Human Resources News

The one Project Manager type that has been impacted the most by the economy is Network Technical Services. That is the area where many enterprises (Mid-sized Enterprises in particular) have made cuts. 

Currently the Mid-Atlantic market is toughest place to find a job.

The CEO of Janco, Victor Janulaitis said, "Over the last six quarters there has been a noticeable reduction in costs associated with senior level IT professionals in large enterprise.  In New York alone there are over 200 IT executives  that had earned well into the six figures that are now looking for work."

The 2009 Mid Year IT Salary Survey will be released at the end of June and more information can be gotten at Janco's websites.

1990 Applications	2010 Applications
Mainframe - Host Based	Web - Server Based
Designed to last	Designed to change
Tightly integrated	Open Architecture, modular
Application silos	Enterprise Mirrors
Code-oriented	Process-oriented
Rigid sequential development - SDM	Interactive and iterative development - SOA
Cost-centered	Business-oriented
Homogeneous	Heterogeneous

Job content is changing as well as knowledge requirements.

• Meetings happen without the CIO or IT manager being involved or informed.
• The CIOÂ’s or IT ManagerÂ’s feedback and input are not sought or are ignored.
• CIO or IT manager are not included in strategic planning.
• The IT department suffers from high turnover, and the CIO or IT manager have a particularly hard time keeping top-tier talent.
• People work around the CIO or IT manager.
• The business-side peers seek out others in IT to handle their problems, while IT staffers seek out other IT leaders or even go over your head.
• The CIO or IT manager don't hear bad news directly from those who should be delivering it. (It could indicate that they are not good at taking criticism or handling problems.)

• Know the laws that apply – EEOC and OSHA
• Create an employee handbook and follow it for everyone
• Minimize the use of employee contracts
• Retain copies of your offer letter
• Document all employment-based conversations
• Do not assume that "transferring" an employee will solve a problem
• Hire well and do detail vetting and reference checking
• Be proactive any all personnel issues

• Inability to communicate effectively
• Poor interpersonal skills
• Lack of leadership skills
• Inability to accept new solutions - locked into doing things the same old way
• Inability to deliver systems and expected results
• Not meeting budget (time and dollars) expectations
• Inability to see beyond technology - missing business objectives

Respondents widely commented that further falls in new business and an uncertain economic outlook were key factors that contributed to the latest decline, Markit Group Ltd, which compiles the monthly survey, said.

However, overall cost burdens faced by private companies also fell as job layoffs accelerated and staff costs marked their steepest drop since June 2003, the survey showed.

The Hong Kong purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 44.77 in May from 44.34 in April. A reading above 50 indicates growth in activity, while a figure below 50 signals deterioration.

The survey compares business conditions with a month earlier, based on data from Hong Kong companies across industries including manufacturing, services, retail and construction.

The in-migration that happened in the middle of this decade certainly had a lot to do with the housing boom. When that went bust, so did those crazy population balloons. But these particular places are still growing because instead of building an economy that relies heavily on one industry, most of the metro areas on Forbes' list serve as headquarters for a diverse range of companies.

For example, Austin's biggest employers include the University of Texas, Advanced Micro Devices and Dell. That wide range might have something to do with the area's relatively low January 2009 unemployment rate of 6.4%.

This is the opposite of what happened in true housing boom-and-bust towns like Las Vegas. In 2004, Las Vegas - a foreclosure mecca - saw a population increase of 4.6%, followed by 3.66% in 2005, 3.98% in 2006 and 3.22% in 2007. In 2008, that number fell to 2%.

Global IT service providers continue to be adversely impacted by the economy as BT Group plans to cut about 15,000 jobs.  This news comes on top of 15,000 job cuts the company made during its fiscal year, which ended March 31. BT said that as part of its cost savings program, it had reduced full-time employees during the year by 5,000, while also reducing by around 10,000 the number of indirect employees working through agencies or third party contractors.

Further reductions of a similar level are planned this year according to BT.  These moves by BT come as its profits and revenue slide due to the global economic downturn, and fierce competition.

Janco Associates' predicts that if the new taxes on un-captured offshore revenues are enacted Microsoft will be forced to more of it operations outside of the US in order to maintain its competitive advantage in the software market.  This would in turn mean ever-greater lay-offs in the US.