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Take inventory of your most
important asset--people

January is the start of a busy job-hunting season for executives looking to change employers. That makes this an ideal time to see how your recruitment, retention, compensation and benefits stack up against the competition.

“These metrics are vital,” says Michael Carrillo, president of CPGjoblist, the industry’s leading recruiting services firm. “Human capital is the most precious asset any company has--once good people are gone they can be expensive or even impossible to replace.”

Carrillo recommends that companies analyze their human resource policies at least once a year and benchmark them against their competitors. Surveys, focus groups, exit interviews, employee forums and affinity networks can be part of the benchmarking process. Key factors to look at include:

Compensation. Freezing salaries and putting off promotions may improve your bottom line in the short term, but it also leads to greater turnover and lower morale. Keeping compensation competitive is less expensive than recruiting, training and paying new executives, who must often be paid more than the managers they replace. Modest compensation increases and judicious bonuses can help keep key talented executives and pay long-term dividends.

Benefits. The rising cost of big-ticket benefits like healthcare and retirement can rival salaries as a company expense. “But there are ways to manage these costs and still recruit and retain top talent,” Carrillo says. Healthy worker programs can cut health and insurance costs, retirement and health savings accounts can help employees secure their own futures, and perks like performance incentives, awards, tuition and childcare assistance, mortgage programs, and company gyms and cafeterias add more benefit “bang for the buck.”

Balance. “Employees are working longer hours and weekends,” Carrillo says. “Many have to deal with pressing personal demands at the same time. Something’s got to give--and it’s often the job.” Nonstandard work arrangements such as flex time, telecommuting, compressed work weeks, part-time work and personal leave programs reduce turnover and help recruit new people. “Companies that offer strong work/life solutions have a powerful edge in the battle for high-quality talent,” Carrillo says.

Career Development. “Some companies’ best talent is withering on the vine. Competitive companies have robust career development programs that identify, train and advance talent from within,” Carrillo says. “Career pathing is vital to building a strong team.”

Diversity. The bottom-line benefits of diversity are well documented, but progress at many companies has been slow. “Diverse hiring and management is vital in today’s global and multicultural markets,” Carrillo says. “Compare your pool of decision-makers to your pool of clients—if there’s a disconnect, you are missing a critical competitive advantage.”

Direction. Companies that constantly change directions, strategies and leadership waste human resources and drive away top talent. “Question your managers and employees closely on these topics--they are often hidden reasons behind high turnover and poor morale,” Carrillo says.

Forced relocation. HR experts count this as a leading cause of turnover. When possible, employ remote office and telecommuting arrangements to retain talent unable to relocate or make longer commutes.

Communicate. Take time to clearly outline goals, strategies and expectations to ensure managers don’t waste time. “Productivity is a two-way street,” Carrillo says. “A lot of effort is wasted by managers laboring under misapprehensions.”

Staffing. Many companies have cut back on administrative staffs, forcing skilled executives and sales personnel to do clerical and support work. “If you’re practicing this false economy you could not only be losing productivity but talent,” Carrillo says.

Accountability. Employees don’t quit their companies, they quit their bosses. Make sure your managers are implementing your human resource policies by establishing metrics and holding managers to account. Ask employees to judge their bosses’ success in creating a good work environment. Help your supervisors with training and resources--remember they are often as overworked as the people they manage.

“The new year is a natural time for employees, employers and corporate recruiters to take stock of their situation and improve their working relationships.” Carrillo says. “There is always room for improvement. And in today’s tight job market, policies and programs that promote recruitment and retention are more important than ever."

Michael Carrillo is president of CPGjoblist, the CPG industry’s leading candidate recruiting service for HR professionals and employers. You may contact him at Michael@cpgjoblist.com or call (626) 535-0143.

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WELCOME ABOARD! CPGjoblist welcomes AcuSport Corp., Basic Research LLC, The Buxton Company, Dulcinea Farms, Homegrown Naturals, Inc., Lornamead Brands, and Perrigo. For the complete list visit CPGjoblist.com.

DIVERSITY NEWS: The November issue of DiversityInc magazine recommends five studies that make the case for diversity ROI. The studies are: “Does Diversity Pay? Racial Composition of Firms and the Business Case for Diversity” (Cedrick Herring, University of Illinois, Chicago, 2006), a survey of 281 firms that shows “a positive relationship between racial diversity and the bottom line;” "Racial Diversity, Business Strategy and Firm Performance: A Resource-Based View" (Orlando Richard, University of Texas at Dallas, 2000), which demonstrates a link between diversity strategy and productivity, ROE and perceived market performance among 574 banks; "Individualism: Collectivism and Group Creativity," (Barry Staw, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, and Jack Goncalo, Cornell University, 2006), a field study of university students that demonstrates that teams that value individual uniqueness produce more innovative ideas; "Cultural Diversity at Work: The Effects of Diversity Perspectives on Work Group Processes and Outcomes" (David Thomas and Robyn Ely, Harvard Business School, 2001); and "Competence Level Diversity and Interpersonal Helping in Teams: Why Those Who Need the Most Help End up Getting the Least" (Stuart Bunderson, Washington University, et al, 2006). For more information on diversity research visit DiversityInc.

MONEY MATTERS: The core rate of producer inflation jumped 1.3 percent in November, the largest increase since 1974, and 2 percent overall. The increase in wholesale inflation was led by increases in the cost of light trucks and energy. “The gain partly explains why Federal Reserve policy makers maintain the view that inflation risks remain a threat to the economic expansion,” Bloomberg reportsU.S. food and beverage stores posted a 7.1 percent sales increase in November 2006 compared to November 2005. Grocery store sales rose 6.3 percent. The increases were the largest since March 2005, according to Census figures reported by Stagnito Daily BriefStarbucks is closing coffee stands in Chicago-area Jewel grocery stores early next year. Jewel competitor Dominick's Finer Foods will be adding Starbucks outlets, Crain’s Chicago Business reports.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: For the Fancy Food Show, Jan. 21-23 in San Francisco; RFID, Deploying Your Item-Level Tracking System, Jan. 22-24 in Overland Park, Kansas; the 2007 Annual Meat Conference, Feb. 18-20 in Orlando; Best Practices Category Management Conference, February 20-23 in San Francisco; Refrigerated Foods Association Conference & Exhibition, Feb. 26-27 in The Woodlands, Texas; and the World Floral Expo 2007, March 14-17 in Miami. See CPGjoblist’s Calendar for more events and updates.

ON THE MOVE: Unilever announced that John Rice, president Americas, will retire in March after 25 years of service. He will be replaced by Michael Polk, currently group vice president and president Unilever United States. Polk joined Unilever in 2003 after 16 years at Kraft FoodsThe Kellogg Company has promoted Jeff Boromisa to executive vice president, Kellogg International, and named him president of the firm’s new Asia Pacific region. The region includes Australia, Asia, and South AfricaAlcoa Inc. has appointed Jeffrey Kellar president of its Alcoa Flexible Packaging businessChas Stoker has joined Buxton as CommunityID territory business managerOzburn-Hessey Logistics appointed Michael Fountain president and CEO of newly acquired Bartcho International...Send your company news to editor@cpgjoblist.com.

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