Instead of cutting staff, CareerBuilder made the decision to cut salaries and retain staff, which I believe is the right move for the situation. I also believe many other companies and even government leadership should assess the possibilities of wage cuts. Yes government leadership, and here are my thoughts.
President Obama, Key Staff and Congress should follow CareerBuilder’s lead and propose salary cuts. Not to all the everyday government workers, just to leadership salaries. This type of action, I believe, would send an incredibly positive message throughout the Nation. It is no secret that jobs are being lost and wages are being cut across America, YOUR leadership, U.S. Government, could demonstrate they are truly a part of America and NOT insulated from what the everyday American is facing.
Sure their salaries would only make a small dent in the huge deficit, although this would demonstrate to the American people that U.S. leadership is standing shoulder to shoulder with us and truly committed to this fight to bind America back together and NOT about fixing the deficit in one move.
Remember that serving as President; being in key leadership positions such as House and Senate positions is a PRIVILEDGE not a right. Just like any American across the United States who has a job. A job is not a right it is an opportunity for yourself, your family and your company. An opportunity to make a meaningful life, to build a better widget and most importantly to feed the kids and keep the electricity flowing.
We are in a time when the “I” does NOT exist, which means “we” had better pull together, drop the feeling of “American privilege” and rekindle the hard work ideals of the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s to drive out of this depression, recession, call it whatever you like… I say it is an opportunity for America to once again band together, guided by government and corporate leadership, to create a new and better future.
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March 19th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Pro Tip: Use spellcheck.
March 20th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
I’m appalled at seeing the name Obama and careerbuilder in the same article. What this article doesn’t take into consideration is that careerbuilder management was grossly overpaid to begin with.
March 20th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Totally!
Rightly said.
March 21st, 2009 at 9:53 am
I think the depth of these statements and/or arguments may be lost on this crowd Joel, proven by the last two comments.
March 22nd, 2009 at 4:32 am
Salary Cuts are are like putting a band-aid on a shotgun wound,unemployment rates aren’t coming down anytime soon, and job recovery is a while away. Salary cuts demotivate high performers and encourage them to seek out other opportunities. Layoffs are better because they motivate those who remain to work harder and if done properly they can cut unnecessary fat from a company. With a sales organization like careerbuilder its pretty easy to pick out the “runts of the litter”. Those who do not hit quota or a designated metric for a specific period of time should be unceremoniously canned. In the same manner government should attempt to cut unnecessary fat from the budget coupled with increased taxes and ,here is the key, less spending moving forward. Pay cuts are desperate and if they do not work then the management team will still have to layoff workers. So this leaves remaining employees getting smaller earnings and feeling double crossed when layoffs occur despite the pay cuts. Life is full of messy, difficult decisions, laying people off is the worst dilemma any executive will ever face, but its one that must be met head on. Cutting salary is a cowards way out of a difficult situation. In life and in business, normally the hardest choice is usually the right one. Cutting staff in this downturn is essential for the health of the company. Cutting salaries only prolongs the inevitable “right sizing” that must occur for careerbuilder to move forward healthy and ready to face the changing online recruitment industry.
March 22nd, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Anon, CB did cut staff. They may not have done it this go-round, but they wouldn’t have had to do it at all if upper management and the CEO knew what the hell they were doing. We knew the slowdown was coming in the cheap seats months before they realized it.
Instead, CB’s CEO wants to be Bono, saving Africa and chasing blond interns in a skirt.
I don’t think Obama should emulate that. We already had THAT president, and his name was Bill Clinton.
March 23rd, 2009 at 9:25 am
Maybe if we had less Gordon Gekko’s in this world, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
Are you drunk posting again on a Saturday night at 4:32 am Gordon? The markets aren’t open!
March 25th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
If Career Builder and Obama were on the same page, I dont think Career Builder would be moving their customer service department out of the USA. What a sell out. When the going gets tough, screw American workers and put more money in your pocket.Great company
March 26th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Hunter thinks that Erik is the best salesperson of all time. Too bad he’s only sold one small deal in 15 months. Salary cuts for the high performers while people like Erik stay on the payroll and continue to underperform. This is no way to run a business. I’ve heard most of the high performers are making plans to jump ship… soon.
March 26th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
J agrees with Hunter. How CB plans to grow while continuing to hire and promote people like Erik is a total mystery. Another few hires like Erik and CB will find themselves in this recession long after the rest of us have climbed out.
March 29th, 2009 at 9:11 am
Firstly, Pres Obama did do that. His staff, which he announced shortly after coming to office, have agreed to pay freezes. Understand that most people who work in the government do not make anywhere near private industry. So, asking these people to take paycuts is redundant. They’ve already DONE THAT! All of his top staff have taken DRAMATIC pay cuts to come on board in his administration. Plus they’ve agreed to having their pay frozen. NO raises and NO BONUSES. Are Careerbuilders executives going to get bonuses? Are they going to be flying first class? I don’t know how old you are but you need to do some research before you post on a subject you know nothing aobut.