Recession - disaster or opportunity? - 10/2001

The world of work we now all inhabit is knowledge driven and the people we employ and their skills are our assets, which is great? or is it? Well, it is great until things start to get tight and the clouds of economic doom start to gather.

When the going got tough 20 years ago there were any number of directors on the board that could be asked to cut costs and tighten their belts. But the 80s and 90s saw a further shift from a manufacturing to service-based economy and people became a more significant overhead than ever before. As a result, when recession bites all eyes now turn to the HR director.

Making people redundant is probably the worst job an HR director faces. However, Jackie Jones, human resources head at the UKs most visited Internet recruitment site www.gojobsite.co.uk, believes that properly managed, there can be a positive side to the situation.

According to GoJobsite, as well as offering companies the chance to make themselves leaner and fitter, it forces them to focus on their core business and examine their brand in depth.

This gives HR departments and those responsible for internal communications a chance to give renewed commitment and vigour to encourage staff to engage with the companyís goals, and their role in achieving them. It also reinforces the need for HR departments to create an atmosphere of trust and transparency :an important driver of future business success.

It stands to reason that employees who have seen colleagues made redundant and are continually being bombarded with stories of job cuts will be feeling insecure. Itís the personnel teamís responsibility to engage them, discuss why the cut backs were necessary and, as far as is possible, assure them that their positions are safe, explains Jones.

She continues: ìBy doing this, not only are you going to put your staffsí minds at rest, which is the most important thing, but in the long term you will help foster trust in the company. The aim is improved productivity which will support the companyís business objectives and help prevent further job losses.î

Recession can also give HR departments a respite from continual rounds of recruiting. Time becomes available, not only to improve employee relations, but also to think about how best to utilise the other recruitment opportunities a recession brings.

The most critical of these is the chance to plug vital gaps in the company with people that otherwise may not be on the look out for a new job. Jones says: ìWe are seeing a big rise in the number of people registering at our site looking for employment. HR chiefs should use this chance to get highly qualified staff on their payrollsî.

Of course it is a temptation to try and recruit good staff on reduced packages and while that is certainly possible, GoJobsite urges companies to be cautious. ìOur experience shows that while it may be possible to secure people on lower salaries, companies shouldnít start cutting their overall package particularly when it comes to pensions and healthcare. The good times will come back and salaries are changed more quickly than other benefits. Losing good staff once you have got them will only bring future recruitment costs and problems.î

Obviously convincing the board that taking on new staff when times are tough is not going to be easy, so you will need to keep your HR overheads down and recruitment as slick and efficient as possible.

In order to do this Gojobsite recommends first of all examining how you advertise your vacancy and suggests the following:

Make as much use of free advertising as possible eg. word of mouth, job centres etc.

Use Internet based recruitment sites, this is cheaper than traditional advertising in publications, will cut down the time you need to spend reading through CVs and gives you instant access to thousands of possible applicants.

Donít fall to the temptation of not using headhunters for more senior positions. You may save money up front, but making a mistake when it comes to senior management positions will be costly in the long term.

That said, having convinced the board to continue some recruiting, errors in judgement when taking on staff at any level in the present circumstances will land you in trouble. Now is the time to tighten up your procedures says GoJobsite. Jones recommends the following:

Take up references before the interview
Carry out panel interviews
Introduce a strict trial period system

Recession can open up a wealth of opportunity but it is up to HR management to convince what may be a very sceptical board that taking on staff is a good idea. Following these guidelines, however, will be a good step in the right direction to using the current economic climate to get the best and most motivated personnel possible.

www.Gojobsite.co.uk