Recruiting talent in troubled times

Organisations are going through trying times in this global slowdown.

Everyday one hears of organisations either going bust, declaring losses, laying-off or grappling with severe liquidity shortage. However, not all organisations are as badly hit.

There are those that are not fighting collapse but are actually having to adjust to the new market reality, and are facing the onerous task of riding the current down cycle.

Their challenge is about sustaining their revenues and profits rather than surviving by avoiding a collapse.

Firstly, it is critical for such organisations to relook their sales strategies and pay attention to excelling at customer service and customer relationship management (CRM).

Improving efficiency

Concentrating on existing customers through robust CRM and service will lead to pleasant customer experiences, top of mind recall, repeat sales and referrals.

Secondly, it is important to take a close look at costs and improving efficiencies. This is necessary for fiscal discipline, saving for exigencies and sustaining profitability during the slowdown.

It includes looking at tactical means such as reduced travel and entertainment. More importantly it is about achieving strategic cost efficiencies.

Not necessarily by conventional means like cutting head-count, but by strategically looking at process and productivity improvements.

Human resources managers need to play an indirect but critical role in the above initiatives by building a strong service and cost culture through employee communication, and linking the above to individual performance measures.

However there are other areas directly under the purview of HR that are equally critical.

Recruiting during economic slowdowns seems easy but is actually more difficult. As supply is more than demand, it is easy to recruit "bodies".

However, it is a lot tougher to attract high quality talent and performers as they may not want to take the risk of leaving their present jobs.

Out of the box

It, therefore, becomes critical for HR to convince such potential recruits that the opening is based on long-term strategic needs with a well defined career path.

Another way is to recruit out of the box.

It may actually be a good idea during economic slowdown, to recruit based on a potential candidate's talent-fit for a job rather than experience-fit. Such recruits are more likely to be innovative and less likely to be conventional based on past experience.

Finally, HR needs to play a strong role in ensuring retention and motivation of existing employees.

HR managers need to ensure that talent is not being poached and job security concerns are not hampering organisational performance and motivation.

One way of doing this is investing in employee training and development to upgrade skill sets and competencies.

Secondly, while it may or not be possible to maintain historical bonus levels, HR must recognise employee performance through promotions or other recognitions like awards and certificates to drive retention and motivation.

- Sanjiv Anand is Managing Director and Yajat Bindal is Principal Consultant at Cedar Management Consulting International.