They may be ready to hand over the keys to the company car, but they aren’t ready to hit the links full time. For this group, a career in consulting can hold appeal, suggests a Robert Half Management Resources survey. Nearly one in three (32 per cent) chief financial officers (CFOs) surveyed said the variety and challenge of work was the number-one reason they’d consider consulting. This top response was followed by flexible schedules (17 per cent) and attractive compensation (13 per cent).

The survey was developed by Robert Half Management Resources, the world’s premier provider of senior-level accounting and finance professionals on a project and interim basis. It was conducted by an independent research firm and includes responses from 270 CFOs from a stratified random sample of Canadian companies with 20 or more employees.

CFOs were asked, “Which of the following is the most attractive aspect of a career in consulting?” Their responses:

Variety and challenge of work………………………………....32%
Flexible schedule………………………………………………..17%
Attractive compensation………..………………………………13%
Active employment………………………………………….…….11%
Ability to make decisions more autonomously…………….…….9%

“Many firms are looking for financial consultants with extensive leadership and business acumen, and a former CFO can prove to be a valuable addition,” says David King, president of Robert Half Management Resources’ Canadian operations. “Small and medium-sized businesses in particular are benefiting from the cost-effectiveness of consultant engagement for projects ranging from audit and financial reporting to IPOs and mergers/acquisitions.”

King adds, “Consulting can be an appealing career choice as professionals are often drawn to the challenge, flexibility and attractive compensation that it affords.”

Robert Half Management Resources is the premier provider of senior-level accounting and finance professionals to supplement companies’ project and interim staffing needs. The company has more than 145 locations worldwide and offers online job search services at www.roberthalfmr.com.

Follow Robert Half Canada at www.twitter.com/RobertHalf_CAN.

With the economy cautiously turning the corner, senior leaders are focused on hiring and developing talent, according to a survey of more than 450 senior executives on LinkedIn by Right Management. Ninety-four per cent of executives said talent management is a top priority for 2010. Right Management is the talent and career management expert within Manpower, the global leader in employment services.
 
The findings present good news for employees and job seekers. Employers are preparing themselves for growth opportunities as the economy rebounds and are looking for ways to enhance performance and productivity. One-third of the senior executive respondents will be hiring new talent in 2010, while 36 per cent will focus on developing current talent. Twenty per cent reported that increasing engagement is a top priority. Career development opportunities and efforts to increase engagement typically improve retention, which may explain why only 4 per cent of senior leaders indicated they would be focusing efforts on retention.
 
Leaders in finance functions are the most focused (44 per cent) on developing current talent, followed by information technology executives (36 per cent). Skills gaps were acknowledged by business development executives, as well as operations and information technology leaders, who will all be mostly focused on hiring new talent next year.
 
“Whether hiring or developing, we anticipate there will be heightened efforts for employers to assess the competencies needed to be successful in 2010 and beyond,” says George Herrmann, Right Management’s group executive vice president of the Americas. “Businesses and governments will continue to demand highly-specialized skills and behaviors. The pressure to find the right skills in the right place at the right time will increase as the working age population declines, the economy rebounds and the nature of work shifts.”
 
Herrmann advises that the most competitive companies will ensure they have an assessment process to identify competencies of their current workforce and clarify gaps. “This will streamline hiring efforts, while also creating a roadmap for precise talent development initiatives. And we know that developing talent also fosters higher levels of employee engagement. The priorities for 2010 look like a win/win for employers and employees.”

The LinkedIn survey of 461 senior executives was conducted between September 17 and October 20, 2009 in the United States, Canada and Latin America.
 
Right Management is the talent and career management expert within Manpower, a global leader in employment services. For more information, visit www.right.com. 

A new fiscal year is upon us, so we thought it might be time to ask our readers about their job tasks and salaries. While this isn't a comprehensive survey of all occupational health and safety professionals in Canada, it shows a good cross-section of our readers and the work they're paid to do. Here's what our 167 respondents had to say:

Once a year, we at COS like to check in with readers to see how their careers are going. These people represent most Canadian industries, from manufacturing to education, and from mining to health care. To get a feel for what health and safety professionals like or dislike about their jobs, we sent COS readers this latest Reader Panel survey questionnaire, entitled "Your burning issues." Here's what our 428 survey respondents had to say:

Employers that fail to address and implement policies aimed at attracting and retaining Canada’s visible minorities are not tapping into a large, dynamic pool of skilled and professional workers, believes Deborah Gillis, vice president, North America, Catalyst. In the fifth and final report of a groundbreaking research series on visible minorities in corporate Canada, Catalyst has uncovered a gap that exists between organizations’ intentions to create inclusive opportunities for its visible minority talent and career satisfaction among visible minority managers, professionals, and executives.

Catalyst research found that visible minorities had lower levels of career satisfaction than their white counterparts. They perceived that opportunities for advancement were not made fairly available, that who you know outweighs what you know, and they feel excluded from social and business networks. Perhaps most significantly, says Gillis, is their lack of access to critical relationships, such as mentors and others to champion their success and advancement.

Canadian corporations cannot afford to underutilize the nation’s diverse talent pool – especially as Canadian business faces a turbulent economy and the need to maximize and leverage the best talent from an increasingly diverse workforce.

In this final report, Career Advancement in Corporate Canada: A Focus on Visible Minorities – Diversity and Inclusion Practices, Catalyst offers concrete examples of successful talent management practices that can improve engagement and career satisfaction among visible minorities and help develop, attract, and retain key talent.

“When you consider that talent management practices, such as mentoring, employee networks and diversity training for managers, increase career satisfaction scores for visible minorities by up to 22 per cent, the ROI for Canadian businesses is clear,” says Gillis. “Still, fewer than half of the employers surveyed reported policies and practices that address the concerns of visible minorities. By following the lead of the organizations and examples in this report, Canadian businesses can take an important leap forward in their support of diversity and inclusion and ultimately strengthen their competitive position.”

“Embracing a diverse workforce is a rich part of Canada’s economic history and now is the ideal time to leverage this national competitive advantage,” said Zabeen Hirji, chief human resources officer at RBC, the lead sponsor of the study. “Canadian companies have grown by welcoming the talent and ingenuity of diverse, smart, and energetic people from all over the world. Employers who take steps to eliminate the barriers facing visible minorities not only reflect the increasingly multicultural landscape of their client base, they attract and retain the talent they need for business success.”

According to Catalyst, Canadian organizations can learn from the experience of corporations with successful diversity and talent management practices to help improve career satisfaction for visible minorities and strengthen their bottom line. Gillis notes that the report contains specific information about 11 different programs from both Canadian and international companies. These programs could provide the templates that other organizations can adapt to suit their workplaces.

To this end, Catalyst recommends:

• Incorporating diversity and inclusion considerations into talent management processes, such as recruiting and promoting practices, as RBC does with its diversity recruitment team, to offer equal opportunity to all employees seeking career advancement. Not only does RBC have specific visible minority outreach efforts, it strives for a diverse slate of candidates for senior level job openings.
• Encouraging open dialogue to address sensitive issues, including race and ethnicities. Enhancing the exposure of visible minority employees to potential mentors and champions within the organization.
• Creating an inclusive environment where managers understand and respect employees cultural differences as IBM Canada has done with its “Mindsets” manager training program.
• Introduce critical relationship networks that provide employees with access to senior-level executives and employees from other departments and backgrounds.
• Help influence business partners who implement daily talent management practices by appointing a senior-level diversity and inclusion executive as Deloitte & Touche LLP Canada has done through its Chief Diversity Officer position.

“When organizations create a more inclusive environment, they also create and retain employees who are engaged, productive, and creative – and contributing fully to the success of that organization,” concludes Gillis.

RBC is the study’s lead sponsor. Deloitte and IBM Canada are the participating sponsors. The Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration is the supporting sponsor.

A full version of the report is available at www.catalyst.org.

If top performers feel that the next rung on the career ladder appears out of reach, they may decide to move on, a new survey suggests. One-third (33 per cent) of executives interviewed said good employees are most likely to quit their jobs because of a lack of advancement opportunities. Unhappiness with management was the second most common answer, cited by 31 per cent of respondents.

The survey was developed by Robert Half International, the world's first and largest staffing services firm specializing in accounting and finance. It was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on interviews with 100 senior executives across Canada.

Executives were asked, "Which of the following is most likely to cause good employees to quit their jobs?" Their responses:

	2009	2004
Limited opportunities for advancement	33%	38%
Unhappiness with management	31%	18%
Lack of recognition	17%	25%
Inadequate salary and benefits	8%	8%
Bored with their job	6%	8%
Other/don't know	5%	3%
	100%	100%

"Helping top performers reach their professional goals is essential to retaining them," said Michael Gooley, branch manager for Robert Half International's Toronto operations. "If ambitious employees don't foresee growth potential, their companies risk losing them to other opportunities."

Gooley added, "If the current business environment is hindering the ability to offer a promotion, managers may consider rewarding high-potential employees with professional development opportunities and projects to help expand their skill sets."

Most employees who are looking for a new job will send out warning signals. Robert Half identifies the following five red flags for supervisors to be aware of:

1.  A noticeable change in attitude. A formerly enthusiastic staff member may seem withdrawn and indifferent. In addition to examining the individual's performance, look for changes in behaviour in team settings.

2.  Longer lunch breaks and frequent absences. This may be a sign that someone is using the time for job interviews. It also could indicate the person is bored with the work.

3.  Missed deadlines and increased errors. Everyone misses a deadline from time to time, but apathetic workers make it a habit - one that can throw off the efficiency of an entire department or company.
Numerous errors from a previously conscientious employee are a sign of disengagement and may signal lost interest and an impending departure.

4.  More professional attire. An employee who shows up for work wearing suits even though your company has a business casual dress policy may be going on job interviews with other firms.

5.  A drop in productivity. A decline in performance or work quality and increased forgetfulness about deadlines, meetings and appointments could indicate a worker who is gradually disconnecting from the job.

Robert Half also recently issued survey findings that show employers' greatest staffing concern is employee retention (www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2009/08/c5869.html).

Robert Half International has more than 360 staffing locations worldwide and offers online job search services at www.rhi.com.