RFL: Staffing Strategies for a Recession

Another reprint from the RecruitingReview and from an earlier RFL post...

Employer Bright Spots

Staffing Strategies for a Recession

By Jason Blais, JobsInMA.com

Battling The Storm

Recruiting may seem like a low priority for businesses today facing hiring freezes, or worse. But a recession requires a different way of thinking. Employers who take advantage of this market will come out stronger and more diverse when the economy finally turns around. In an environment where companies are forced to do more with less, it is critical that employers leverage the skills and talents of their existing workforce, and make sound hiring decisions based on this new climate.

Provide Key Strategic Input

April 2008 saw total employment reach its highest level ever in many areas. In the second half of 2008, everything changed. It's no surprise that the instability of the economy will continue to have dramatic affects on the labor market for the next several months as businesses tighten their belts.

Take a slow, deep breath in, and let out a long, collective sigh of relief. That's right, relief. We can stop hiding from the issue and begin to tackle it head on, together. After all, it's not just your business experiencing hard times.

As an HR professional, you're truly on the front lines of this battle, balancing productivity, quality control and consumer confidence with slashed overheads, reduced staff and increasing costs of employee benefits.

Don't be discouraged. You can unveil the true power and business acumen hidden within Human Resource Management. Use your knowledge and experience to provide key strategic input to the rest of the management team and you'll navigate your business successfully through these dangerous waters.

Adaptive Staffing

In the months to come, employee productivity and personnel decisions will weigh heavily on bottom lines. Through better recruiting and staffing techniques, businesses can significantly reduce turnover costs, resulting in increased quality of work, productivity, and, ultimately, profitability.

Get Creative

You can survive the recession while positioning your company for tremendous success when the economy rebounds. Analyze and organize your labor force to increase quality, productivity, and flexibility. Install processes to increase your employee retention, engagement, and job satisfaction through new and innovative methods.

Do More with Less

With a potentially shrinking workforce and tightening budget, it's more important than ever to make sure you have the right people to keep your company thriving. In most cases, that will mean expanding job descriptions, increasing responsibilities, and cashing in on a greater variety of skill sets required to fulfill those needs.

It's easy to see the negative ramifications of the situation: over-burdened staff with no potential increase in compensation, resulting in a lack of employee engagement. But there is another perspective.

Give Employees What They Want

• As the many colors of a kaleidoscope mix to create beautiful combinations of light, a variety of job functions can create a fulfilling and rewarding combination of experiences to keep your employees engaged and growing.
• Don't just heap the workload left behind by reduced staff onto department survivors. Consider exploring opportunities for cross-departmental and cross-functional solutions and roles.
• Take a skills inventory of your entire labor force and uncover latent talents. Identify occasions to distribute job functions across the company, beyond the traditional departmental structure.
• There are countless reports and studies that indicate job satisfaction and employee engagement are directly affected by boredom, variety of job function, and interdepartmental involvement.
• By applying your own knowledge, talent, and experience in an innovative way, you'll develop organizational excellence despite the economy.
• Talk with peers at local HR Association chapter meetings, find social networking sites for like-minded professionals, and use the research and case studies provided by The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) to increase your knowledge base.
• Now is not the time to give up - now is the time to step up.

Staffing Expertise

JobsInMA.com assists local businesses in leveraging their workforce and identifying internal solutions to seize these opportunities, by offering educational webinars and seminars through JobsInMA.com University.

For several years, JobsInMA.com has presented internet recruiting and employment advertising workshops across the state. Accredited by the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI), these programs help businesses to better understand the recruiting market, providing timely content and pragmatic approaches to identify, attract, and retain the best employees.

In 2009, employers will have access to several new accredited programs developed and presented exclusively by JobsInMA.com University. From understanding social media's impact on the workforce, to developing strategies to optimize staffing during a recession, employers can choose from an array of educational content.

One session, Employment Branding 20/20, was recently presented. It provided HR professionals with techniques to decrease recruiting costs while increasing employee retention by creating best in class employment branding. All of the programs presented by JobsInMA.com University will give employers the specific tools and guidance they need to achieve results using their own in-house resources.

Employers can find more detailed information about these programs, and register for upcoming sessions at JobsInMA.com.

Recruitment Review Newsletter