Now financial outfits are taking a much more strategic approach, laying off back-office staff and people who execute ideas but don't usually generate them. Companies are holding on to their rainmakers the people whose insight and savvy help create new business. No employer wants to lose them to the competition. But we're in a different climate today than we were during the last recession. Recent Wall Street mergers have shaken loose a lot of talent.
People are willing to consider leaving their jobs because they feel unsettled.
The A-plus player whom everyone wants is virtually untouchable, even in the best of times. There used to be room on Wall Street for real characters, people who were brilliant at what they did but impossible to work with. As companies expand globally, the challenge is both political and geographic. People who can meet it are being rewarded. The mix of compensation packages may change people may start getting paid more in cash than in stock and options but compensation as a whole will keep going up.