Some of the most persistent challenges facing retailers this holiday season are workforce related, with issues in recruitment, retention, and wage inflation, according to a survey of 150 U.S. retail executives by Accenture. Ninety-nine percent of respondents said their company has undertaken…
Top Economist Mark Zandi Says a Recession Isn’t a Sure Thing
Mark Zandi, Moody’s Analytics’ chief economist, believes the U.S. wasn’t in a recession in the first half of this year, and that it can still avoid the worst of economic outcomes altogether. Two “massive supply shocks,” the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have disrupted the entire…
Microsoft’s First Median Pay Report Shows Racial Gaps in Top Jobs
Microsoft’s premier report on median pay for its workforce shows that women do better than the U.S. average, while Black and Hispanic employees remain under-represented in higher-level roles. Microsoft is at pay parity when comparing women and people of color doing equal work with men or white…
Given Pay Transparency, Majority of Workers Say They’d Likely Demand Top of Salary Range
Sixty-eight percent of respondents say they “probably would” (45%) or “definitely would” (23%) demand to be paid the highest known end of the pay range if given access to pay transparency figures, according to a <a…
Producer Prices Top Estimates, Supporting Fed Hikes Into 2023
Producer prices climbed in November by more than anticipated, fueled by services and underscoring the stickiness of inflationary pressures that supports U.S. Federal Reserve interest-rate boosts into 2023. The producer price index for final demand rose 0.3% for a third month and was up 7.4% from…
Abortion, Cannabis, Equal Pay Among Top Labor Issues for States in 2023
On Jan. 1, pay transparency laws went into effect in California and Washington, and New York’s will go into effect in September. Employers should be aware that similar laws requiring employers to post salary ranges in job listings will be considered this year in Alaska, Massachusetts,…
The Top 10 Legal and Business Risks of Chatbots and Generative AI
Companies should be aware of numerous risks related to the use of chatbots and generative artificial intelligence in the workplace. Chatbots pose risks related to contracts, cybersecurity, data privacy, deceptive trade practices, discrimination, disinformation, ethical issues, government…
Flexible Work Hours, Location, and Shortened Work Week Top Requested Benefits That Most Companies Don’t Offer
Flexibility remains paramount for nontraditional benefits as American workers say companies should offer employees more control over their work hours and location, but less than 50% of businesses do, according to a survey of 1,002 U.S. hiring decision-makers and 2,041 adults by Express Employment…
Culture One of the Top Factors to Organizational Success
Culture is the most underrated (i.e. often overlooked but crucial) determinant of a company’s future success, according to a survey of nearly 500 executives from the World’s Most Admired Companies and many of their peers by Korn Ferry. Nearly two-thirds of WMAC executives attribute 30% or more of…