Labor experts’ projections indicate Poirior may be on target with his decision to prioritize education. Although the need for the consulting industry increases with the growth of globalization, company outsourcing, and new technology, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics further projects job competition will be “keen” because of the industry’s generous salaries and benefits.⁷ Between 2006 and 2016, the sector’s wage and salary employment is expected to grow by 78% compared with other industries’ 11% growth during the same time frame.⁸ As of May 2006, the media hourly earnings for the industry’s general and operations managers was $58.97 compared to $40.97 for other industries.⁹ “Individuals with the most education and job experience will likely have the best job prospects,” the Bureau of Labor Statistics states in its 2008-09 Career Guide to Industries.

Poirior says his company is mindful of the poor economy, which led to Valicom awarding him for the time being with more stock options and flexible hours rather than a monetary increase for his executive promotion. However, he says, his increased investment in the company automatically increased his desire  to fulfill the company’s vision, partly by communicating with and retaining an effective staff instead of using his executive status to outshine his team. Again, drawing on his University education, Poirior says, he is more apt now to build better communication into his management style.

One of the problems Poirior says he saw at Valicom was poor employee retention. To help counteract this problem, Poirior says he used his University of Phoenix training to hire employees using the Myers-Briggs personality test and other similar techniques. A business management consulting firm like Valicom, he notes, needs employees who are detail-oriented and not “bored” by routine work, like scouring through invoices to find cost savings for clients. Poirior says his results have been phenomenal, with employee turnover rate dropping from the high double digits to now the low to mid-digits: “I probably have the best team in the field in this company’s 19-year existence.” As a result, he says, his company poises itself to retain top talent in what labor analysts suggest is an industry that can be considered by clients as either a necessary budgetary cut or a investment necessity to survive an economic recession.¹¹ “[Solving the retention problem],” Poirior says, “has been a huge fix, as well as a personal achievement, for me as an executive within this company.”

1 Thomas Reuters. (October 27, 2009). US ECON: US October Consumer Confidence Down To 47 .Retrieved October 29, 2009, from http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/10/27/afx7048901.html.
2 Dougherty, Connor. (October 30, 2009.) Economy Snaps Long Slump. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 30, 2009, from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125681908931715735.html?mod=article-outset-box
3 Bureau of Labor Statistics. Career Guide to Industries, 2008-09 Edition, Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services. U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved October 28, 2009, from http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs037.htm.
4 Bureau of Labor Statistics.
5 Bureau of Labor Statistics.
6 Yaremich, Marissa. (September 16, 2009). University of Phoenix Knowledge Network Interview: Valicom Owner Nancy Peckham and Chief Operating Officer J. Jeff Poirior. Unpublished. 
7 Bureau of Labor Statistics.
8 Bureau of Labor Statistics.
9 Bureau of Labor Statistics.
10 Devine, Robert J. Developing Good Leaders: A Measured Approach. CPP Inc., Retrieved October 28, 2009, from https://www.cpp.com/Pdfs/CPPleadership_whitepaper.pdf
11 Bureau of Labor Statistics.