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Filed Under: The Economy

 
June was the 30th consecutive month with a positive Executive Job Creation Index since the recession of 2008-2009. However, in June, we saw Executive Job Creation Index dip to +8, down from +24 in February, 2012.

The good news is that executive recruiters continue to see almost one in five companies planning to add executive level positions in the next six months. They also only see about 3 percent of companies planning to eliminate executive jobs over the next six months. The major dip in the index in June came about by more companies placing current searches on hold.

 

 
Confidence among executive recruiters dipped slightly in February but remained in positive territory as more of them expressed concern about the pace of corporate management hiring in the short-term.

In February, ExecuNet's benchmark Recruiter Confidence Index revealed that 51 percent of 130 responding executive recruiters indicated they were "confident" or "very confident" the executive employment market would improve in the next six months. That was down six points from January but above the important 50 percent level that historically indicates optimism for a broader expansion of the jobs market.

 

Published on: Thursday, March 01, 2012

When Your Company Has the Urge to Merge

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The economy is already a destabilizing external force, but many employees have added uncertainty when their own companies merge or acquire other businesses, or get sold. What used to be so familiar becomes unknown, and even worse, job security can disappear. When two companies become one, redundant headcount is often reduced; reorganizations occur; leadership can change; and cultures shift.

An ExecuNet member shared the difficulties his organization encountered in assimilating employees after purchasing several smaller businesses, and called upon his peer General Mangers for suggestions about how they coped in similar situations.

 

 
Confidence among executive recruiters edged up slightly in January as they projected that one in five companies will be adding executive level positions and almost six in 10 companies will selectively "trade up" their management bench strength by recruiting replacements for existing roles over the next six months. Only 1 percent of employers were expected to eliminate executive positions during the same period.

 

Published on: Thursday, December 29, 2011

Executive Job Creation Picked up in December

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The number of employers expecting to recruit for senior-executive roles over the next six months is higher than the number of employers planning to shed management jobs during the same time, according to the results of an ExecuNet December survey of 126 executive recruiters.

 

Published on: Thursday, December 01, 2011

Executive Job Creation Regains Some Momentum

Posted By: Joseph Daniel McCool
Filed Under: joseph daniel mccool, the economy, executive hiring, job creation index
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Once again, the number of companies expecting to recruit for senior-executive roles over the next six months is higher than the number of employers planning to shed management jobs during the same time, according to the results of a recent survey of 180 executive recruiters by ExecuNet.

In November, ExecuNet's benchmark Executive Job Creation Index stayed in positive territory, with companies planning to hire executives outnumbering those planning to engage in management cutbacks.

 

Published on: Wednesday, November 30, 2011

A New Era for Executives

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Whether we see the Occupy Wall Street protests as a short-term blip or a harbinger of much bigger things, the movement does make clear that a segment of the American population is angry with business — very angry. And they have a point. The 2008 credit crisis wiped billions of dollars from pensions funds, IRAs and 401Ks. More than a few Americans will have to work past retirement age to compensate for it.

What's more, that crisis wasn't a stand-alone, once-in-a-generation correction. It is part of a 30-year pattern of increasing volatility, decreasing investor returns, and ongoing bad behavior by executives. And it's getting worse. Since the turn of the 21st century, we've seen two massive value-destroying market meltdowns and a string of ethics breaches, including accounting scandals, options-backdating schemes and the subprime mortgage debacle.

 

 
Despite slowing overall economic signals, not many companies are indicating they expect to lay off executives in the next six months, and there remain pockets of hiring at the executive level — though hiring has clearly slowed from earlier in the year. Meanwhile, recruiter confidence declined for the fourth straight month to 32 percent and reached levels not seen since late 2008-early 2009 at the bottom of the last recession. This does not bode well for a near-term improvement in executive hiring.

 

 
While much of the country is focused on the health of the broader economy, one forecast of management-level job creation suggests hiring activity for top management roles may continue through year-end despite the uncertainty that has held up other corporate spending plans.

In August, 26 percent of 126 executive recruiters polled by ExecuNet reported they expect companies to leverage the economic climate over the next six months by adding new executive-level jobs.

Also, 37 percent forecasted companies will "trade up" with new hires for existing management jobs to improve leadership bench strength. Another 27 percent indicated companies would elect not to add new management jobs, while seven percent anticipated employers would choose to avoid filling current management-level vacancies. Three percent of recruiters expect companies to further cut top jobs.

 

Published on: Monday, August 01, 2011

Summer Dip in Executive Hiring

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In July, 26 percent of 154 executive recruiters polled by ExecuNet reported they expect companies to leverage the economic climate over the next six months by adding new executive-level jobs. Also, 44 percent forecasted companies will "trade up" with new hires for existing management jobs to improve leadership bench strength. Another 17 percent indicated companies would elect not to add new management jobs, while 10 percent anticipated employers would choose to avoid filling current management-level vacancies. Three percent of recruiters expect companies to further cut top jobs, up from 1 percent in June.

 

Published on: Thursday, July 07, 2011

Economic Uncertainty Slows Otherwise Encouraging Executive Job Creation

Posted By: Joseph Daniel McCool
Filed Under: joseph daniel mccool, the economy, executive hiring, executive job creation index
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Two leading indicators of projected executive job market expansion — a monthly forecast of management-level job creation and a separate reading on executive recruiter confidence — lost ground in June but continue to paint a generally positive portrait of management hiring plans over the next six months.

In June, 29 percent of 153 executive recruiters polled by ExecuNet reported they expect companies to leverage the economic climate over the next six months by adding new executive-level jobs. Also, 48 percent forecasted companies will "trade up" with new hires for existing management jobs to improve leadership bench strength. Another 15 percent indicated companies would elect not to add new management jobs, while seven percent anticipated employers would choose to avoid filling current management-level vacancies. Only 1 percent of executive recruiters expect companies to further eliminate executive jobs.

 

 
Executive job seekers and employed managers considering a career move would be wise not to put their career planning and professional networking on the shelf this summer.

Two leading indicators of projected executive job market expansion — a monthly forecast of management-level job creation and a separate reading on recruiter confidence — suggest continued hiring activity through the summer and fall. Recruiters expect 80 percent of employers to recruit for new management roles or trade up with new hires for existing roles.

 

Published on: Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Don’t Read this Headline

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In case you hadn't noticed, an economic recovery is underway. Albeit, it's slow, but business and hiring growth is occurring. For the 16th consecutive month, ExecuNet's Executive Job Creation Index posted gains, and again, recruiter confidence is high.


 

 
Our Recruiting Community at ExecuNet has been very active, so I took some notes from their recent meeting to report back what they're hearing directly from the search firms and corporate recruiters who source our executive members.

Sure, we bring you the Recruiter Confidence Index stats every month, with the most recent finding at the highest level since mid-2008, and then our company president and chief economist does the monthly video interpretation, but I wanted to find out what the recruiters have been whispering to our recruiting services team lately:

 

 
Since 2010 didn't produce an exuberant recovery, many are already pinning high hopes that the economy and job market will strengthen in 2011, and while it's still early, there are positive signals. Executive recruiters are at their highest registered confidence level since the second quarter of 2008 and fewer companies are expected to eliminate jobs, which bodes well for at least the first half of this year.

On ExecuNet TV, ExecuNet President and Chief Economist Mark Anderson revealed the story behind the stats, where to find opportunities, and how to maximize success in this new business climate. Find out what he says are the things you can do right now to start your career off right in the new year.

 

Published on: Thursday, December 23, 2010

Recruiter Confidence Extends Upward Trend

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Two-thirds of executive recruiters believe that companies will hire more management talent over the next six months despite continued pressure to contain corporate headcount.

With fewer companies slashing executive-level jobs and more of them identifying skill set needs and gaps in talent that could prevent them from achieving corporate objectives in 2011, recruiters expect companies to do more management hiring if only to replace underperforming leaders with those more qualified to tackle shifting job responsibilities.

In December, ExecuNet's benchmark Recruiter Confidence Index revealed that 66 percent of 144 responding executive recruiters are "confident" or "very confident" the executive employment market will improve over the next six months, up five points from November and the highest confidence registered since the second quarter of 2008.

 

Published on: Thursday, December 16, 2010

Why You Should Care about a CEO’s Sleep Patterns

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Like many, chief executives are tossing and turning at night, worried about the issues we identified earlier this year in our annual Executive Job Market Intelligence Report:

  1. Economic uncertainty
  2. Consistent execution of our business strategy
  3. Balancing the demands on my personal and professional life
  4. Achieving my personal work-related goals
  5. My pay will not increase

While it may be true that the higher the thread count on the sheets, the bigger the troubles, the reasons those CEOs aren't sleeping are still of consequence to you.

 

 
"Green" is evolving from a regulatory or moral requirement to a business strategy. Companies have different drivers for adopting green initiatives, but collectively we're moving toward a third era. Joel Makower, author of Strategies for the Green Economy: Opportunities and Challenges in the New World of Business, defined these eras at the 2010 World Innovation Forum, where ExecuNet exclusively reported for attendees.




  • The Compliance-Driven Era: Do no harm

  • The Environmentalism Era: Companies can do well by doing good

  • The Business Value Era: Green creates value by providing better products


 

Published on: Thursday, December 02, 2010

Rebound in Executive Job Creation Reveals Corporate Growth Plans

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ExecuNet's benchmark Executive Job Creation Index (EJCI) held positive for an eleventh consecutive month in November as executive recruiters reported employers are encouraged by improving economic indicators and plan to create more management jobs over the next six months.

The number of employers expected to add executive jobs during that time topped those planning to eliminate or postpone filling top roles by 21 points, a 12-point gain from October and a signal that more companies will recruit executive talent to rebuild their management teams and realize their 2011 strategic growth objectives.

 

 
Recruiters Confident As Small-to-Medium Sized Companies Lead Hiring

ExecuNet's benchmark Executive Job Creation Index (EJCI) held positive for a tenth consecutive month in October, as executive recruiters report employers plan to create more management jobs over the next six months.

The rate of hiring among employers expected to add executive jobs during that time outpaced those planning to eliminate or postpone filling top roles by nine points, extending a positive trend increasingly shaped by a steady increase in hiring by small-to-mid-sized companies with annual sales revenue between $11 million and $500 million.

 

 
The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the September job numbers and though the total non-farm employment (-95K) disappointed many, unemployment remained steady as a percentage (9.6 %) and there was private sector employment growth (+64K) with some revisions upward for prior months.

The environment remains "wait and see" until the election or beyond in many respects as companies stay on the side lines with plenty of cash and strong balance sheets and income statements to make a move. It remains all about business confidence.

 

 
Healthcare, High-Tech Lead Modest but Sustained Hiring Recovery

ExecuNet's benchmark Executive Job Creation Index (EJCI) held positive for a ninth consecutive month in September, reflecting the slow but continuing rebuild of many corporate management teams.

The rate of hiring among employers expected to add executive jobs in the next six months outpaced those planning to eliminate or postpone filling top roles by seven points, extending a positive trend but still weighed down by employer hesitancy to hire for top jobs.

The September Job Creation Index, based on an ExecuNet survey of 147 executive recruiters, reveals that executive recruiters anticipate 44 percent of companies will leverage the economic climate by selectively "trading up" management talent with new hires for existing executive roles, and 23 percent will add new leadership roles.

 

 
Management Hiring Expected to Remain Steady until Fall Elections

Executive recruiters report the management employment marketplace is showing improvements in certain sectors of hiring activity but is also marked by lingering employer hesitancy about investing in new projects and leaders ahead of a more convincing economic recovery and the fall elections.

Signs of business reinvestment and increased executive hiring in select industry segments such as healthcare, technology and life sciences, and for management roles in sales, business development, engineering and marketing reveal no immediate indication of a "double dip" in economic growth.

In September, ExecuNet's benchmark Recruiter Confidence Index found that 50 percent of 147 responding executive recruiters are "confident" or "very confident" the executive employment market will improve over the next six months, up four points from August.

 

 
ExecuNet's Executive Job Creation Index (EJCI) dropped seven points in August, reflecting slower business hiring activity anticipated in the next six months. However, the rate of hiring among those who expect to add executive jobs in the next six months outpaced those planning to eliminate or postpone filling top positions by four points, reflecting a positive — if cautious — hiring trend.

The August EJCI data, based on an ExecuNet survey of 181 executive recruiters, revealed that executive recruiters anticipate 53 percent of companies will leverage the economic climate by selectively "trading up" management talent with new hires for existing executive roles, and 20 percent will add new leadership roles.

 

 
Slower hiring by companies – even when they have vacant leadership roles – has dampened executive recruiters' confidence in overall management hiring activity through the end of the year.

In August, ExecuNet's benchmark Recruiter Confidence Index revealed that 46 percent of 181 responding executive recruiters are "confident" or "very confident" the executive employment market will improve over the next six months, down four points from July and the first index reading below 50 percent since October 2009.

 

 
Executive-level hiring forecast by US recruiters remained positive for the seventh consecutive month, with companies expected to add more management jobs than they plan to eliminate in the next six months, according to ExecuNet's July Executive Job Creation Index.

"As job creation continues at a slow and steady pace, the real story is in the amount of quiet hiring going on," noted ExecuNet President and Chief Economist Mark Anderson. "The hidden job market is growing. Half of the hiring reflected in the survey is to replace or upgrade existing roles to fit new corporate growth strategies and talent needs."

 

 
Slow but steady hiring for executive management continues to move some US employers closer to their strategic goals, but lingering economic uncertainty is tempering executive recruiters' confidence that the pace of job growth will accelerate over the next six months.

In July, ExecuNet's benchmark Recruiter Confidence Index revealed that 50 percent of 163 responding executive recruiters are "confident" or "very confident" the executive employment market will improve over the next six months — down from 58 percent in June and a 2010 high of 65 percent in May.

 

Published on: Thursday, July 08, 2010

Slow but Steady

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Listening to the media's analysis of the job reports last Friday, where 125,000 jobs were lost in the economy, reminded me of the old story about the pessimist and the optimist and the glass filled only to the mid-point. Is it "half-empty" as the pessimist would call it or "half-full" as the optimist would?

Pessimists read into the employment numbers, as one Wall Street Journal headline did, that the number just passed "the crash test" — meaning that the numbers were barely encouraging except for those looking for a "double dip" in the economy.

Optimists saw "steady but slow" growth in private sector employment over the past six to nine months, and the wow for them was how much better things were than last year, even as recently as last fall.

 

Published on: Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Not a Hockey Stick, but the Curve is Good

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One of the downsides of the information age is that there is information — way too much of it. Especially when you are trying to follow people on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and oh yeah, newspapers, TV news, and iPhone alerts. My problem is that I look at the subject lines, and see so much interesting stuff that the next thing I know I am further and further behind the tasks that I really ought to be doing. I need to talk to someone who is in the self-discipline business!

 

 
Executive management hiring predicted by US recruiters softened in June but extended a positive trend line, as companies expect to add more executive jobs than they plan to eliminate during the next six months, according to ExecuNet's June Executive Job Creation Index.

 

Published on: Wednesday, June 30, 2010

The G-20s Can’t Go it Alone and Neither Can You

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In Toronto, the G-20 summit just ended with the developing countries challenged to stimulate their economies while controlling government expenditures, focus on creating jobs and preserving a sustainable future.

With many cross currents, an executive job search, or managing one's career, parallels those challenges the G-20 faces in terms of complexity and uncertainty.

Business is changing rapidly, and monitoring market trends and managing a career or a job change in this uncertain environment requires a plan, constant feedback and interim course corrections to continue to move forward toward achieving your goals. You can't be an ostrich today and hope all the bad news will pass you by while you remain unscathed. Nor, can you sit and wait for the perfect job to appear on some job board.

 

 
Executive recruiters' optimism about growth in the executive employment market over the next six months softened slightly in June, but their confidence in management hiring plans in the short-term hit a two-year high.

In June, ExecuNet's benchmark Recruiter Confidence Index revealed that 58 percent of 174 responding executive recruiters are "confident" or "very confident" the executive employment market will improve over the next six months, down from 65 percent in May.

But confidence about the continued growth of the executive employment market over the next three months reached a two-year high in June, hitting 51 percent.

 

Published on: Monday, June 14, 2010

Some Underpinnings for a Positive Market Tone

Posted By: Mark Anderson
Filed Under: leadership, mark anderson, the economy, innovation, strategy, expert insight
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We saw a great deal in the media about the threat of a "double dip" in our economy.

Bernanke's remarks before Congress this week, expecting 3 percent growth for the rest of this year into 2011, shows we continue to be in a slow growth environment with lots of "noise" but probably not a "double dip."

Anecdotal evidence we received this week also suggests a positive outlook. A team of ExecuNetters covered the HSM's World Innovation Forum that was held in NYC this week. They reported that the world actually was alive and well and returning to basics. With over 900 attendees, the attendance was at an all-time high — more than doubling the prior year. The vibrancy of the discussions and this increased attendance really speak volumes about how business has refocused on innovation and growth — after a hiatus.

 

Published on: Friday, June 11, 2010

Don’t Lose Your Perspective with Last Week’s Employment Numbers…

Posted By: Mark Anderson
Filed Under: mark anderson, the economy
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The release of the US employment numbers last Friday (6/4) disappointed the stock market and media pundits but should not be seen as totally disappointing in terms of long-term trends.

Executive jobs are being created (over 30 percent of companies we survey say they are adding jobs). And, if you average the US job creation over the past several months, it continues to tell a positive story for the economy and employment market — though this remains slow and steady growth.

Our own surveys say recruiters are expecting an 18 percent increase in assignments in the next 12 months.

 

Published on: Monday, June 07, 2010

Good News for Executives and Recruiters: Executive Job Market Rapidly Improving

Posted By: Mark Anderson
Filed Under: mark anderson, the economy
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Companies are hiring now and executive job creation is increasing:
ExecuNet's 3-month Recruiter Confidence Index increased to 49 percent in May (a 20 percent increase since February and is now at the highest level since June, 2008). This tells us that search firms are now getting searches in earnest and companies are consistently starting to hire. Jobs in our network are up over 70 percent from last summer.

 

Published on: Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Old Memories Not So Sweet

Posted By: Robyn Greenspan
Filed Under: robyn greenspan, leadership, the economy, strategy
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Old Memories Not So SweetThose who were dramatically affected by America's Great Depression in 1929 seemed to carry the weight of that experience well beyond the following decade of double-digit unemployment. The stories of people who spent the rest of their lives saving aluminum foil or hoarding sugar packages aren't folklore, but the long-lasting results of preparing for lean times to reoccur.

 

Published on: Tuesday, June 01, 2010

...And Network Like a Ninja

Posted By: Robyn Greenspan
Filed Under: robyn greenspan, the economy, finding jobs, career planning
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We recently released our 18th annual Executive Job Market Intelligence Report to our membership, and this year, amidst all the challenges, there were quite a few success stories. In the last decade alone, we've experienced recession, recovery, high demand for executive talent, recession again, and now, the slow climb back up. But where past recoveries have been more robust, this rebound has the spring of an underinflated basketball and not the high-bouncing SuperBall we'd like.

 

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