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1/2/05
WORKPLACE Job hoppers who want employers to know the real reason they're resigning are filling out exit interview surveys online. The practice allows them to tell human resources staff how they feel without participating in face-to-face exit interviews. Among the companies that are producing software to support the trend is Nobscot Corp. of Hawaii. Its product, WebExit, is tailored to meet the specifications of different employers, said Beth N. Carvin, chief executive. Carvin, who describes her firm as a human resources consulting company, said the product helps companies reduce turnover by evaluating exactly why prized employees are leaving. She said the goal of the service is to pinpoint problem areas and then fix them so that companies can retain good workers. WebExit works like this: Just before leaving the company, workers are asked to fill out an online survey with about 45 questions that ask them to evaluate a variety of factors, from corporate culture to managerial staff, workload, compensation, training, and other key aspects of a particular job or department. Workers who fill out the questionnaire are also encouraged to write the good and bad about their experiences. Most workers are reluctant to make remarks critical of the boss, especially if they might have to rely on the company for a reference one day. But Carvin claims employees tend to loosen up when they're not sitting in front of corporate officials for the 15-minute exit interview. A random review of some exit letters posted through WebExit offers a little insight on why some corporate cultures might be more troubling than others. ''Banks should work bankers' hours,'' said one employee after resigning. ''It is the reason you have lost other employees and, in part, the reason you are losing me. Banks are not retail. In terms of convenience, robbers found it convenient to rob the banks during our extended hours.'' ''My supervisor is incredibly unprofessional,'' a discontented job hopper said of a former boss. ''She plays favorites, and does not abide by the rules that she enforces on us.'' When asked to comment on corporate rewards for a job well done, an employee said in an exit interview: ''To receive an award in the department would take a vote from Congress.'' Others were upset about the lack of domestic partnership benefits, or poor stock equity programs. ''Only 200 or 400 lousy shares on a four-year vesting cycle for the common worker???,'' said an angry employee. ''What a joke ... this isn't the '70s.'' Carvin recalled that another worker remarked that air quality at the firm was so bad she just couldn't stand it anymore. ''Another said she was sitting next to a dirty restroom,'' said Carvin. This information might be particularly important to employers in 2005. The reason? Workplace specialists predict many US employees will look for new work after the New Year.
BENEFITS Senior level employees and chief executives watched the value of their stock option awards plunge more than 40 percent between 2001 and 2003, reports Watson Wyatt Worldwide. For chief executives, the drop was softened by an increase in the value of financial incentives from their firms as well as restricted stock, compensation most employees do not receive. Watson Wyatt said it surveyed approximately 1,000 of the nation's largest firms and found that the average value of stock options for regular employees who are not in managerial or executive jobs fell 51 percent to $2,037 last year, down from $4,196 in 2001. The company also reported that employers gave out fewer stock options to workers during the three-year period. For example, in 2003 they awarded an average of 219 shares per employee, down from 313 two years earlier. By contrast, chief executives saw the value of their stock options drop to $2 million in 2003, down from $3.4 million in 2003. The decline was about 41 percent, Watson Wyatt said. Despite the decrease, chief executives were able to make up the difference and, in some cases, receive even higher financial awards from other financial incentives. In all, the value of their restricted stock awards increased by about 70 percent. In addition, payments from long-term incentives went up by more than 50 percent.
PAY The median incomes of technical professionals declined by nearly 2 percent between 2002 and 2003, reports IEEE-USA, which represents 225,000 high-tech workers. The organization reported that median pay, including base pay and income from commissions, bonuses, or self-employment, dropped to $99,500 in 2003, down from $101,000 the year before. That resulted in a decline of about 1.5 percent. The group based its findings on a survey of 12,584 members, including 11,182 full-time employees. Of those, 10,114 were working in their job specialty. ''These results are disturbing, but not surprising,'' said John Steadman, president of IEEE-USA. ''A host of factors, from offshoring and increased use of guest worker visas to rising health insurance costs and global competition, are putting downward pressures on wages for US high-tech workers.'' The job classifications included in the survey ranged from electrical and electronics engineers to computer software and hardware engineers, and computer scientists and system analysts, the association said.
BUDGET Despite high healthcare costs and other expenses, a survey of 221 chief financial officers reveals that companies will be spending more money next year. The survey, released by the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College and Financial Executives International, found that financial officers are planning modest increases in wages, hiring, capital spending, and other areas. In all, the study says, healthcare costs will rise 9.1 percent in 2005. By contrast, companies are expected to increase hiring by just 5.1 percent, with wage hikes of 3.6 percent in the coming year. Technology spending, which dropped in 2001 and began a slow recovery last year, should be up by 6.5 percent, the survey said. --Diane E. Lewis
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