Upload
kevinflemming
View
404
Download
4
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
The 2008 Lehigh Valley Workforce Report was presented to the region\'s business community on January 28, 2008 by Kevin Flemming, President of Integrity Personnel, Inc. The 2009 report is available on www.lehighvalleyworkforce.com
Citation preview
In ThIs Issue
1 Introduction2 TheEvolutionof
aCompetitiveWorkforce&WageGap
3 PerformanceExpectations
4 HigherLearningSectors
2008Le
high
Val
ley
Wor
kfor
ce R
epor
t This report was originally presented to the Lehigh Valley business community during the GLVCC Annual Economic Outlook on January 29, 2008.
Introduction
Thestatisticsthatarecommonlyusedtomeasurethehealthofaregion’slabormarketareimportant,butlimited.Numberslikeunemployment,newjobs,and
wagegrowtharelaggingindicators.Theytelluswhathappenedyesterday,butarelesseffectiveatpredictingthefuture.
Whenyourunafirmthatlivesandbreathesworkforcestrategy–youhavetofindothermeansofanalyzingthefactorsthataffecttheavailability&affordabilityoflabor.Theseelementsincludemoresubtletrendsthatmaynotbeobviousintherawdata.
WehireemployeesforpracticallyeveryindustryintheLehighValley.Wereviewandinterviewthousandsofcandidatesperyear.Overtime,weseepatternsinthewaythatthelabormarketbehavesandobservethesubtlechangesinthedemographicsofourworkforce.Whenweseeevidenceofashiftinthemarket’sbehavior,wegobacktothedatatoseeifwecanvalidateourexperience.
Thisreporthighlightsthreesignificanttrendsinthelocalworkforceenvironmentthatimpactbusiness’abilitytohireandretainstrongemployees.
copyright 2008 INTEGRITY Personnel, Inc.
Allentown, PA
Lehigh Valley Workforce Trends
• Increasing competitiveness with
surrounding metropolitan areas
• Competition within local talent market is
producing a higher quality workforce
• Unrealized potential from the region’s
higher education sector
The evolution of a competitive workforce
Whetherthey’reawareofitornot,LehighValleybusinessesarecompetingfortalentwithemployersfromoutsideoftheValley.Fromentry-levelworkerstoexperiencedprofessionals,the
easeoftravelfromheretoNewYorkCity,Philadelphia,andNewJerseymakesourlocalworkforcehighlymobile.
Additionally,theworkforceitselfiscompetingwithawiderpoolofpeoplethaneverbefore.Sowe’veanalyzedhowthisincreasedpopulationisaffectingthequalityoflabor.
Finally,thislabormarketincludesalargelyuntappedresourceofhigh-skilltalentamongthecurrentstudentpopulation.Thistrendpointstoourfuturecompetitivenessasmuchasourcurrentchallenges.
Wage gap is shrinking
It’scommonknowledgethatawagegapexistsbetweenourmarketandthesurroundingmetropolitanareas.AnaccountantintheLehighValleymakeslessthatanaccountantdoingthe
samejobinPhiladelphiaorNewYork.
Butwe’veseenastrikingshiftinthiswagedifferential.Welookedatmeanannualsalariesforseveraloccupationsoverthepast10years,andcomparedthemacrossthreeMetropolitanStatisticalAreas:ABE;Philadelphia;andNYC.We’veobservedthatthegapbetweenthoseregionshasbeen
consistentlyshrinkingduringthisperiod.
AccountantsstillearnmoreinNYthanintheLehighValley–butthespreadissignificantlylesstodaythanitwasin1998.
We’veseenthemostdramaticmovementinthemid-leveloccupationsofadministrativeandofficeprofessionals.
2 2008
copyright 2008 INTEGRITY Personnel, Inc.
Allentown, PA
Lehigh Valley vs. NYC
• ACCOUNTANTS
• 1998 wage gap
16.95%
• 2006 wage gap
7.75%
copyright 2008 INTEGRITY Personnel, Inc.
Allentown, PA
Competitiveness with surrounding
metropolitan areas
• Mean annual salaries in LV, NYC, &
Philadelphia MSA’s
• Wage gap has been shrinking over past 10
years
• Effect seen across all labor sectors
copyright 2008 INTEGRITY Personnel, Inc.
Allentown, PA
Lehigh Valley vs. NYC
• EXECUTIVE
SECRETARIES
• 1998 wage gap
30.3%
• 2006 wage gap
11.85%
copyright 2008 INTEGRITY Personnel, Inc.
Allentown, PA
Lehigh Valley vs. NYC
• WAREHOUSE
LABORERS
• 1998 wage gap
8.63%
• 2006 wage gap
1.42%
Unskilledoccupationshavealsoexperiencedadecline.Thesearetheleastportablejobsinthemarket,whichexplainswhythegapisnotaswide.
ThisshiftmeansthatthereislessfinancialjustificationforanindividualwholivesintheLehighValleytocommutetoanothercityforwork.Itopensupthatsegmentofthepopulationtolocalemployers.
Employees entering the region are raising performance expectations
Whilethenexttrendwe’reobservingisrelatedtothewagedifferential,itisawhollydifferentforceinthelabormarket.Itwasrevealedwhenwebegantohiremoreemployeeswhosepreviousjobs
wereoutsideofthearea.TheseincludebothpeoplewhohadbeenlivingintheLehighValleywhilecommutingtoothercities,andnewarrivalstotheregion.
Theseindividualshavebroughtanentirelynewlevelofcompetitiontoourcandidatepool.Becausetheygenerallyhavemoreyearsofdirectexperience,andhaveworkedforfast-paced,competitivefirms–theseemployeeshaveexceededtheexpectationsofourLehighValleyclients.
Theeffectofthisnewgroupofemployeesonthelocallaborpoolisageneralincreaseinproductivityandoveralljobperformance.Onepieceofevidencethatweobtainedwasthroughacomprehensivesurveyofourtemporaryworkforceayearandahalfago.
Evenweweresurprisedtofindthatover62%ofourtemporaryemployeesheldaBachelorsdegreeorhigher.Theseareofficeprofessionalswhochoosetoworkintemporaryorcontractpositions.Thereasonstheychoosetemporaryworkovertraditionaljobsvary.Somestatethattheywantnewexperienceornewskills,whileotherspreferhavingflexibilityintheirworklives.
Inalllaborsectors,theinfluxofnewworkersfromNewJersey,NewYorkandelsewhereisimprovingthequalityofourlocalworkforce.
Unique higher learning sector provides new resources
Forthosesmalleremployerswhoareconcernedthattheymaybepricedoutofthisnewlabormarket–thereisopportunitytobefoundthroughtappingintoanunderutilizedpoolofnewworkers.
TheLehighValleyishometo6independentcolleges,2statecolleges,and2communitycolleges.Allcombined,theseschoolsregisterover40,000studentsperyearaccordingtoLVEDC.
Todate,therehasbeennorealcooperativeeffortonthepartoftheLehighValleybusinesscommunitytoleveragetheflockofnewgradscomingoutoftheseschoolseveryyear.Onereasonhasbeenthatnewgraduatesareoftenoverlookedforpositionsthatdon’trequireacollegedegree.Asecondreasonisthatmanyemployersoveremphasizetheneedforworkexperienceintheirhiringcriteria.
�2008
copyright 2008 INTEGRITY Personnel, Inc.
Allentown, PA
Competition within local talent
market
• More candidates entering from other
markets (like NYC & Phila.)
• Bringing education, experience &
professionalism.
• Raising performance expectations.
Therearetwoimportantconceptsthatsmallemployersshouldintegrateintheirhiringstrategies.First,inacompetitivelabormarket,thereisnosuchthingasbeingoverqualified.Theseyoungerworkersareeagertotakejobsthathavetraditionallybeenconsideredsupportorparaprofessional.
Second,themembersoftheMillennialGeneration(orGenerationY)arethemostflexibleandfastlearnerswehaveeverworkedwith.Ifemployerskeepthemchallengedandofferthemopportunitiestocontributetotheorganization,theywillbecomeproductivequickly.
Ifyouthinkyoumissedsomething–don’tworry.Youhaven’treadaboutanyofthesetrendsyet.Ourfirmhasbeenworkingwiththisforthepast18monthsbecauseit’sourresponsibilitytobeontheleadingedgeofanychangestotheworkforce.
Fortraditionalemployers,thereareeasy-to-implementtacticsavailablethatwillpreparetheirorganizationstomanagethesechangeseffectively.Byfocusingonbothretentionandpromotion,acompanycansaveenormouscostswhilemaintainingacompetitiveadvantageduringthetoughesteconomiccycles.
Webelievethatthesetrendswillcontinuefortheforeseeablefuture.TheLehighValleyworkforcewillonlybecomebetterskilledandmoreexpensiveforemployers.Byadjustingtheirrecruitmentandretentionstrategies,localcompaniescanleveragethebusinessbenefitsthatresultfromasuperiorlaborforce.
About the AuthorKevin F. Flemming is the President of INTEGRITY Personnel, Inc., a business services firm based in the Lehigh Valley, PA. Integrity delivers recruitment & staffing, business administration, and workforce planning to companies throughout the region. Mr. Flemming joined the firm in 1997 and developed its first integrated service model, blending traditional temporary staffing with complex project management services.
A Certified Staffing Professional (CSP) and graduate of DeSales University, Kevin has been a featured speaker on workforce topics for such groups as Lehigh University’s Graduate Studies program, the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, and the Manufacturers Resource Center. He has been closely involved with economic development in the Lehigh Valley since 2004, and has published several articles on the region’s economics and workforce.
� 2008
copyright 2008 INTEGRITY Personnel, Inc.
Allentown, PA
Action Items for 2008
• Retention is critical to every employer
• Benchmark your compensation levels to
current wage data
• Focus on developing your existing
employees through training & promotion
© 2008 INTEGRITY PERSONNEL, INC. Allentown, PA 610-433-3500
copyright 2008 INTEGRITY Personnel, Inc.
Allentown, PA
Unrealized potential from our own
institutions of higher education
• In 2007, region’s colleges produced over 6,000new graduates with Bachelor & Master degrees.
• Current grads are very flexible – willing to takeon entry-level positions in exchange for learningopportunities.
• There is a disconnect between LV businesscommunity and LV colleges.