Still a man’s working world?

SIXTY THREE per cent of Australians believe female earning power is still lagging behind male colleagues with the same job title and with the same tenure. Further, 83 per cent of females believe they earn less than their male counterparts, but only 54 per cent of males believe salaries are likely to be better for them. On an industry basis, the percentage of females who are paid less than males worked in:

Law 29 %

Engineering 27 %

Banking and finance 20 %

Additionally, 71 per cent of CEOs said that females were not on par with males in terms of salary.

Source: Talent2

Sick leave not necessarily tied to pay

TWENTY-TWO per cent of UK employees who took sick leave in the past year admit they could have gone into work if they had really wanted or needed to. Further, 40 per cent of employees would be less likely to take days off sick if it meant they would not be paid for the days that they were absent. But 56 per cent say their absence was not affected by pay and four out of five employees say that they receive full pay when absent from a position that is full time.

Source: Watson Wyatt

Mixed feelings about HR outsourcing

ONLY 55 per cent of human resource professionals regard outsourcing as a good thing, according to a survey of 200 HR professionals. Less than half believe their role has improved following the outsourcing of their functions, although more than 30 per cent of companies have outsourced at least one of their HR functions. The processes most likely to be outsourced include:

Administration 25 %

Payroll 45 %

Recruitment 24 %

Employee relations were unlikely to be outsourced, with just 5 per cent of HR professionals surveyed reporting that that function was currently outsourced.

Source: Digby Morgan

Employees missing business strategies

SIXTY-THREE per cent of companies worldwide regard the alignment of their employees to the strategy of their business as their number one employee communications goal. However, just 37 per cent of the 472 organisations surveyed reported that their efforts have been successful. About one in three companies have managed to motivate employees to understand, be committed to, and carry out their employer’s business strategy in their daily jobs.

Source: Right Management Consultants/IABC Research Foundation

Desperately seeking quantity surveyors

A SHORTAGE of quantity surveyors in Australia and the UK is driving their earning power up. In Australia, salaries for graduate and experienced quantity surveyors (QS) have risen over the last five years by 33 per cent and 44 per cent respectively. The demand for QS in Australia now extends well beyond the QS firms and into building contractors, property developers, banks, insurers and accounting firms.

Source: Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors

Bigger is better for employees

FORTY-ONE per cent of Australian employees believe that working for a top 100 company is vitally important to them, a survey of 807 workers has found. Most said top 100 companies provided first rate career paths while others said the status adds to their reputation and some said working for a top 100 company affords opportunities to be innovative and creative. Having a top 100 company on their CV is also seen as adding value and and a means to financial security.

Source: Talent2

UK: more women in management

THIRTY-THREE per cent of managers are now women, a UK study of nearly 21,000 employees in 200 companies has found. The results show that 14 per cent of directors are women – more than twice the rate of female directors in 1999. The average female director is three years younger (at 44) than their male counterparts, yet they earn £22,144 ($51,200) less. At team leader level, women are on average four years younger (at 37) than men at the same level and earn £2,674 ($6,182) less.

Source: Chartered Management Institute

Offshore financial services to surge

A QUARTER of financial services companies currently operate between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of their headcount offshore. Nearly half the 156 global executives surveyed conduct transaction-based IT activities offshore, while overall, their companies were:

Expecting to offshore in three years’ time 50 %

Currently offshoring 25 %

Currently not offshoring 12 %

By 2008, a further third of companies plan to operate non value-creating HR activities such as payroll offshore.

Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers

Voter backlash over IR changes

SIXTY-ONE per cent of Australians disagree with the Howard government's proposed industrial changes, while only 27 per cent agree they are needed. A survey of 1,500 Australians also found that 9 per cent of former Coalition supporters would not vote for the party again because of its proposed changes to IR legislation.

Source: AAP/Sensis

Unions still have a place

FIFTY-SEVEN per cent of employees think the traditional union movement is still an important part of workplace management. In a survey of 750 employees, only 21 per cent said the union movement was outdated and 15 per cent said there were relevant laws in place to protect employees. Those in favour of the union movement worked in:

Computer/IT 61%

Government 60%

Engineering/manufacturing 55%

Source: Talent2