In today's competitive hiring market, the departure of just one key staff
member can stall a department's productivity. In fact, according to a recent
nationwide survey of chief financial officers (CFOs), it takes an average of
16 weeks to replace an executive; 10 weeks for a middle manager; and seven
weeks for staff. Many business are consequently relying on project
professionals available through staffing firms to respond to such vacancies.
The survey was developed by Accountemps, the world's first and largest
temporary staffing service for accounting, finance and bookkeeping
professionals, and was conducted by an independent research firm. It
includes responses from 1,400 CFOs from a stratified random sample of
companies with more than 20 employees.
CFOs were asked, "On average, how many weeks does it take to replace a
full-time executive, middle manager or staff member who has left your
company?"
- Executive - 16 weeks
- Middle Manager - 10 weeks
- Staff - 7 weeks
"Today's high employment environment is resulting in protracted vacancies
for many businesses," said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author
of
Human Resources Kit for Dummies (IDG Books Worldwide, 1999). "However,
these firms are bringing in project professionals to immediately access
needed skills, avoid productivity losses and keep pace with growth
initiatives."
Messmer added that one of the more notable shifts in the use of temporaries
is the availability of talent at all experience levels - from executive to
staff employees. "A growing number of workers prefer consulting or project
assignments to traditional full-time positions," he said.
A recent independent survey developed by the company supports this trend.
Seventy-three percent of 1,400 CFOs polled said they would consider
consulting as a career if they were out of the workforce today.
Lynda Grady, Accountemps regional manager, added, "Many companies are
countering the effects of the competitive environment by using temporary
assignments as a means of evaluating candidates for full-time jobs."
Accountemps has more than 250 offices in North America, Europe and Australia
and offers online job search services.
