Everyone! Organizations today expect that their pipelines will continue to produce the requisite numbers for leadership at all managerial levels, including the executive suite. The reality is that the pipeline may be slowing to a trickle.
What the Statistics Show. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in Monthly Labor Review (02/04) reported that between 2006 and 2010 the U.S. population is projected to grow only 1.1% annually, and will continue to dip to a low 0.3% by 2030. With Baby Boomers reaching retirement, a Gen-X population not large enough to fill the expected shortage, and a predicted GDP growth rate of 3% per year, by as early as 2010, there may not be enough workers available to staff the nation's jobs.
The BLS report goes on to cite that managerial positions in finance, operations/general management, sales, marketing, HR, IT, R&D and engineering are projected to grow faster than overage over 2002-2012. Compounding that is a quiet exodus of professional women from organizations across the U.S., some because they want to, others because they see that there are no suitable alternatives. And although their flight may not yet be at the alarm level, it's expected to by as early as 2010.
Where are the women going? Contrary to popular belief, few are opting out altogether. Instead, they're starting their own businesses and in record numbers. The Small Business Administration reports that in 2005, women-owned businesses were up 19.7% over 2004 and are growing at 2x the rate of all privately-held firms. Companies started by women now employ more people than the Fortune 500 combined. Every day 630 new businesses are started, 420 of those by women.
And where are their new employees, both men and women, coming from? The companies the women left behind! Women make up half of all first and mid-level management positions. With women leaving corporate jobs in droves, the key question then becomes how can companies recruit the best and the brightest and retain those that they have today so that the leadership pipeline is full when they need it to be?
To keep those talented women from flying out the door, there are three actions that companies can take right now, all of which will help with retention and recruitment.
1. Offer flexible work arrangements. More and more both men and women are seeking this. Offer it for your rock-star performers and watch your retention rates climb.
2. Start or expand formal mentoring programs. The benefits from learning from seasoned professionals are countless to the individual and by default, to the organization - get up to speed faster, get a broader organizational perspective, expand internal contacts for getting things done faster with and through others. These are just a few of the many benefits of mentoring.
3. Promote women to senior-level positions. There is a sound business case for developing women in the management ranks and adding them to the executive suite. A 2004 study to Catalyst (the leading researcher on women in the workplace) shows that Fortune 500 companies with the highest percentages of women corporate officers had, on average, a 35.1% higher return on equity and 34% more total return to shareholders than companies with the lowest percentages. And when women are in senior-level positions, your fast-trackers in the pipeline see a future for themselves in the company.
If companies follow these suggestions, they can't go wrong. And if they extend these options to both men and women in their organizations, they'll likely have a work force that will do whatever it takes to give them a return that would knock any Wall Streeter's socks off.
(C) 2009 Denise Brouillette, San Francisco, CA. All Rights Reserved.
Denise Brouillette is the president of The Innovative Edge LLC and The Women's Edge in Leading.
