With many professionals now acknowledging that lifelong employment with one particular firm is no longer viable, what career paths should Greater Philadelphians consider? Towers Watson’s 2010 Global Workforce Study pinpoints a watershed moment in the evolution of employment relationships around the world. The study fielded over 20,000 employees in 22 markets from November 2009 to January 2010 and revealed a recession-battered workforce—one with lower expectations, increased anxiety and new priorities. Still, there are opportunities for individuals to secure new career development options that can benefit both their employers and themselves.
This past September, Robert Romasco from AARP, Rene Limacher from a-Connect, Alyse D. Bodine from Heidrick & Struggles, and Virginia Bowden as well as Anne St. Clair from Towers Watson were generous enough to share their insights on new career paths with Greater Philadelphia leaders. Below are some of their key updates.
- The desire for security trumps everything.
- Employees understand they are responsible for their long-term financial and physical health but they doubt their ability to take on this role.
- Mobility is at a decade-long low point, and many are sacrificing career growth for a secure job.
- Confidence in leaders and managers is disturbingly low.
Detailed information can be found at http://www.towerswatson.com/global-workforce-study.
Despite these challenging insights, career development opportunities do exist:
Professionals who are striving to determine which firms are creating roadmaps to attract and retain top talent in today’s multigenerational workforce can uncover such findings via the AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50 website. For example, given the number of healthcare professionals who reside in the area, find out why companies like GSK received such recognition (http://www.aarp.org/work/employee-benefits/info-07-2009/glaxosmithkline_2009.html).
For qualified individuals who have made the explicit choice to work for themselves, organizations like a-connect (http://www.a-connect.com/) can provide potential projects in a variety of industries.
For seasoned executives with C-suite experience, Heidrick & Struggles’ Chief Advisor Network (http://www.heidrick.com/ExecutiveSearch/LocalSpecialty/Pages/ChiefAdvisorNetwork.aspx) enables executives to engage across a variety of opportunities.