LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Employees across Europe may find opportunities to secure their jobs, even improve their chances of promotion, in spite of the slowdown, StepStone (OSE: STP.OL)(LSE: STPS.L) claims today. Pressure to cut jobs and reshape the business has led to the emergence of a two-tier approach to HR at many European companies – a phenomenon StepStone has dubbed the “Cold War” for talent. As the cold war for talent plays out bosses find themselves announcing redundancies, while they also quietly identify candidates with key skills or aptitudes for recruitment or retention.

Drawing on a survey of employees across Europe, the StepStone research highlights five demographic groups, each of which have different attitudes to work and offer different benefits to employers:

• Cash Chasers – generally the youngest members of the workforce and the most focused on money, 64 per cent are prepared to work longer hours to boost their earnings, but one in two do no extra work unpaid – more than any other age group. Almost a quarter (23 per cent) see themselves working in a different career in three years
• Ladder Climbers – two thirds (65 per cent) of Ladder Climbers work extra time unpaid, and have higher expectations of promotion than any other age group. If they don’t get the recognition they want from their employers, they won’t stick around – nearly sixty per cent have been actively looking for work in the past year
• Bread Winners – more interested in flexible working than other groups. Nearly three quarters (73 per cent) work more than their contracted hours without pay, more than any other group
• Quality of Lifers – flexibility matters almost as much as money to this group. Just a fifth (21 per cent) expect to be in a more senior role in 3-5 years
• Flexibility Seekers – nearing the end of their working lives, Flexibility Seekers are less interested in money than any other group. Over a third (35 per cent) said they do most of their work outside the office, whether at home or on-the-road

Colin Tenwick, CEO of StepStone, comments: “Employers are finding their hands tied when it comes to benefits packages. As a result, non-financial benefits such as training, flexible working and the prospect of working oversees are growing in prominence. Offered at the right stage in a person’s career, these options could be highly appealing.

“The prospect of working abroad may be just what a Cash Chaser in their twenties is looking for, but they won’t have any truck with flexible working. For a Bread Winner, the reverse will be true. Understanding what motivates employees at different stages in their career is a core human capital management discipline: the one-size-fits-all approach to HR is no longer valid.”

According to survey a of leading employers published by StepStone recently¹, 80 per cent of business executives expect salary packages to remain level or go down over the next year. Instead, additional training (voiced by 42 per cent of the business executives surveyed), flexible working (voiced by 36 per cent) and relocation (voiced by 23 per cent) are amongst the key initiatives employers are undertaking to attract and retain talented employees.

Tips for Employees

The trends in the research build a picture of employee characteristics businesses are looking for in the slowdown. As executives reshape their businesses for the new economic order, flexibility is the attribute valued more than any other:

StepStone has published some tips for each demographic group, which include the following:

• Be flexible – 36 per cent of the employers surveyed are looking to increase flexible working in their organisations to save money
• Consider opportunities overseas – 36 per cent of employers are looking to relocate staff to roles overseas – people who are in a position to take advantage of such opportunities are well advised to do so
• Check your company’s job site to see which roles are available to help you move up the ladder – as businesses re-evaluate their skills base, there are new roles being created and strategic hires made despite redundancies grabbing the headlines
• Know your skills profile and be aware of any gaps – almost 60 per cent of employers expect to fill talent gaps through training and career development over the next year, and won’t be looking for external hires
• Sell yourself and your achievements– don’t wait till your next review to highlight your successes as it could be too late and your hard work goes unnoticed
• If you do lose your job, apply to your former employer’s competitors immediately – 27 per cent of employers say they are actively looking for people made redundant by competitors
• Rein in salary demands and be ready to sacrifice some personal time for a while. 40 per cent of employers only expect moderate increases in their benefits packages over the next three years, and 24 per cent of employers do not expect benefits to increase at all.

Tenwick continues: “Success in the slowdown depends on businesses being able to exploit new opportunities before their competitors and change tack quickly. In order to do so, executives need to develop a workforce that is as agile as their own strategies – and employees are overwhelmingly willing to put in the extra time for little or no reward to support this.

“However, employees will expect companies to recognise this goodwill, by giving them a consistent career path, with benefits and incentives that address their circumstances and their career goals. The right human capital management systems will help bosses ensure they can offer the right incentives – and get the right returns – from employees at every stage in their career.”

Notes to editors

The “Employee Demographics” short guide is available on request from Brands2Life (contact details below).

About the research

StepStone carried out an online poll, of 3,000 job-seekers drawn from the membership of StepStone’s European job boards in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Germany and Austria was carried out at the same time. Data from UK job-seekers was drawn from a YouGov poll of 2,000 adults over the age of 18 during November 2008.

The Cold War for Talent, a report researched by the Economist Intelligence Unit and published by StepStone in March 2009, was based on a survey of 484 senior executives from around the globe during November and December 2008. The survey sample was extremely senior: all were management, with 67% operating as board members, CEOs and other C-level executives, or as senior vice-presidents, heads of business units and heads of departments. The organisations that the respondents worked for were predominantly large: 34% had annual revenues between $500m and $10bn, with 20% generating revenues of $10bn or more.

About StepStone

StepStone is a leading international provider of human capital management (“HCM”) software and services. Its technology and services helps organisations attract, retain and develop their talent. StepStone was founded in Norway in 1996 and listed on the Oslo Børs (Ticker@ STP.NO) in 2000 and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: STPS.L) in 2008.

StepStone operates some of Europe’s largest talent networks which match employers with potential employees and provides a complete suite of HCM software solutions. Through its extensive talent network in Europe, StepStone has privileged insight into the needs and demands of today’s workforce, allowing the company to develop highly innovative HCM solutions.

StepStone’s comprehensive portfolio of software and services enable organisations to implement efficient HCM processes. These services include; attraction and hiring, post-hire talent management, performance management, compensation management, skills and competency management, career and succession planning, training and development management.

As at Q4 2008 more than 1,600 organisations, including many of the world’s leading businesses, use StepStone software and services. It operates in 16 countries and employs more than 900 people. Its global customers include Aviva, Deloitte, Deutsche Telekom, Lufthansa, McDonald’s, Telefonica, ThyssenKrupp and Volkswagen.

For more information see: www.stepstone.com.

¹ The Cold War for Talent: http://www.stepstone.com/2008/?section=media&subsection=trends-and-research&page=cold-war-for-talent

Brands2Life for StepStone
Robin Grainger or Catherine Moran
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7592 1200
Email: stepstone@brands2life.com