Lean and Six Sigma Talent Demand Surges 90% Over Recession Levels, Seventh Annual Avery Point Group Study Finds

ATLANTA, April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Companies flush with strong balance sheets after taking drastic actions during the recession are clearly making aggressive moves to bolster their internal talent pools by seeking both Lean and Six Sigma talent, according to the latest study of almost 6,700 recent Internet job postings reviewed by The Avery Point Group (http://www.LeanSigmaTalent.com). The executive search firm's seventh annual study found that the combined demand for Lean and Six Sigma talent has almost doubled, rising by over 90 percent versus last year's recession levels.

"This year's dramatic overall talent demand increase for Lean and Six Sigma skills may have more to do with insuring ongoing corporate performance and leveraging expected rising demand versus an early signal of overall hiring," states Tim Noble, managing principal and partner of The Avery Point Group. "Companies are seeking Lean and Six Sigma talent as a way to help their organizations better leverage their performance during the ongoing recovery. They don't want to add back one-for-one on headcount, inventory and operating cost as the economy recovers and volume returns. Rather, they see continuous improvement talent as an enabler to help them gain and maintain significant performance leverage."

For the first time in seven consecutive studies by The Avery Point Group, this year's study showed little to no year-over-year change on the relative balance between Lean and Six Sigma talent demand. This year's study found that Lean talent demand continues to outpace Six Sigma by almost 35 percent, in-line with last year's study. Nonetheless, this is still a dramatic shift from The Avery Point Group's 2005 inaugural Lean and Six Sigma talent demand study that showed Six Sigma talent demand exceeding Lean by more than 50 percent.

Almost exactly in-line with last year, this year's study found that for companies seeking Lean talent, only 41 percent require candidates to possess Six Sigma knowledge as well, a requirement that has continued to decline in The Avery Point Group's previous talent demand studies. On the other hand, for companies seeking Six Sigma talent, almost 55 percent are now requiring candidates to possess Lean knowledge as well, a requirement that has steadily grown in previous studies.

"These results continue to show an overall bias for Lean skills, perhaps as an ongoing hedge against the challenges of today's economic climate, which Lean's more immediate and practical focus on waste, flow and flexibility may better serve," states Noble. "It may also indicate that companies are continuing to balance out their continuous improvement talent stable with Lean candidates versus slightly more ubiquitous Six Sigma talent."

Overall, Noble concludes, this sharp rise in talent demand for Six Sigma and Lean bodes well for candidates who possess these skills, as organizations seek them out as either a hedge against current economic uncertainty or as an enabler to leverage the emerging economic recovery.

About The Avery Point Group

The Avery Point Group (http://www.LeanSigmaRecruiter.com) is a leading global executive search and recruiting firm that assists companies in identifying, assessing and recruiting mid-level management to senior executive leadership talent, with key focus in the areas of Six Sigma, Lean, and operational excellence. The firm leverages its principals' decades of executive operations and staffing experience to provide the highest-quality retained and contingent executive search services, serving a wide spectrum of industries spanning manufacturing, distribution and service-based companies globally.

For more information about The Avery Point Group and its seventh annual study of Lean and Six Sigma talent demand trends, please contact Tim Noble at +1 678-585-9804 x101.

This press release was issued through eReleases(R).  For more information, visit eReleases Press Release Distribution at http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE The Avery Point Group