Chicago, April 26, 2007 -- Employers may need to consider a new pitch to their sales forces as they struggle to retain existing talent and recruit new talent. Nearly half of sales employers (48 percent) say it’s harder to retain employees this year compared to last year, according to a recent CareerBuilder.com survey. At the same time, 79 percent of sales employers say they plan to hire new employees in 2007. Job growth in the sales industry may be driving workers to look for better opportunities, and motivating employers to take competitive measures in their recruitment and retention efforts.
With 40 percent citing the inability to find qualified workers as the biggest impediment to hiring, sales employers continue to focus retention efforts on making compensation packages more competitive. Twenty-seven percent of sales employers are increasing salaries/wages, 15 percent are increasing bonuses and 17 percent are offering more attractive benefits packages. More than one-third (34 percent) of sales employers are also increasing workplace flexibility, which in many cases includes flexible hours, telecommuting and job sharing.
While more than three out of five (64 percent) of workers say they are satisfied overall with their current positions, 72 percent said they are either actively seeking or would be open to a new job if they came across one. "Sales is a highly competitive segment that continues to experience strong levels of job creation," said Mary Delaney, chief sales officer at CareerBuilder.com. "Top sales workers will always be in demand, so organizations need to continuously evaluate their compensation packages and look at distinctive programs such as flexible work schedules in order to increase loyalty amongst sales employees."
More than a quarter (27 percent) of sales workers surveyed feel they have been overlooked for a promotion at their current job. Forty percent say they're unsatisfied with their pay, with 43 percent reporting they haven't received a raise in the last year. Only one-third (33 percent) of sales workers say they are satisfied with their work life balance, with 40 percent saying their workload has increased in the last six months and half saying their workload is either heavy or too heavy. In terms of career advancement, 26 percent are dissatisfied with their opportunities at their current position and 30 percent are dissatisfied with the training and learning opportunities.
Nearly three million sales-specific resumes that have been updated in the last year are currently posted on CareerBuilder.com and job seekers conduct nearly seven million searches for sales employment opportunities on the site every month.
Delaney recommends the following tips to improve recruitment and retention efforts:
1) Break through the clutter - Treat your job posting like a candidate treats a resume. Communicate an employee brand that is accomplishment-based, highlighting growth and stability, work culture, career advancement, etc. Include testimonials from current employers and showcase examples of employees who have worked their way to the top.
2) Get specific - The more definitive you can be in a job posting, the better your chance of attracting qualified candidates. Everyone says competitive salaries and benefits - define what that means in your organization. Outline what flexible schedules and work/life balance programs entail, specifically address the training/courses available to employees in the first quarter, first year, etc.
3) Check your workplace temperature - Measure employee satisfaction levels regularly whether it be through informal discussions or organization-wide surveys. If necessary, create action plans and implementation dates with employee input and deliver on what’s promised.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 133 Sales employers (employed full-time; not self employed; with at least some involvement in hiring decisions), and 400 Sales employees (employed full-time; not self employed; with no involvement in hiring decisions) ages 18 and over within the United States between February 15 and March 6, 2007. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.
With a pure probability sample of 133 one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 8.5 percentage points. With a pure probability sample of 400 one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 4.9 percentage points. Sampling error for data from subsamples is higher and varies. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
About CareerBuilder.com
CareerBuilder.com is the nation’s largest online job site with more than 21 million unique visitors and over 1.5 million jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), and The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers for more than 1,000 partners that reach national, local, industry and niche audiences. These include more than 150 newspapers and leading portals such as America Online and MSN. More than 250,000 employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com’s easy job postings, 20 million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. Millions of job seekers visit the site every month to search for opportunities by industry, location, company and job type, sign up for automatic email job alerts, and get advice on job hunting and career management. For more information about CareerBuilder.com, visit www.careerbuilder.com.
CareerBuilder Media Contact
For all media inquiries and interview requests, contact:
Jennifer Grasz
(P) 773-527-1164
(E) jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com