Does Talent Management matter during Recession?
Before our recent recession started, most human resource managers were involved in innovative ways and means to keep employees engaged. With the onset of recession and millions of layoffs, we wonder how much employers are concerned about talent management. Many companies now are more concerned about how many people to layoff.
Employers should not be totally blamed for their actions. However, they had to be careful that in the process it can hurt their company in the long-term:
- If they layoff most talented pool, they will not be able to do well after the recession is over. So employers have to carefully weigh against who is the best fit for the job.
- They should not only consider the short-term consequences but also long-term effects too. Layoffs should be considered as the last resort. Employers should weigh against other possible alternatives before they layoff.
- Possible alternatives are temporary shut-downs, decreasing work-hours, freezing salary, and even temporarily suspending 401(k) contributions.
- It is important to understand that employees should not feel the uncertainty of their future in the company. On the other hand, less engagement by supervisors during recession can result in loss of interest for talented employees. Their lack of interest on the job can result them to seek other jobs. This is the time when many other companies will be in search of talent. The disengaged, dis-satisfied employees will be the first to leave the company after the economy improves.
So the big question remains how far employers should engage in talent managent during recessions?
Well, that’s an open debate. However, it is crucial that emlpoyees should feel that they are important to the company even during the recession. This is an important ingredient for the company’s long-term policy and commitments. Experts at Watson Wyatt Worldwide has discussed these issues wonderfully- http://www.watsonwyatt.com/strategyatwork/render.asp?pageid=roundtable&articleid=21163
Talent Management – A headache for employers
Engaging talent and reducing turnover has always been a challenge for companies. The old theory was that higher salary attracts and retains workforce. But then the question started looming in minds of many human resource managers that then why do people join start-ups with a pay cut? Top reasons for mid-level managers quitting jobs are summarized as “LOUD” – Lack of professionalism displayed by supervisors, Overburdened employees, feeling of Unappreciated and too much Deadweight in upper management.
Recent surveys revealed that project manager’s lack of professionalism instigates people to quit. Moreover, experts now believe that most lower to middle level management employees leave jobs because they don’t feel valued enough. Restless employees quit because they are pessimistic about their future in the company. They realize that their chance of growth within the company is limited.
In other companies, supervisors find it easier to manage top-performing employees than improving poor performers. They start relying on top performing employees rather than less productive ones. As a result, workload for top-performing employees increases exponentially. If amount of workload is appropriately rewarded with bonus, then it is not a big problem. In many companies, this is not the case. These overburdened employees start feeling that they are being penalized for being productive. They feel cheated in the name of “teamwork” – their less productive counterparts survive without delivering enough.
The worst reason why employees quit is attributed to too much deadweight on upper management. Oops! That’s really sad, because it is comprehensible that supervisors try to change others. But how can they change themselves? While subordinates toil, supervisors don’t do anything. It is not difficult to guess who gets rewarded though.
Any solution to LOUD?
Employers need to understand that each employee is unique. They should value each of them and provide enough incentive for them to keep them in the company. It is not necessary that they always have to reward them by cash, but other forms, depending on the situation. If an employee and a mother want more flexible hours, it is advisable to give her that. If long commute is proving economic hardship for someone, allow the person to work-from- home. This way they can build an emotional connection with employees and engage them in a long-lasting relationship with the company.
Moreover, employees want to become a part of management, a little nudge from the supervisors in taking their decisions seriously and giving them a chance to become a part of the management will go a long way. Deadweight might be difficult to remove, but at least, supervisors can share their rewards with the employees who helped them. Well. Not necessarily with cash, but the least they can do is acknowledging their contributions. Employees really hate when the employer underestimates their intelligence and tries to act smart.
Well, the solution, in most cases is in the hands of the employers, but most of the time, they try to shrug off. It’s time to wake up! Be genuine in trying to connect with employees. They will respond.
ephemeralthinking.com acknowledges that many of the views and opinions are based on studies published by the Harvard Business Review, Watson Wyatt Worldwide and Mercer Human Resource Consulting. For more information, please refer to:
http://www.watsonwyatt.com/topics/htrender.asp?ID=16371
http://www.mercer.com/home.htm
Edward E. Lawler III, “Why are we losing all our good people?” Harvard Business Review, June 2008.
Other related links:
http://www.taleo.com/talent-management-blog.php
