I’m signalling my age here, but as those of us who’ve been through these tough times before will know, recruitment doesn’t go away during a recession, it just changes emphasis.

Cutting back
Sure enough, present circumstances are forcing many Managers to make drastic cut backs, with news of fresh redundancies now being announced by the day. And it looks like things will get much worse before they get any better.

Many Managers are faced with a pressing need to take a hard look at their teams, identifying those who are least performing and letting them go NOW. Many will sadly be forced to take matters a stage further and let go of good performers – highly capable people who are victims of wrong time, wrong place.

But be careful. For there’s always a danger that cut backs end up going too far until eventually the realisation dawns that the skills and experience left within the business are not best placed to help you navigate your way through these turbulent times.

For the simple truth is, the quality and calibre of your people will ultimately determine how well your organisation gets through all this; the quality of the decisions reached; the speed and success with which these decisions are implemented. Managers need to be sure, therefore, that they don’t just cut back on staff in order to take out the most cost; they need to be certain that those who remain have the right combination of skills and experience to ensure the company’s survival and growth.

A time to hire
Which is why, if past experience is anything to go by, many an employer will end up recruiting a short time after (if not at the same time) as they let people go. How long this takes depends on how forward thinking or ruthless (take your pick) they are about this.

A silver lining for employers is that, amidst all this gloom, there are now a significant number of very good people on the market – talent that only a few weeks ago seemed as rare as hen’s teeth. Hard questions, therefore, need to be asked of those who are left. For example, are the finance team strong enough to keep a tight control over costs? Can they provide those vital KPI’s and supporting analysis to help Managers make informed decisions quickly? Are the sales team capable of opening the doors and landing the deals on the scale and in the timescales required? Department by department, stark questions need to be asked of everyone.

The correct response may simply be to let some people go whilst keeping the rest on board. Sometimes it may mean taking matters that step further and, for example, letting two people go whilst hiring in another with the skills to perform both roles at less cost.

In any event, now is not the time for Managers to make do with what they’ve got and hope for the best, when they know deep down that what they’ve got is not the answer. There is now enough real talent on the market who could potentially offer a more effective solution, and in the current climate, should be more than willing to talk to you!

But a word of warning...
Just because good people are out there in numbers not seen for some time; employers shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking it’s a buyers market where low ball offers, a slow recruitment process and haphazard communication will still land them that quality hire.

The fact is, the vast majority of talent are still in employment and always will be. In uncertain times, candidates are less likely to change jobs, not more so. So whilst undoubtedly the volume of applications may well soar (presenting its own problems) and high calibre talent will almost certainly be amongst the mix, the job of finding them may be a tad easier, but attracting and hiring them will be just as difficult – unless candidates are absolutely desperate. In which case, they’ll soon be off again once the economy improves and better offers present themselves.

So my advice...
Look dispassionately at the performance of each member of your workforce and be sure to make the necessary cut backs quickly. But be mindful not to cut back too far in the desire to reduce your wage bill, only to discover the people you’re left with are not good enough to meet the challenges ahead.

Be sure to take advantage of the high calibre talent that’s now coming onto the market, but don’t act as though (as the employer) you now hold all the aces. Hiring Managers will still need to roll out the red carpet if they’re to attract and hire the best that’s out there. Some things never change and rightly so.

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