Loyalty? What’s That?

0

The first day on a new job has always brought lots of forms to fill out and people to meet.

These days, it can even bring dreams of a better-paying job.

OK, the turnaround might not be that sudden, but the booming economy has resulted in frequent job-hopping, with money as the driving force.

Taking a position at a new firm can bring a pay increase approaching 20 percent and ground-floor stock options at a pre-IPO company, meaning loyalty isn’t what it used to be.

“Traditional terms of loyalty have changed. What you find is an executive who is much more loyal to his career and his marketability than to a company,” said Dan Guerrero, president of eCruiting Inc. “There are very, very strong executives who have had three to five changes in three to five years. The financial rewards are quite compelling today.”

Many people change jobs because their current employers are unable or unwilling to match the major pay hikes that could easily be gained by leaving for another firm, such as a well-funded startup, said Kristi Schneider, a local recruitment consultant.

“I’ve seen someone get a 3 percent increase and be told that is the average,” Schneider said. “Meanwhile, if that person had left, they could have gotten a 15 percent increase.”

To combat the lure of tangible and significant pay raises, many traditional employers are opting to offer non-traditional benefits, though they might not be as compelling as a big paycheck.

“They’ll throw in gym memberships,” Schneider said.

While money is a driving factor, it’s certainly not the only reason for job changes these days.

“In some companies, somebody has to die before you can move up. Sometimes, you have to go out to go up,” said Fran Pomerantz, head of the Pomerantz Group, an executive search firm for Web-based companies.

Though fairly frequent job changes are becoming a given in today’s marketplace, all is not lost for employers who want loyal, passionate workers, especially in start-up tech companies that are building from scratch.

“I don’t believe people are chasing the great ideal,” Pomerantz said. “I think they have more reason to leave when the company’s plan is not what they signed up for. But when it is, they stay because they’re motivated to complete it, watch it develop and watch it grow.”

No posts to display