Follow the Signs

I admit I am superstitious. It's probably the Irish heritage, or the Scottish. Whatever the reason, I am a big believer in reading the signs.

Today's Wall Street Journal talks about companies starting to implement pay increases in 2010. Of course, that doesn't mean anything for those of us still out of work. Never the less, it's a sign.

Whenever there is a recession and people are laid off, the survivors are pushed to the limit. There's more work, more pressure from management to make numbers, and the overall dread of feeling that if you don't produce in double-time, you will be the next one to go.

Companies do not love giving raises, especially in a flat economy. So I think it's a sign that companies are talking about it...at least enough to generate a newspaper article.

2010 is going to be the year when many companies lose good employees, when the economy will recover just enough for the "A" employees to jump to new opportunities. When companies, yet again, are going to wonder why their employees don't appreciate them for saving their jobs. When companies wonder if they should yet again think about that retention strategy they never implemented.

Companies are not intuitive....they never read the signs.