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Britain's workforce lacks ambition, says Hay study     When it comes to getting ahead, Britain’s workforce is severely lacking in ambition, says management consultancy Hay Group. According to the Hay study, Ambition Britain?, 80% of British workers say they are not ambitious. Just 17% of UK employees consider themselves “very ambitious”, despite working the longest hours in Europe.    Workers in the North West are the UK’s most ambitious, according to the study, while those in the South are the least career-driven.    Perhaps surprisingly, employees in the competitive London labour market were ranked just     little over a third (39%) of employees love their job, and even less - a meagre 17% - are doing their “dream job”.    This is bad news for employers as this lack of motivation slashes productivity levels by close to half. Employees believe that they would be as much as 45% more productive if they were doing a job they loved, and 28% more effective with better training.    Poor management is also part of the problem, the study shows, with employees feeling they could be 28% more productive with a better boss.    Emmanuel Gobillot, director of leadership     services and author of the report, said: “Companies are failing to engage their employees - and paying a heavy price in productivity. Employers must engage employees with their business goals and align rewards with performance if Britain is to compete in the global economy.”    Money, however, is not the answer when it comes to getting the most out of staff, the research found.    Well over half (55%) of employees agreed that while salary motivates them to turn up for work, factors other than salary are required to encourage them to work hard and get ahead. Workers ranked     salary only third among the most important determinants of job satisfaction, after challenging and interesting work and work-life balance.    Opportunities to advance career featured very low on the job satisfaction table, as did training and development.    “Earning money may get us out of bed and into the office each morning, but it won’t produce a dynamic workforce,” Gobillot said. “Employee engagement stems from a complex range of factors, including effective leadership and company culture as well as pay.”        fourth in the ambition stakes, with just 16% striving to do better.    This lack of ambition has an impact on motivation levels, with just 15% of employees stating they were “highly motivated”, as many as a quarter (24%) admitting to “coasting”, and a further tenth (8%) being “completely demotivated”.    The report also reveals that only a

Talent shortages raise professional wages across the world     According to a recent Manpower Professional Survey, talent shortages are forcing a quarter of employers to pay higher salaries for permanent, professional positions compared to the previous year. The professional talent shortage is threatening growth opportunities for many firms, with 29% of employers worldwide reporting they would have hired more professional staff over the past six months had the appropriate talent been available.    Manpower surveyed nearly 32,000 employers across 26 countries and territories in July and August 2006. The survey, which defined professional positions as those that typically require a university degree, was conducted to     determine the availability of suitable permanent professional candidates in the marketplace and the impact of available talent on wage inflation.    The survey shows that wage inflation was most affected by talent shortages in Asia Pacific. Employers in Singapore (55%), New Zealand (40%), and Australia (38%) are experiencing the most wage inflation due to increased competition for available professional talent. In the US, 38% of employers reported that talent shortages are causing them to offer higher compensation, and nearly half of employers would have hired more permanent professional staff in the past six months if quality candidates were     available.    "The talent shortage is here and wage inflation is increasing in the specialised skill sets and industry sectors where talent is already scarce," said Jeffrey A. Joerres, chairman & CEO of Manpower Inc. "As those trends increase, employers will have to work much harder to retain and optimise their existing permanent professional employees, and develop innovative ways to attract and retain new talent. Developing a strong employer brand will become even more important as the war for talent heats up."    Talent shortages among permanent professionals are particularly acute in the Americas and Asia Pacific. Employers in Peru (46%), Japan (45%)     and Mexico (41%) are having the most difficulty finding qualified professional talent, which is causing wage inflation in these countries. Shortages are far less critical in Europe, with most employers indicating less difficulty finding qualified professional staff.    In Europe, less than 25% of employers said they would have hired more permanent professional staff over the past six months if they could have found suitable talent. Shortages of professional candidates were reported by only 12% of employers in France, 13% in the Netherlands and 15% in Belgium. French employers reported the lowest wage inflation with only 8% of employers saying that     talent shortages are causing them to pay higher salaries compared to a year ago. Austria had the highest wage inflation, as reported by 26% of employers surveyed in the country.    Joerres added: "These results build on the findings of Manpower's Talent Shortage Survey undertaken earlier this year, which revealed that many of the hardest to fill positions globally were professional roles, such as accountants, IT programmers and developers, management and executives, and experienced sales representatives."

Consultants' Blog Management Consultancy recruitment update     Following hot on the heels of last week's Consultancy Careers Fair, I wanted to take a few     minutes to record my thoughts on the direction the management consultancy sector is     headed, particularly as regards recruitment.       To listen to this five     minute snapshot, go to http://top-consultant.blog spot.com/2006/10/managemen t-consultancy-recruitment.     html