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Is the “Great Recession”
finally over? While economists
argue both sides, one thing is
certainly clear: the landscape
of talent management has
forever changed. Read about
the latest trends—and how your
organization can move forward
with clarity and confidence.
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
L E A D I N G T H E W A Y I N
TALENT MANAGEMENT
O
B Y J U L I E B O S
OUR ECONOMIC RECESSION MAY OR MAY NOT BE OVER. But either way, the old rules of
talent management no longer apply. Today’s companies still need to face a tightening labor market, reign in unnecessary costs and do more with less.
So where do you go from here? And how are you supposed to plan for talent acquisition in a post-recession economy? Understanding the recent trends is a great place to start.
Trend #1: More Reliance on a Contingent Workforce
When the recession first hit, layoffs were a knee-jerk first response for many compa-nies. Most reduced their workforces by an average of 20-25 percent (and some cut much more drastically). So when the economic upswing brings increased hiring opportunities, do organizations plan to refill all their previous positions?
According to Jay Lash, executive director of Allegis Group Services, the answer is no. “We’re not going to go back to business as usual,” he says. “Companies are
recogniz-Rethinking Talent Management:
Where Do We Go
from Here?
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L E A D I N G T H E W A Y I N
TALENT MANAGEMENT
ing that having full-time employees is very expensive—it’s expensive to scale and difficult to expand globally. And as your markets and products change, it’s virtually impossible for these full-time workers to accommodate all those fluc-tuations.”
“Instead, companies are starting to look at their core competencies, key business strengths and talent pool— while taking a close look at things they can begin to offload or outsource through a contingent workforce, in or-der to provide that buffer,” he says. “As a result, they are starting to build greater dependencies on the variable-cost workforce versus the fixed-variable-cost workforce.”
Recent research from Veritude con-firms this trend. The company’s July report titled “The New Normal: Recession Response and Workforce Planning” revealed that the current recession has impacted how HR professionals operate, as 38 percent of HR professionals surveyed shared that their staffing models will not revert to what it was in the past.
In fact, seeking more flexibility in cutting staff when necessary, 33 per-cent of respondents are considering increased reliance on contingent staff. Reasons cited for turning to contingent workers were gaining the ability to handle fluctuations in volume (30 per-cent) and having a “try before you buy” approach (20 percent).
Trend #2: Increased Focus
on Hiring Quality and the
Role of Selection Science
Quality of hire has always been the holy grail of recruiting. The recent recession has not changed that fact—if anything, it’s made finding quality employees even more important.
“Today, there are more applicants and fewer jobs,” says Steve Earl, direc-tor of product marketing at Kronos, Inc. “The applicant pool has expanded in terms of volume, experience levels and diversity—making the hiring man-ager’s job a whole lot harder. Using selection tools that help identify quality —not just attract quality—can help hiring managers sift through the expanded applicant pool to find the one who best fits the position requirements.”
Trend #3: Continued
Awareness of RPO as a
Long-Term, Strategic Option
According to the recent Global RPO Report 2009, released in July by Kelly Outsourcing and Consulting Group (KellyOCG), familiarity with RPO appears to be on the rise. 62 percent of survey respondents say they are famil-iar or very familfamil-iar with RPO versus 56 percent last year.
“When the current recession passes, as it will, the war for skills and talent shortages will return in even more dramatic forms,” says Zachary Misko, global director of RPO for KellyOCG. “HR departments that have downsized in the lean times will be overwhelmed with the complexities of identifying and on-boarding the quality and quan-tity of talent they need to fuel their company’s renewed growth. The value that RPO can play in such an environ-ment to enable organizations to respond rapidly will be, if anything, more pronounced.”
Trend #4: Ongoing Interest
in Off-shoring
According to Lash, most companies that can accommodate certain func-tions offshore are either already doing it, or seriously exploring it.
“Many companies have told us that they are off-shoring at least some piece of their work—perhaps some process-ing functions that have moved to India, a new test center in China, or a new manufacturing line in Malaysia,” he says. “That has more or less been the wave during the economic downturn.”
“However, we shouldn’t look at this as a negative,” he adds. “Instead, off-shoring represents growth—indicating positive things happening for global companies.”
Trend #5: Increased Need
for Temporary Workers
An increase in outsourcing and off-shoring is causing another trend: an increased need for temporary labor to help organize, package (and sometimes manage) the outsourced work.
“Once a company chooses to out-source or off-shore some work, the next step is to have someone actually package up the work to deliver it to the new provider,” explains Lash.
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Since 1995, we have
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ALLEGISGROUPSERVICES.
COMExperse
Maers.
When it comes to medical care, you’d never risk your
health by choosing a doctor with questionable expertise.
And in the area of human capital management, you
should apply the same high standards.
At Allegis Group Services, we offer our clients a wide
range of service solutions that enable them to optimize
their use of human capital. As part of the Allegis Group
family of companies, Allegis Group Services provides
Workforce Management Solutions, Recruitment Process
Outsourcing and Consulting Services that help build
staffing supply chains, secure top talent, guide Vendor
Management System selection and implement Managed
Service programs for the world’s leading companies.
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L E A D I N G T H E W A Y I N
TALENT MANAGEMENT
“We learned all these lessons from companies’ recent off-shoring and outsourcing endeavors. Simply giving an outside contractor the task is proba-bly not enough. Somebody actually has to package the work so that it’s well defined with clear milestones and deliverables—and many times, manage the project to ensure tangible results that demonstrate real efficiencies and savings.”
This role often falls to temporary “business analysts”—many of whom are ex-employees, recent retirees and those who may soon retire.
“This group understands the busi-ness; they understand the applications; and they understand the customers,” says Lash.
Trend #6: Lean Principles
Being Applied to
Recruitment
Most of us are familiar with “Lean” principles within manufacturing. But these days, the same concepts of reducing waste, increasing quality and improving production are now being used to improve the talent acquisition function.
“In a time of reduced hiring quanti-ty, HR professionals are shifting more of their focus to hiring quality,” says Misko. “Consequently, people are real-izing they can use Lean principles in business processes to help reduce waste, eliminate redundancies, shorten cycle times and eliminate costs. So out-side of just eliminating head count— a blanket cost—we’re helping organi-zations use a Lean philosophy to really
refine their recruitment process and reduce a lot of waste.”
For example, using Lean tools like value-stream mapping and kan-ban, KellyOCG helped one of its clients reduce offer defects by 80 percent, elim-inate the use of incorrect offer forms, reduce inventory, save money and increase hiring manager satisfaction.
Trend #7: More Attention
to Candidates’ Schedule
Preferences
“In the retail world, it’s important to consider an applicant’s schedule prefer-ences during the hiring process— particularly in hourly, frontline posi-tions,” says Earl. “This mismatch is a key reason for voluntary turnover. Even though employee retention is longer in this recession, this is a prac-tice that will yield positive results when the economy turns around.”
In corporate positions, hiring man-agers are dealing with similar issues— primarily a younger generation of workers that have their own ideas about work schedules.
“From our view, more and more workers—particularly the younger generations—are choosing independ-ent, less structured forms of employ-ment,” says Lash. “They don’t want to work 9 to 5. They may not mind working until midnight, but they may want to do it from home. They are requiring more flexibility in their jobs, as well as more purpose. In order to have more satisfaction in their jobs, they need to feel they are contributing in some way.”
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As part of the Allegis Group
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provides Managed
Services, Recruitment
Process Outsourcing and
Consulting Services that
help build staffing supply
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Whether you’re in need of a Managed Services Provider, Recruitment Process
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at (877) 247-4426 or visit
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Going “Lean” With Your Recruiting Processes
Based on recent success with one of its clients, the KellyOCG RPO team
recommends several strategies for process improvement in the recruiting process. • Create application instructions
• Standardize the initial candidate phone screening
• Create a compliant process for documenting search strings • Standardize the hiring manager call for newly posted positions • Create a staffing quick reference guide for hiring managers • Document the employee referral process
• Create a checklist for offer compliance
• Define compliant candidate disposition codes to use in the applicant tracking system
What Next?
Nobody knows for sure when we may see an upturn in the economy. We do know, however, that in order to survive in the current climate and to ensure a sustainable future, companies need to ensure that their attention is focused on their greatest asset— their people.
Strategies for Success
Realizing these trends, how can you move forward in your organization today? Consider these tips:
Continue searching for great talent
Don’t stop hiring during the eco-nomic downturn. In a soft market, many of the best engineers, sales peo-ple, marketing peopeo-ple, managers and executives are looking around. Take advantage of the unique opportunity to strengthen these highly competitive areas.
Don’t dismiss the value of job boards
With over 850,000 different job boards and social networking sites available today, it’s become more diffi-cult than ever to fully understand how to utilize all those sites, post positions or effectively communicate on all of them. Take the time to understand which sites work best for you—or part-ner with someone who can help.
Treat job candidates as if they were customers
With more and more people online applying for jobs, employers should seek to provide a positive applicant ex-perience while candidates are at the ca-reer site. In many cases, these people will be the customers shopping in your stores once the recession is over. A pos-itive experience will leave them feeling good about your company and brand.
Turn outward, not inward
Spend even more time focusing on customers’ needs. Take time to exam-ine what products and services are doing well, and which are not. Look at how the economy has affected your customers—and look for new needs you can fill.
Aim to keep current employees satisfied
If increasing compensation is not possible, look for cost-effective ways to retain, engage and motivate employees
through other means. Flexible work hours, hand-written thank-you notes and employee-led best-practice sharing sessions are a few ideas for keeping your workforce engaged.
Don’t abandon your employee recognition programs
Even when times are tough, you’ll find many people performing at high levels of performance. Rewarding them should remain a priority. Continue investing in talent development and recognition efforts, and remember that talent development is a long-term investment.
Communicate a growth path for employees
Employees will better understand that managers are invested in their futures, and they’ll be more confident in investing their time and career with the organization.
Look for ways to keep your knowledge in-house
Consider contracting with ex-employees and recent retirees, many of whom have spent decades in the field and represent a tremendous wealth of knowledge.
Communicate honestly and clearly
Clearly explain your organization’s rainy day plan—where it’s going to invest, where it needs to cut expenses, where it needs to do more with less and how it plans to bring the company out of its current problems. This communi-cation is vital—not only with employ-ees, but also with candidates.
Consider Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)
Teaming up with an RPO provider can help you save money while maxi-mizing your scalability in a down economy—enabling you to get the exact number of resources you need today, while poising you for growth tomorrow.
Don’t be afraid to change your talent management philosophy
Many companies are rethinking their positions on telecommuting, virtual meetings, more flexible schedules and increased use of contingent workers. In today’s environment, change is everywhere—and wise companies are embracing that change and capitalizing on the opportunity to reinvent
themselves. ■
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