,404 $82,5443 $78,467 $72,864 $73,2111 Electrrical enggineer $100,0099 $91,204 $97,097 $93,423 $889,387 $99,5005 $95,330 $88,898 $89,5222 Petroleum enngineer $133,4944 $121,934 $130,601 $125,044 $1220,052 $132,7444 $127,469 $119,301 $120,7668Projecct manaager $114,7766 $100,195 $108,380 $104,747 $999,526 $110,0009 $106,672 $97,796 $98,3996 Chemmical enggineer $93,6933 $85,356 $90,906 $87,517 $883,596 $93,3556 $89,221 $83,091 $83,6113 RF enngineer $87,6677 $79,772 $84,996 $81,882 $778,067 $87,4888 $83,387 $77,543 $77,9771

Source: Randstad A BNA Graphic/rssf2102

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REPORT ON SALARY SURVEYS ISSN 1067-4551 BNA March 2015

Organizations might also be able to fill positionsif they are willing to hire engineers across indus-tries, according to Zambrecca. Engineers wantvery specific things for very specific jobs. If they areout of work, theyve been pigeonholed in that in-dustry, Zambrecca said.

For example, an energy company might con-sider hiring an engineer from the automotive in-dustry, he said. What weve got to do is see whatthe foundation of their skills is, see if they canadapt to working on pipelines. Some companieshave had success doing that. Its up to the hiringmanager to take a chance. Companies dont havethe luxury of a perfect fit.

Salaries by company size. The size of a com-pany affects salary levels, along with region, ac-cording to the 2014 Salary Guide from Adecco.The guides salary figures are based on researchconducted by CareerBliss, an online career com-munity, and data submitted by both employees

and job seekers. To further validate the data, col-leagues in the Adecco nationwide branch networkreviewed the figures and compared them with lo-cal hiring and salary metrics, according to Adecco.

A process engineer, for example, earns a rangeof $56,929 to $79,758 at a small company (under$250 million in annual revenue) in the Northeast,according to the Adecco survey (see Table 2). At amedium sized firm (with $250 million to $1 billionin revenue), the pay range is $58,039 to $84,134,and the range is $59,873 to $85,595 at a largefirm (over $1 billion in revenue).

A project engineer has one of the higher payranges, running up to a range of $66,774 to$126,696 at a large company in the West, accord-ing to the Adecco survey. At a small company in theWest, the salary range is $58,712 to $120,930 fora project engineer. The project engineer preparesschedules and works in conjunction with or instead

Table 2: Salary ranges, for selected types of engineerby region and size of company

Eleectrical Enngineer

Engineeringg Technican

Designn Engineer

Mechanical Engineer

ProjectEngineer Process Engineer

Northeast

Small $559,405 $79,738 $32,969 $599,601 $55,057 $78,127 $$57,795 $81,237 $58,695 $120,1266 $56,929 $79,7558Mediium $662,452 $82,175 $35,161 $633,398 $56,619 $78,809 $$58,062 $85,095 $60,949 $124,7944 $58,039 $84,1334Largee $666,149 $85,632 $36,549 $644,951 $56,917 $80,686 $$61,688 $86,552 $65,963 $126,4299 $59,873 $85,5995Middle-Atlantic

Small $558,694 $79,216 $32,020 $588,945 $54,187 $77,037 $$57,786 $81,012 $58,528 $118,6888 $56,628 $78,8558Mediium $662,301 $81,347 $35,001 $633,334 $56,545 $77,843 $$58,058 $84,719 $59,705 $124,357 $57,177 $82,7776Largee $663,439 $82,222 $36,064 $644,074 $56,839 $79,082 $$60,169 $85,123 $64,197 $125,8355 $58,624 $85,0337Midwest

Small $556,265 $76,364 $30,963 $544,687 $50,923 $72,299 $$51,512 $74,719 $55,127 $108,2288 $51,186 $75,3991Mediium $557,016 $78,609 $32,293 $611,795 $51,397 $73,391 $$53,323 $76,179 $56,115 $108,6888 $53,117 $76,4887Largee $663,373 $78,963 $34,337 $622,260 $53,193 $75,933 $$55,557 $78,947 $57,587 $112,841 $53,362 $79,5775South

Small $554,756 $75,292 $29,663 $544,445 $49,135 $70,917 $$51,311 $72,083 $52,407 $106,1433 $49,731 $72,8555Mediium $555,461 $76,564 $32,105 $599,339 $49,726 $72,396 $$53,235 $73,609 $52,716 $108,2399 $52,079 $72,9551Largee $661,784 $76,726 $33,335 $599,441 $50,188 $73,777 $$54,422 $75,344 $55,502 $112,2022 $53,037 $74,6226West

Small $662,929 $81,363 $34,081 $611,083 $55,279 $79,182 $$58,405 $82,192 $58,712 $120,9300 $56,982 $81,1118Mediium $663,771 $82,895 $36,235 $655,415 $57,675 $79,934 $$59,857 $86,055 $61,003 $125,9922 $59,027 $84,6552Largee $667,376 $86,055 $37,012 $677,251 $57,882 $80,735 $$62,581 $87,037 $66,774 $126,6966 $59,972 $86,0333

S= unnder $2250 million in annual revennueM= $$250 million to $1 billionL= ovver $1 bbillion

Source: Adecco A BNA Graphic/rssf2103

4 (No. 3)


of a project manager, according to the Adeccoguide.

Electronic engineering survey. According tothe 2014 Engineering Salary & Opinion Surveyfrom Electronic Design, which includes responsesfrom 3,000 participants, the average total com-pensation for an engineer is $106,482, which is a1.3 percent increase from the previous year. Non-salary compensation and stock options rose 7 per-cent in 2014.

The average age of an engineer is 52, with anaverage of 27 years of experience, according tothis survey. More than half of the engineers re-sponding to the Electronic Design survey reportedbeing approached by a recruitment specialist orheadhunter in the past year.

By title, a software engineering manager earnsthe most, with a base salary of $157,611 and totalcompensation of $166,461, according to the Elec-tronic Design survey (see Table 3).

Engineering managers saw an 11 percent in-crease in pay, following a 5 percent decline theprevious year, bringing the average base salary to$121,921 and total compensation to $133,132,according to the Electronic Design survey. Operat-ing management experienced a 10 percent in-crease in pay to reach $119,740 in base salaryand $133,230 in total compensation.

Supervisory responsibilities pay off. The me-dian salary for an engineer is $62,500, accordingto data from the Engineering Workforce Commis-sion of the American Association of EngineeringSocieties (see Table 4).

With supervisory responsibility, the median sal-ary is still $62,500, but without it, the salary dropsto $55,500.

Ten years of experience brings the median sal-ary to an overall $82,500. But without supervisoryresponsibility, the median salary is $77,500, ac-cording to the Engineering Workforce Commissiondata. The data is based on a survey of thou-sands of engineers, according to EWC.

How to fill engineering spots. Companiescan fill some of the empty engineering positionswith foreign workers, but the number of work visasis limited, according to Zambrecca. Organizationsneed to get the younger population interested in

Table 3Salaries and total compensation for engineersby title

Base Salary

Total Comp

Softwwarre enngineeeringg manager $1577,611 $166,4611 Vice preesideent //VP of engineeering $1244,306 $140,1077Teechhnicaal directtor/direcctorr of eenginneerinng/R&DD/enngineeerinng maanager

$1233,822 $137,4000

Chieef enngineer//senioor engineeer/leead enggineeer/pprincippal enginneer $1177,674 $108,9611

MManufacturring//produuction mmanageer $1099,350 $117,4755

Pressident/oowneer/CEOO/other exxeccutivve mmanaagemeent $1022,735 $113,5388

Grouup leeadeer/pprojectt teamleeader/project mmanagger $1033,142 $111,2844

Systtems enngineeer/applicattionss engineer $1022,637 $111,0011

Softwwarre enngineeer $1033,570 $110,4833Depaartmmentt heaad/seection heead $988,813 $109,5422Applicattionss/syystems enngineeeringg maanagerr $999,230 $109,1500

OOtheer $888,718 $95,9455 Desiign engineeer/prrojeect engineeer/R&DD engineeer $877,030 $94,2888

Teest enggineeer $855,316 $92,4177 QQC/eevaluattion//test mmanagerr $800,600 $89,3566 MManufacturring//produuction enngineeer $800,075 $88,3900

Conssultting engiineer//scientisst $799,645 $85,9922MMemmber of techhnical staff $755,576 $81,9833

Source: Electronic Engineering A BNA Graphic/rssf2104

Table 4Salaries for engineersby experience and with and without supervisory responsibility

Mediaan saalary Overaall

With supervisory

responsibility

Non-supervisory

responsibility

Sttartinng mediann salarry $62,500 $62,5500 $55,500

5 yearrs of experriencee $67,500 $72,5500 $62,500

100 yeaars of expeeriencce $882,500 $82,5500 $77,500

155 yeaars of expeeriencce $92,500 $97,5500 $92,500

200255 yeaars of experience $105,000 $115,0000 $97,500

355+ yeears of expperiennce $115,000 $130,0000 $110,000

Source: Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Associationof Engineering Societies A BNA Graphic/rssf2105

(No. 3) 5


studying engineering, he said. We have to findthe ways to stress math and science at an earlyage, Zambrecca said.

Some companies have taken a very proactiveapproach at identifying universities that are a goodfit with their needs, according to Glaser. They ac-tively form relationships with these schools, recruitfrom them, and sometimes partner with and sup-port them, he said.

The number of engineering bachelors degreesgiven out rose by 6 percent in 2013, reaching a to-tal of 93,360, according to the American Societyfor Engineering Education. The number of degreesgiven out for civil and environmental engineeringrose 27 percent, while degrees in general engi-neering rose 20 percent, according to the ASEE.

Companies should continually evaluate howthey are attracting talent, what benefits they areproviding, and how this compares to other organi-zations, Glaser said. AAES helps to facilitate anunderstanding of this by providing statistics on the

field, but engineering companies must recognizethe level of competition in the marketplace. In ourexperience, they are sophisticated and do pay at-tention to these trends, Glaser said.For more information: Find out more about the Rand-stad Engineering Employee Confidence Index at http://engineering.randstadusa.com/.

Find the Randstad USs Hot Jobs list for 2015 at https://www.randstadusa.com/workforce360/hot-jobs-in-demand-2015/.

The 2014 Workplace Trends and Salary Guide fromRandstad Engineering can be found at https://www.randstadusa.com/staffing-and-solutions/salary-guide-2014/.

Learn more about the American Association of EngineeringSocieties at http://www.aaes.org/.

Learn more about the Engineering Workforce Commissionat http://www.ewc-online.org.

The 2014 Engineering Salary & Opinion Survey fromElectronic Design can be found at http://www.electronicdesign.com/salarysurvey.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers(NACE) Salary Survey can be found at http://www.naceweb.org.

The American Society for Engineering Education can befound at http://www.asee.org/.

Surveys Find Companies Struggle to Find Critical Talent

Despite increased competition for talent, manycompanies overlook existing employees for poten-tial development and forgo training for new hires,according to several surveys.

Companies seek to hire talent but are being veryselective, since many professionals who were un-employed during the recession may need to re-fresh their technical skills, the surveys found.

The inability to find the talent they need may behampering business development, according tothe latest Trendsetter Barometer Business Outlookfrom PricewaterhouseCoopers.

A third of companies reported they were unableto hire the talent they needed because of a skillsgap, according to the PricewaterhouseCooperssurvey. Overall, 37 percent of companies are con-cerned about finding qualified workers, up frompast surveys, Ken Esch, a partner in Pricewater-houseCoopers Private Company Services Practice,

told Bloomberg BNA. Many companies identifythe lack of qualified workers as a barrier to poten-tial growth, he said.

Organizations expect to increase headcount by1.6 percent, but it could be as high as 2.6 percentif they could find the right workers, Esch said.

We do see that companies implement sometraining programs, especially when they are un-able to find totally qualified workers. If the workershave the basic skill sets, and they put them with amentor, the new hires can contribute immediatelyto the bottom line, Esch said.

Organizations are increasing mentoring pro-grams for employees as a way to develop skill sets,particularly in the manufacturing environment, ac-cording to Esch. In this industry, skills may havestagnated among workers who were downsizedduring the recession and when offshoring becamewidespread, he said.

6 (No. 3)


http://engineering.randstadusa.com/http://engineering.randstadusa.com/https://www.randstadusa.com/workforce360/hot-jobs-in-demand-2015/ https://www.randstadusa.com/workforce360/hot-jobs-in-demand-2015/ https://www.randstadusa.com/workforce360/hot-jobs-in-demand-2015/ https://www.randstadusa.com/staffing-and-solutions/salary-guide-2014/ https://www.randstadusa.com/staffing-and-solutions/salary-guide-2014/ https://www.randstadusa.com/staffing-and-solutions/salary-guide-2014/ http://www.aaes.org/http://www.ewc-online.org http://www.electronicdesign.com/salarysurvey http://www.electronicdesign.com/salarysurvey http://www.naceweb.orghttp://www.naceweb.orghttp://www.asee.org/

As manufacturing is brought back into the U.S.,were finding there are not as many young work-ers with the necessary skills, he said.

Rapidly changing technology is another factorcausing workers skills to become outdated, ac-cording to Esch. The technology increases expo-nentially year over year. For someone out of worksince the recession, the technology has passedthem by, he said.

Most companies seek new talent. Only one-third of companies focus on developing and pro-moting employees from within, rather than seek-ing outside candidates, according to a survey ofmore than 1,200 executives and managers by theAmerican Management Association (AMA), a cor-porate training and consulting group.

The survey, Is Employee Loyalty Still Valued?,was completed Dec. 1, 2014. Respondents in-cluded 1,213 senior-level business, human re-sources, management professionals and employ-ees drawn from the AMA database of contacts.

More than half of companies say they have nopreference for hiring internal versus external can-didates, but act according to shifting businessneeds, according to the AMA survey. About a thirdsay they focus on developing and retaining currentemployees, while 11 percent expect high turnoverand recruit accordingly.

The AMA survey also found that 52 percent ofmanagers consider their employees to be less loyalthan five years ago, while 37 percent consider em-ployee loyalty to be at the same level as before. Atlarge companieswith more than 1,000employees61 percent of managers say theirworkers are less loyal than five years ago. Compa-nies are not simply overlooking their existing em-ployees, but seeking candidates who have the nec-essary skills sets, which current employees may notpossess, according to Sam Davis, vice president ofAMAs customized consulting solutions.

During the recession, many organizationsdownsized and asked remaining employees totake on additional responsibilities, whether or notthey were qualified, according to Davis. This cre-ated a lot of stress and anxiety. People were asked

Calendar

2015 Human Capital Summit. Orlando, March 31-April 2. Contact: Human Capital Institute 866-538-1909 or http://www.hci.org.

Strategic HR Conference. New York, April 23-24. Contact: The Conference Board, 212-339-0345;http://www.conference-board.org; or [email protected].

Talent Management Conference & Exposition. San Diego, April 27-29. Contact: Society for HumanResource Management, 800-283-7476 [email protected]; http://www.shrm.org.

Executive Compensation Conference. New York, May 56. Contact: The Conference Board, 212-339-0345; http://www.conference-board.org; or [email protected].

Total Rewards Conference. Minneapolis, May 18-20. Contact: WorldatWork, 877-951-9191;[email protected]; http://www.worldatwork.org.

Fundamentals of Human Resources Management. New York, June 3-5; San Francisco, June 22-24.Contact: American Management Association, 800-262-9699 http://www.amanet.org.

SHRM 2015 Annual Conference and Exposition. Las Vegas, June 28-July 1. Contact: Society for Hu-man Resource Management, 800-283-7476 [email protected]; http://www.shrm.org.

(No. 3) 7


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to do things they didnt used to do, he said. Com-panies can now hire employees with appropriateskills, he said.

Training is encouraged. The AMA encouragesits member companies to provide training to em-ployees, since it demonstrates concern about em-ployees, both current and future, Davis said. Itsone way to help with the development of theirpeople. It creates a better environment, makesthem better prepared and feel more valued, hesaid.

Providing training is more than just encourag-ing, its become almost a necessity, according toDavis. Its hard to find talent, and the cost of turn-over is astronomical, he said.

Many government agencies have an older work-force and will lose a large percentage of employ-ees over the next few years to retirement, accord-ing to Davis. Its harder for the government tohire new employees because they have to competewith the private sector. It becomes even more of animperative to develop from within, he said.

Training can also be a selling point to new hires,because it demonstrates an environment thatsconducive to career development, and can be-come a unique selling point during the recruitmentprocess, according to Davis.

Millennials entering the workforce will expectupward mobility and find training especially ap-pealing, according to Davis. Companies that are ina competitive situation for talent may have anedge if they offer training to new hires and existingemployees, he said.

Recent graduates want more training. Re-cent college graduates expected to experiencemore on-the-job training than they actually re-ceived, according to a survey from Accenture. TheAccenture 2014 College Graduate EmploymentSurvey polled 1,010 students who were graduat-ing from college in 2014, and 1,005 students whograduated from college in 2012 and 2013, tocompare the perceptions of students preparing toenter the job market with the experiences of recentgraduates already in the workforce.

Soon-to-be graduates expect to require furtherlearning, with 69 percent of 2014 graduates say-ing that they need more training or post-graduateeducation to get their desired job. The majority ofstudents (80 percent) expect their first employers toprovide them with a formal training program.However, 52 percent of students who graduatedfrom college in the past two years say they did notreceive training in their first job, the Accenture sur-vey found.

Graduates are leaving college expecting to re-ceive corporate training, but despite the skillsshortage, there is still no material movement by or-ganizations to help close the gap, David Smith,global managing director, Accenture Talent & Or-ganization at Accenture Strategy, said in a pressrelease.

Underemployed and underpaid? Nearly half(46 percent) of those who graduated in 2012 and2013 consider themselves underemployed andworking in jobs that do not require their collegedegrees, up from 41 percent of recent graduatesparticipating in last years Accenture survey.

Graduates are also not getting the salary theyhad anticipated while earning their degrees: 41percent of recent college graduates are earning$25,000 or less. Among those who were graduat-ing in 2014, 83 percent expected to earn morethan $25,000, and 43 percent expected to earnover $40,000 at their first job, according to the Ac-centure survey.

Overall, 43 percent of recent graduates saidthey were willing to compromise on salary, com-pared with 33 percent of students who were aboutto graduate.

College students are planning for their market-ability after graduation, according to Accenture:75 percent said they considered the availability ofjobs in their field when deciding a major, up from65 percent in 2012. Of the 13 percent of 2012 and2013 graduates, 41 percent believe they wouldhave had more job opportunities if they had cho-sen a different major, and 72 percent expect to re-turn to school in the next five years, according toAccenture.

8 (No. 3)


Wage growth may be on the way. Compa-nies report an expected wage increase of 2.75 per-cent for 2015, up only slightly from last year, ac-cording to the Trendsetter Barometer from Price-waterhouseCoopers.

Wage increases may still be on the low side, butthis could change in coming years as the competi-tion for talent increases, according to Esch. Wethink that some of the demand is a bit of a precur-sor to wage increases, he said.

Little training for new employees. Anotherstudy, from the Center on Education and the Work-force at Georgetown University, College is Justthe Beginning; Employers Role in the $1.1 TrillionPostsecondary Education and Training System,examined training in organizations.

The researchers included Anthony P. Carnevale,Jeff Strohl and Artem Gulish. The researchers ex-amined 2013 data from government departmentsto determine how much employers spend on train-ing employees.

Companies spent only 3 percent of their trainingbudget on employees age 24 and under, and 11percent on those 55 and older, according to thestudy. Most of the budget (86 percent) went totraining workers between the ages of 24 and 54,according to the Georgetown researchers. Also,they said, most of the business training budget isspent on college-educated workers; only 17 per-cent goes towards training workers with a high-school diploma or less.

Employers spend more on training than col-leges because people only go to college for fouryears and continue to learn at the workplace foranother 45 years. Therefore, there are a lot morestudents and a lot more years, Carnevale, the re-ports lead author said in a press release.

American postsecondary institutions, govern-ment agencies and employers spend $1.1 trillionannually on formal and informal higher educationand training, according to the Georgetown re-search.

From that $1.1 trillion, $649 billion goes to-wards formal postsecondary education and train-ing each year; colleges and universities spend$407 billion and employers spend $177 billion ofthat on formal training, the study found. Employersspend another $413 billion annually on informal,on-the-job training.

The services industry devotes the most money toformal training, at $91.6 billion, comprising 52percent of national spending on training among allbusinesses, according to the Georgetown research(see Table 1). On the other hand, the manufactur-ing field accounts for 11 percent of all workers, butspends 14 percent on formal trending.For more information: Find the Accenture 2014 Col-lege Graduate Employment Survey at http://www.accenture.com/us-en/Pages/insight-2014-accenture-college-graduate-employment-survey.aspx?c=stg_prposts_10000003&n=smc_0514.Find out more about the American Management Associa-tion at http://www.amanet.org.The Trendsetter Barometer Business Outlook from Price-waterhouseCoopers can be found at http://www.pwc.com/en_US/us/private-company-services/publications/assets/pwc-trendsetter-barometer-q4-2014.pdf.The Center on Education and the Workforce at George-town University report, College is Just the Beginning;Employers Role in the $1.1 Trillion Postsecondary Educa-tion and Training System, can be found at https://cew.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Trillion-Dollar-Training-System-.pdf.

Table 1Employer spending on formal trainingby industry sector

Employer spending on

formal training in 2013

Share of total spending

on formalemployer training

Servvicess $911.6 billionn 52%Trranspoortattion,coommunnicaation, utilitties $255.1 billionn 14%

Fiinancee, inssurance,reeal esttate $166.6 billionn 9%

WWhoolesaale aand retail trade $155.9 billionn 9%Consstruuctioon $55.8 billionn 3%MMining $22.5 billionn 1%Total $1177 billion 100%%

Esstimmatees baased on analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Sttatisticss Suurveyy of Emmployer-Prrovided Training (1995) and U.S.Ceenssus BBureeaus Currennt Populaation Survey (2013).

Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the WorkforceA BNA Graphic/rssf2110

(No. 3) 9


http://www.accenture.com/us-en/Pages/insight-2014-accenture-college-graduate-employment-survey.aspx?c=stg_prposts_10000003&n=smc_0514 http://www.accenture.com/us-en/Pages/insight-2014-accenture-college-graduate-employment-survey.aspx?c=stg_prposts_10000003&n=smc_0514 http://www.accenture.com/us-en/Pages/insight-2014-accenture-college-graduate-employment-survey.aspx?c=stg_prposts_10000003&n=smc_0514 http://www.accenture.com/us-en/Pages/insight-2014-accenture-college-graduate-employment-survey.aspx?c=stg_prposts_10000003&n=smc_0514 http://www.amanet.orghttp://www.pwc.com/en_US/us/private-company-services/publications/assets/pwc-trendsetter-barometer-q4-2014.pdfhttp://www.pwc.com/en_US/us/private-company-services/publications/assets/pwc-trendsetter-barometer-q4-2014.pdfhttp://www.pwc.com/en_US/us/private-company-services/publications/assets/pwc-trendsetter-barometer-q4-2014.pdfhttps://cew.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Trillion-Dollar-Training-System-.pdfhttps://cew.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Trillion-Dollar-Training-System-.pdfhttps://cew.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Trillion-Dollar-Training-System-.pdf

Consultants Advise a Coaching Culture to Improve Performance

Managers are the key to driving employee en-gagement; developing their coaching skills will goa long way toward improving engagement pro-grams and organizational performance, HeatherBackstrom, consultant at Heather Backstrom Con-sulting, told a February webinar sponsored by theHuman Capital Institute.

Theres an alignment between a culture ofcoaching and engagement. Having coaching andengagement are really critical to the success of anorganization, Backstrom said.

Among employees working in an organizationwith a strong coaching culture, 65 percent ratedthemselves as highly engaged, according to theBuilding a Coaching Culture study by the Hu-man Capital Institute and the International CoachFederation. The study is based on a survey of over500 respondents, interviews with coaching ex-perts, as well as academic journals, case studiesand white papers.

Lack of engagement is costly. The resultsshow up in the numbers: employees that are notactively engaged cost the economy an estimated$450 to $550 billion each year, according to Gal-lup research conducted in 2013, Backstrom said.

According to the HCI/ICF study, 60 percent ofrespondents from organizations with strong coach-ing cultures reported their 2013 revenue to beabove average compared to their peer group. Wesee alignment between revenue and engagementand coaching. Having a strong coaching culture isreally critical to the success of the organization,Backstrom said.

The three main barriers to implementing a suc-cessful coaching culture are lack of time, limitedability to measure return on investment and bud-getary constraints, according to the HCI/ICF study.

Another hindrance to manager coaching is nothaving compensation linked to coaching efforts,according to the HCI/ICF study. In addition, 27percent of companies dont evaluate the effective-ness of coaching, the study found. Among thosethat do, 58 percent rely on employee feedback and42 percent rely on feedback from the manager.

Defining engagement is a first step. Compa-nies need to understand what engagement is, soone of the first steps is simply to define it, RachelKaru, founder of EAE Development, a professionalcareer development consulting firm, told the webi-nar.

There are two perspectives of engagement: or-ganizational engagement and individual engage-ment, Karu said. Organizational engagement is apractice that aligns teams and individuals so theydo work that supports the organizational structuresand processes, she said. Employee engagementoccurs when they are aligned with the companysmission and work and are willing to do what isnecessary to be successful, she added.

The desired outcome for engagement is three-fold, according to Karu: to retain top talent,achieve desired organizational results and suc-cessfully brand the company to be an employer ofchoice.

Managers keys to engagement. Engage-ment really impacts every part of the employeeslife cycle, and research shows that the manager iscritical to driving that employee engagement,Karu said.

Karu said there are six keys to engagement thatcompanies should expect for managers to be ableto drive engagement: (1) talent acquisition; (2) on-boarding; (3) setting expectations; (4) coaching:tactical and development; (5) feedback; and (6)performance management.

10 (No. 3)

Compensation Strategies


Two of the biggest roles that managers play areas a coach and in identifying and leveraging em-ployee strengths, according to Karu.

The manager as coach. There are many as-pects to being an effective coach, according toBackstrom. For example, a good coach asks ques-tions to help an employee work through an assign-ment or project, listens, and gives positive and de-velopmental feedback to help foster growth, Back-strom said.

Coaching also needs to be personalized to beeffective; a good manager needs to recognize em-ployees work, give credit and provide recognition,Backstrom said.

How frequently a manager works on coachingemployees also matters, the HCI/ICF study said.The survey found that 58 percent of employeesfrom a strong coaching culture said their managercoaches them daily, compared with 34 percent inother organizations.

Coaching conversations can occur during ascheduled meeting or in the moment, such aswhile passing in the hallway. Managers might alsocall, email or text employees to discuss matters,Backstrom said.

Few companies provide training. Many man-agers have received little training in coaching em-

ployees; 51 percent received less than 30 hours ofinformal coach training and 22 percent receivedno training at all. according to the HCI/ICF study.

Without training managers in coaching,theres a risk of a significant impact on the bot-tom line of the organization, Backstrom said.

Among companies that identified as having astrong coaching culture, nearly 17 percent providemanagers with more than 50 hours of coach train-ing, and 19 percent offer between 30 and 60 hoursof coach training, according to the HCI/ICF study.

When asked what the key prerequisites are formanager/leaders using coaching skills, demon-strated emotional and social intelligence and lead-ership ability topped the list, according to the HCI/ICF study (see Table 1).

Lower on the must-have list is whether or notthese managers/leaders have received coach-specific training, either informally or through anaccredited program.For more information: Learn more about Human Capi-tal Institute webcasts at http://www.hci.org.Building a Coaching Culture from the Human CapitalInstitute and International Coach Federation can be foundonline at http://coachingblog.lt/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2014BuildingACoachingCultureReport.pdf.

Find out more about Heather Backstrom Consulting athttp://heatherbackstrom.com/.

Find out more about RAE Development at http://www.raedevelopment.com.

Table 1What are the most important prerequisites for a manager/leader to become successful using coaching skills?

Very imporrtant Important

Neither important or unimportant Unimportant

Demonstraated emmotional//social inntelligence 70% 27% 3% n/aDemonstraated leaadershipp ability 58% 39% 3% n/aPosittive peerformance 43% 53% 3%Expeeriencee 28% 61% 7% 4%Informal cooach traaining 26% 59% 13% 3%Accreedited coach trainingg 15% 24% 39% 17%Technical sskills 10% 44% 33% 9%Educcation 9% 40% 38% 12%

Source: HCI/ICF A BNA Graphic/rssf2101

(No. 3) 11

Compensation Strategies


http://www.hci.orghttp://coachingblog.lt/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2014BuildingACoachingCultureReport.pdf http://coachingblog.lt/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2014BuildingACoachingCultureReport.pdf http://heatherbackstrom.com/http://www.raedevelopment.comhttp://www.raedevelopment.com

Surveys Examine Outlook for Import/Export Professionals

A report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics fore-cast slower-than-average job growth in theimport/export field in 2012, but this outlook ap-pears to be changing as the economy has contin-ued to improve, according to Laurel Delaney,president of GlobeTrade.com, a consulting andmarketing solutions company.

I think we will see an uptick in hiring in thisfield as the global economy improves, Delaneytold Bloomberg BNA. Technology makes it easierto hire globally as needed and allows you tobroaden your pool of exceptional candidates, shesaid.

The global hiring outlook also looks brighter be-cause the S&P 500 companies achieved more thanhalf their sales outside the U.S. in 2013, accordingto S&P Dow Jones Indices, Delaney said.

If that continues, youll see hiring numbers ona global basis start to rise, no matter what kind ofposition it is, provided it supports a companysglobal initiative, she said.

Professionals in the import/export field need tohave an interest in international matters, culturalempathy, multilingual capabilities and some inter-national experience, according to Delaney.

Salaries in selected cities. The overall aver-age salary for an import/export analyst is $71,200,according to the ERI Economic Resource InstitutesSalary Assessor (see Table 1). The ERIs Salary As-sessor includes data as compiled from availablepublished wage and salary survey sources.

In a major port city such as Los Angeles, the av-erage salary for an import/export analyst is$78,316 and the average salary for import/exportclerks is $49,689.

The overall average salary for an import/exportclerk is $45,651. The highest-paying city for bothjob titles is New York, at $82,597 for the analystand $52,262 for the clerk.

Pay by title. An import/export analyst earns amedian $52,204, according to data from Payscale(see Table 2). The pay range from Payscale com-pensation data comes from salary surveys from awide range of industries and geographic locations.The data is validated by a survey system and com-pensation data team and falls within age require-ments, according to Payscale.

Table 1Average Salary for Import/Export Analysts and Clerks in Selected U.S. Cities

Anaalyst ClerkOverall $71,2000 $45,6511 Loos Anggeless $$78,316 $499,689MMiammi $$68,057 $433,221Neww Yorrk $$82,597 $522,262Chiccagoo $$75,820 $488,185Housstonn $$69,773 $433,984El Paaso $$61,361 $388,694Phoeenixx $$68,992 $444,390Attlannta $$68,374 $433,504

Source: ERI Economic Research Institute A BNA Graphic/rssf2106

Table 2Pay for Import/Export Professionalsby Title

Immport Manager

Export Maarkets Developmment

ManaggerExportt Sales

MannagerImport/Export

AnalystImport/Export

AgentImport/Export

ClerkMediian $60,810 $64,916 $59,928 $52,204 $38,992 $35,691 Salary rangge $39,827 $86,,486 $47,344 $111,504 $337,326 $95,589 $34,784 $77,138 $28,521 $50,596 $27,145 $49,4005Bonuus $0 $9,8177 $0 $558,723 $0 $17,920 $0 $6,411 $0 $2,433 $0 $2,591Profitt shariing $1,340 $9,6696 n//a $$1,017 $5,896 $277.50 $5,000 n/a n/aTotal $40,028 $90,,197 $47,569 $141,914 $0 $37,500 $31,317 $78,344 $27,047 $49,8885 $24,013 $47,8003

Source: Payscale A BNA Graphic/rssf2107

12 (No. 3)


Import/export analyst job responsibilities in-clude arranging communications and shipmentsbetween a sales group and its customers. Theseanalysts are employed by a variety of companiesthat distribute products, according to Payscale.

The typical career path for an import/exportanalyst is to go on to the job of import manager,according to Payscale.

The median salary for an import manager is$60,810. An import manager is generally ex-pected to have at least a high-school diploma orequivalent and a minimum of five years of experi-

ence in importing and exporting, according to Pay-scale.

Most companies also require some experiencein warehouse management or another form ofmanaging experience, Payscale said.For more information: The ERI Economic Research Insti-tutes Salary Assessor desktop software reports competi-tive salary, incentive, and base compensation rangesfor over 6,100 job titles and 7,900 geographic locations inthe US and Canada when combined with the GeographicAssessor. Call 800-627-3697 or visit http://www.erieri.com.Data from Payscale.com can be found online at http://www.payscale.com.Learn more about GlobeTrade athttp://www.globetrade.com.

Surveys Report More Pay, Demand for IT Help Desk Professionals

The help desk, desktop support or service deskfield is a growing one, with substantial demand forprofessionals who can handle the technical skillsrequired for the job, according to two salary sur-veys.

The field is growing rapidly, Ivy Meadors,CEO of High Tech Solutions, a consulting firm forcall center and technical support help desk opera-tions, told Bloomberg BNA.

Meadors helped to create one of the first helpdesks for a large communications firm in 1983,and is also a co-founder of the Customer Serviceand Support Professionals (CSSP) group, a profes-sional organization.

Booming growth in help desks. The helpdesk field is growing exponentially, according toMeadors. Technology trends such as cloud comput-ing, mobility and BYOD (bring your own device)translate into a greater need for help desk profes-sionals to manager security, privacy and storagefor the organization, according to Meadors.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts the joboutlook to grow at a pace of 17 percent between2012 and 2022, which is faster than average. Thegrowth stems from the need for support services asorganizations upgrade their computer equipmentand software, according to BLS.

The help desk is needed to support the manytechnologies that businesses increasingly rely on,according to Meador. The greatest asset to anycompany is the help desk, because everyone has adevice, BYOD, and so on, and everyone needs helpwith it, Meador said.

Not enough skilled workers. Adding to thedifficulty is that there are simply not enough skilledprofessionals to fill the positions, according toMeadors. Theres a shortage of skills, especiallyin Seattle. The University of Washington is trying topump people out as fast as possible and BellevueCollege also offers classes that involve teachingspecific help desk skills, she said.

There is also a demand for help desk profession-als in the Midwest and the Northeast, with theskills as difficult to find, Meadors said. There is ademand across the nation. The help desk is hot,she said.

Several levels of technicians. Companies arefinding it difficult to find skilled professionals forhelp desk positions, according to the HDI SupportCenter Practices & Salary Report from HDI, an as-sociation for technical service and support profes-sionals. The online survey was completed by 1,369desktop support professionals representing 30 in-dustries.

(No. 3) 13


http://www.erieri.comhttp://www.erieri.comhttp://www.payscale.comhttp://www.payscale.comhttp://www.globetrade.com

To help ease the shortage, nearly a third of or-ganizations allow some of their technicians to workfrom home, the survey found.

Most desktop support teams (63 percent) in-clude more than one level of desktop support tech-nician, according to the HDI survey.

Desktop support technicians at the senior levelearn an average of $56,226 and have two moreyears of experience than those at the junior level,according to the HDI survey (see Table 1). A junior-level support technician is paid an average of$45,796.

More than half, 57 percent, of companies havededicated desktop support managers, who earn anaverage of $80,015, according to the HDI survey.

At 23 percent of firms, the desktop support man-agers also oversee other areas, such as supportcenters, network support or server support, andearn $78,820 on average, the HDI survey said.

Slightly less than half, 48 percent, of organiza-tions have directors of desktop support, who haveabout 13 years of IT support experience and arepaid $106,744.

Desktop and service desk differences. Or-ganizations are training frontline agents to handledesktop support, as well, according to the HDI sur-vey.

It found that in 2012, 59 percent of organiza-tions reported their desktop support and servicedesk teams were separate, but this dropped to 52percent in 2014, the HDI survey said.

Service desk workers typically have better com-munication skills, according to Meadors. A servicedesk will handle matters such as setting up a ser-vice call, while a help desk handles troubleshoot-ing for devices, which requires more technicalknowledge.

Help desk people dont like to talk on thephone, but they earn more for their technicalskills, Meador said.

Help desk is a first step for some. Working atthe help desk is considered by some to be a step-ping stone to working at a service desk, accordingto Meadors.

They will get certification in ITIL and want towork at the service desk, she said.

ITIL, formerly known as the Information Technol-ogy Infrastructure Library, is a set of practices for ITservice management (ITSM) that focuses on align-ing IT services with the needs of business.

It was originally developed from a set of recom-mendations by the U.K.s Governments CentralCommunications and TelecommunicationsAgency.

Companies also need to consider the cost impli-cations of the different levels of technicians, ac-cording to Meadors.

Organizations look at how much it costs to callinto the help desk, which might be $150 per call,she said. For more advanced people, it costs$300 to $500, she said.

Rising starting salaries. Projected startingsalaries for help desk positions increased as muchas 6.4 percent in 2015, according to the 2015Salary Guide from Robert Half Technology.

The salary data is based on thousands of full-time and interim placements made by Robert HalfTechnology. The salary ranges reflect starting pay,and do not include bonuses or other forms of com-pensation.

Table 1Salary ranges for desktop support professionals

Loww High AverageDediicatted DDeskktop Suppportt Maanagger $770,090 $88,773 $80,015

Distrribuuted Dessktop Suppportt Maanagger $666,440 $89,171 $78,820

Direcctorr $996,155 $123,237 $106,744 Suppportt Tecchniccian $441,175 $62,642 $51,060Juunioor-LLevel Suppportt Tecchniccian $338,987 $54,919 $45,796

Seniior-LLeveel Suppportt Tecchniccian $447,640 $66,709 $56,226

Suppportt Teaam LLead $556,263 $73,671 $64,369

Source: HDI A BNA Graphic/rssf2108

14 (No. 3)


For a help desk tier 3 professional, the salaryrange rose 6.4 percent to reach $55,250 to$74,000 (see Table 2).

Help desk personnel need problem-solving,communication and interpersonal skills, alongwith patience and a customer-friendly attitude, ac-cording ot the Robert Half Technology guide. Theyalso need a strong technical understanding of thevarious hardware, software and networking sys-tems being supported, the guide said.

Tiers of help desk professionals. A tier 1 helpdesk professional has less than two years of expe-rience and may require an associates degree orcoursework at a technical school, according to theguide. This level takes initial phone or email enqui-ries and handles relatively simple issues, and earnsbetween $34,000 and $47,250.

Tier 2 positions require two to four years of workexperience and may require a bachelors degreeor a two-year degree plus experience, according tothe Robert Half Technology guide. This level re-solves more complex issues, and earns a range of$43,750 to $58,000, which is up 5.4 percent fromthe previous year.

Tier 3 professionals tend to require four or moreyears of help desk experience, a bachelors degreein computer science or related field and/or a pro-fessional certification, such as HDIs Customer Ser-vice Representative or Support Center Analyst or

the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE)designation, the guide said.For more information: Find out more about High TechHigh Touch Solutions at http://www.hthts.com.

Learn more about Customer Service and Support Profes-sionals (CSSP) at http://www.hthts.com/cssp.htm.

The HDI Support Center Practices & Salary Report: canbe found at http://www.thinkhdi.com/topics/research/support-center-reports.aspx.

The 2015 Salary Guide from Robert Half Technology canbe found at http://www.roberthalf.com/technology/it-salary-center.

Table 2Salary ranges for technical services, help desk and technical support positionsby title

2014 2015 % changeManaager $ 76,500$109,0000 $ 80,500 $114,750 5.3%Deskktop Suupport Analyst $ 49,750$ 73,0000 $ 52,000 $ 77,000 5.1%Systeems AAdministtrator $ 62,250$ 96,500 $ 65,750 $100,500 4.7%Systeems Engineer $ 776,750$111,2250 $ 80,250 $117,500 5.2%Messsagingg Adminnistrator $ 68,500$ 99,750 $ 72,500$105,000 5.5%Help Desk Tier 3 $ 53,000$ 68,500 $ 55,250 $ 74,000 6.4%Help Desk Tier 2 $ 42,000$ 54,5500 $ 43,750 $ 58,000 5.4%Help Desk Tier 1 $ 33,000$ 44,250 $ 34,000 $ 47,250 5.2%Instructor//Trainerr $ 52,250$ 83,0000 $ 54,250 $ 87,250 4.6%PC Teechniccian $ 32,250$ 47,5500 $ 33,750 $ 49,750 4.7%Businness CContinuuity Analyyst $ 87,750 $125,0000 $ 92,500 $132,250 5.6%

Source: Robert Half Technology A BNA Graphic/rssf2109

BBNAs HR Benchmarks Survey!

Bloomberg BNA cordially invites you totake part in our highly respected annual HRBenchmarks Survey. In exchange for yourvaluable time and insight, we will bepleased to send you a complimentary elec-tronic copy of the full survey report, HR De-partment Benchmarks and Analysis 2015-2016, as well as electronic copies ofBloomberg BNAs reports on 2015 Thanks-giving Holiday Practices and 2015 Year-End Holiday Practices.

To take part in the survey, please fill it outonline at https://bna.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3gTPMwNd09zkf0p byMarch 6, 2015.

(No. 3) 15


http://www.hthts.comhttp://www.hthts.com/cssp.htmhttp://www.thinkhdi.com/topics/research/support-center-reports.aspxhttp://www.thinkhdi.com/topics/research/support-center-reports.aspxhttp://www.roberthalf.com/technology/it-salary-centerhttp://www.roberthalf.com/technology/it-salary-centerhttps://bna.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3gTPMwNd09zkf0phttps://bna.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3gTPMwNd09zkf0p

EBRI Survey Reports Most Workers SatisfiedBut Want Change in Mix of Benefits and Wages

The majority of workers are satisfied with thehealth benefits they have, but nearly one-third areinterested in changing the mix of benefits andwages they currently have through their employ-ers, according to research from Employee BenefitResearch Institute (ERBI, http://www.ebri.org).

The report, Views on Employment-BasedHealth Benefits: Findings from the 2014 Healthand Voluntary Workplace Benefits Survey, foundthat nearly 70 percent of employees say they aresatisfied for now, but 19 percent said they wouldgive up health benefits for high wages, while 12percent said they would give up wages for healthbenefits.

The report is based on data from the 2013 and2014 Health and Voluntary Workplace BenefitsSurvey conducted by EBRI and Greenwald & Asso-ciates.

The willingness to forgo health benefits for moremoney may reflect the desire for real wage growth,according to EBRI. Even so, most workers said thatbenefits remains an important criteria in choosinga job, the survey found.

Rebounding Job Market Has EmployeesLooking for Better Opportunities, Study Says

With the economic upturn spurring employeeoptimism about the job market, half of workershave their eye on a better job opportunity and 45percent would leave their current position for anew job, even if they are happy there, states thefifth annual Jobvite Job Seeker Nation Study: In-side the Mind of the Modern Job Seeker.

The Jobvite survey of 1,282 workers found 60percent currently are optimistic about job opportu-nities.

Kimberley Kasper, chief marketing officer at theSan Mateo, Calif.-based social recruiting and ap-plicant tracking software company, told BloombergBNA that knowing the modern job seekers need

for constant change, companies must be ready forhigh turnover.

She said hiring in waves or classes helps fillworkplaces with fresh talent.

Once employees are hired, accelerate the on-boarding process to make the most of the timethey do have, and encourage employees to behonest about their goals at the company, shesaid. As the modern job seeker becomes themodern job hopper, staying ahead of the curvemeans fighting turnover with a smart, savvy re-cruiting strategy.

When employees do leave, Kasper said, em-ployers should stay in close contact with thesealumni for future employment opportunities.

The study found that higher compensation re-mains a key driver of turnover: 61 percent of re-spondents said that they would leave their currentjob for higher compensation, followed by better lo-cation (42 percent), work-life balance (38 percent),health benefits (36 percent) and opportunities forgrowth (35 percent).

Research Shows Household Income RoseIn 2014, But Not From Wage Increases

Household income continues on a slow re-bound, up 3.3 percent from December 2013 toDecember 2014, the largest amount in nearlyeight years, according to analysis from Sentier Re-search (http://www.sentierresearch.com/).

A significant factor contributing to the large in-crease in median income was mainly due to fall-ing energy prices, rather than wage growth, Gor-don Green of Sentier Resarch said in a press re-lease.

The December 2014 median income of $54,417is 1.5 percent lower than the median income of$55,228 in June 2009, which is the end of the re-cent recession and beginning of the economic re-covery, and 3.2 percent lower than the median in-come of $56,237 in December 2007, when the re-cession began.

16 (No. 3)

News Briefs


http://www.ebri.orghttp://www.sentierresearch.com/

Demand for Engineers Growing, Pushing Up Salaries, Surveys FindSurveys Find Companies Struggle to Find Critical TalentCalendarConsultants Advise a Coaching Culture to Improve PerformanceSurveys Examine Outlook for Import/Export ProfessionalsSurveys Report More Pay, Demand for IT Help Desk ProfessionalsBBNAs HR Benchmarks Survey!EBRI Survey Reports Most Workers Satisfied But Want Change in Mix of Benefits and WagesRebounding Job Market Has Employees Looking for Better Opportunities, Study SaysResearch Shows Household Income Rose In 2014, But Not From Wage Increases

Documents

Surveys Examine Outlook for Import/Export Professionals