The economic recover may be struggling a bit as it tries to gain traction, but it doesn’t seem to deter “job hoppers” like those profiled in this RedEye article, predominantly young people who have come to believe that transient, temporary jobs are the desired norm, and that the old paradigm of lifetime employment may be obsolete.  As Lindsey Pollak, author of “Getting from College to Career” puts it:

“The whole paradigm of how we work is completely changing. That old model of get one job out of college till you retire with a gold watch is completely, utterly gone.”

This new workforce — educated, highly mobile, not just accepting of transitional or temporary employment but sometimes even enthusiastic in their adoption of it — makes for a dynamic and vibrant new labor pool for hiring firms and staffing departments to take into consideration.

This article from the Tribune points out how Illinois’ budgetary problems are discouraging one of our most important economic resources from looking for their future here in their home state: college graduates seeking a future in education.

Young, educated workers are critical to keeping growth and progress on the march in any region. Just ask employers and analysts in other cities throughout the “Rust Belt” about what happens when opportunities disappear.  It’s certainly happened over previous decades in Illinois, in towns and cities outside Chicago, as changes have forced young people to go looking elsewhere for good jobs.   Losing smart, capable workers does lasting damage to any region’s ability to rebound or even be fundamentally competitive when times get better.

Education grads are especially important. It’s their passion and enthusiasm that helps to keep the spark alive for students.  But when thousands of education jobs are being cut because of shortfalls, damage is done to everybody’s future…damage that’s very hard to overcome.

Nobody said it’s easy to cope with the current situation from a governance standpoint.  So here’s hoping the legislature and executive branch in Springfield can act wisely in dealing with the state’s fiscal crisis.  They’ve got very hard choices to make, and the sooner we can all come to grips with the consequences, the sooner we can move forward.

More and more indicators show that there’s a steady gain in hiring by U.S. companies.  A large share of that is in temps and temp-to-hire positions, which is the typical trend when a recovery is underway.

The one significant change from prior years may be that many of those positions are not only contingent, but will in all likelihood stay that way, according to many experts.  That’s because a new model is taking hold in the workplace, for better or worse, which is one where a larger share of a company’s labor force is strictly contingent.  As this article points out,

…many business groups and labor advocates believe the contingency work force is on the rise and will become a mainstay in the U.S. companies even after economic hard times are behind us.

There is, obviously, a lot of debate about the impact of this change, and its long-range impact on workers, consumers and the economy.  But it’s apparent to any businessperson that the flexibility and thrift of temp and temp-to-hire employment options help them stay competitive at a time when the pressures and costs of doing business don’t make that a simple task.

There’s every chance that more members of the post-recession workforce will be temps, it appears; the difficulties of the recession have made employers cautious, not just in the near term but probably over the long haul as well.  That will mean more temporary positions versus full-time hires, even after the economy improves for many businesses.

This Business Week cover story cites figures from the Iowa Policy Project, a nonpartisan think tank, has estimated that 26% of the U.S. workforce had jobs in 2005 that were in one way or another “nonstandard.”    The trend is, apparently, for that number to grow, because of economic pressures and because more and more businesses are becoming comfortable and experienced with utilizing contingent labor resources versus permanent.

This makes it more important than ever for staffing firms that specialize in temp and temp-to-hire services to stay on the hunt for the best-qualified personnel possible.  With a greater pool of prospective temps out there, it might seem simpler to find a solid candidate, but the cream still rises to the top in any market.  Staffing firms and their clients are still best served by thorough screening of prospects.  Regardless of the state of the overall market, firms are always better off bringing on the highest-caliber contributors available.

Are employers and staffing firms properly positioned for an improvement in the job market? It can be a mixed blessing if you’re not prepared.

Just one of the complications is skills scarcity, as the most qualified and valuable prospective hires find their talents are in greater demand and go off the market. Whether you’re a staffing firm or an employer, you might find yourself really scrambling to fill positions with good, qualified people — if you haven’t been laying proper groundwork ahead of time.

There are a few simple questions any smart HR department or staffing firm should ask itself about its preparedness for a job market uptick of lasting duration:

1. Do we have a plan in place? Be certain you — and your team — have a strategy in hand to guide you in sourcing and recruiting the right prospects when the need arises. Remember, waiting until only the actual moment you need them most means you’ll have to make last-second choices – not advisable in any business situation.
2. Are we willing to scale up our staffing team? If there’s a sudden influx of job requisitions, possibly even a new slew of clients to handle if you’re a staffing firm, do you have the personnel on board it’ll take to maintain solid due diligence?
3. Are we willing to invest in staffing skills? You should always be looking to strengthen your hand; whether you’re an employer or a consultant, you should stay on top of the latest training and work resources available that can help your staffing team succeed.
4. Are we keeping the prospect file full? Even if you’re not in hiring mode, always be sure to stay abreast of what roles you might have to fill if the situation changes – and try to maintain outside staffing resources or a database of prospects that can give you a quick head start when you do need to put hires in place.
5. Are we jumping the gun in hiring full-timers? Temp and temp-to-hire personnel are probably still a wise option to keep in mind, unless you’re absolutely positive about your business prospects in the upcoming year.

Daniel Indiviglio at The Atlantic has been a proponent for some time of the idea that temp hiring is a good indicator for growth in the general economy, and now has a chart he’s discovered that helps prove his point. His capsule summary of what it shows (and very plainly, too — make sure you hit the link!) is, “as this chart demonstrates, temp jobs lead permanent job growth. It’s rare to see such a clear correlation between two variables.”

This is a graphical demonstration of the plain and simple predence and logic we see every day from our clients: in periods like this, qualified temps or temp-to-hire staffers are the safest bet, until any improvement really takes hold in time. Then those temporary positions turn into permanent hires.

The real concern comes in making sure the people you bring in, especially on a temp or transitional basis, have the skills and focus that let them jump right in, and seamlessly serve the client’s business. That’s obviously a sober and serious responsibility for staffing firms like North Bridge.

It’s another small step in the right direction, as up to 6,000 Illinois jobs may be created by the Federal monies going to the state to begin developing high-speed rail for the Chicago to St. Louis corridor.   This program will probably create secondary opportunities for Chicago-area businesses, as well, especially if plans move forward for a new high speed rail terminal in the city.  Let’s hope the funds will be spent wisely and efficiently, leading to permanent long-term growth for area businesses and employees.

Things could be better, at least in the month of December, according to the latest Chicago unemployment figures released by the IDES.   But it’s still an improvement over the rate of 11.3% posted in June of last year.

For employers hoping to hire and build for the coming improvement  when it hits Chicago with full force — and the latest GDP numbers indicate revived growth –  it implies there are probably good prospective hires available, looking for work.  It also probably means businesses have to still be cautious, which is another reason temporary or temp-to-hire options are attractive during periods like this.

Let’s hope the good news — like Ford’s decision to bring on 1,200 employees to build its next Ford Explorer model at its Chicago assembly plant — keeps coming as the year moves forward!

“Big shoulders?”  You bet.  It ’s never been apparent how resolute and special Chicago is as an economic region than over the past two years.

A survey in Q4 2009 by Monster laid out a not entirely rosy prospectus for Chicago jobs in 2010, but signs for optimism still exist, not the least of which is the (relatively) upbeat attitude of Chicago recruitment professionals about prospects for the upcoming year.  Are people in our business professional optimists, or have they been through the worst of it for so long they’re desperate for a glimmer of hope?

We’d suggest neither. Chicago is an incredibly diverse and dynamic economy and community; we can thank our lucky stars for that, because we were truly insulated from a lot of the grief and pain that other regions have been through during this downturn.  Diversity is strength, in situations like this, and as experienced Chicago staffing experts ourselves, we know it’s our diversity that has kept us from the worst – and will pay dividends tomorrow.

The Monster report, among other analyses, have agreed that Chicago has fared relatively well in comparison to other cities; it’s been no joyride, but it goes without saying what a Detroit/Southeastern Michigan has suffered through, and the double whammy of overall recession and housing market catastrophes in Florida and Nevada are just two other examples of regions where opportunities have been in serious decline.

Maybe there is a little optimism at work in the attitudes displayed by Chicago recruiters in the Monster report – but it’s a well-founded optimism that’s backed up by the track record of an exceptional city.  Chicagoans, as usual, are demonstrating the diversity, flexibility, energy and grit to weather tough times.

The national unemployment picture is getting a little better, according to the Department of Labor, and as shown in this graphic at Fast Company.   While the heartland and east are still suffering (Pennsylvania is especially hard-hit), there’s reason to hope (see our earlier posts) that the situation may get better soon for people seeking jobs in Chicago.  But even while a recession endures, companies and shouldn’t entirely give up the hunt for talent, or at least for information on what talent is out there.  Why?

First, employees are everything – good staffers make or break your business, so you should always be on the lookout in case you need replacements, or need to hire new staff should business improve.  It’s important to have a good staffing partner or list of prospects on hand so you won’t lose valuable time playing “catch-up” when the need arises.

Recession is a leveler, too; your competitors are hurting if you’re hurting, and may have laid off good people who could help your firm, either now or when the economy permits hires.  So you can level the playing field versus your competition – or even take the high ground — by getting out in front on skilled prospects who fit your business, before they’re snapped up by other firms or called back by their previous employer.

Information is power.  Knowing what talent is available and knowing the costs of acquisition of that talent if times turn for the better are simply part of smart, long-term planning.  The more data you have on the talent pool, the more quickly and accurately you can act when the time comes.   It’s part of the contingency plans every company should lay out.

To paraphrase Daniel Burnham, make no little plans for your future; even if you’re cutting your staff right now, keep your eye on near-term or longer-term staffing needs, whether permanent, temp-to-hire or temporary.