Posts
Upgrading Talent
by Matthew Guthridge, John R. McPherson & William J. Wolf
A downturn can give smart companies a chance to upgrade their talent.
Downturns place companies' talent strategies at risk. As deteriorating performance forces increasingly aggressive head count reductions, it's easy to lose valuable contributors inadvertently, damage morale or the company's external reputation among potential employees, or drop the ball on important training and staff-development programs. But there is a better way. By emphasizing talent in cost-cutting efforts, employers can intelligently strengthen the value proposition they offer current and potential employees and position themselves strongly for growth when economic conditions improve.
Companies can maintain their attractiveness to internal and external talent by using cost-cutting efforts as an opportunity to redesign jobs so that they become more engaging for the people undertaking them. A job's level of responsibility, degree of autonomy, and span of control all contribute to employee satisfaction. Head count reductions provide a powerful incentive to use existing resources better by breaking down silos and increasing the span of control for challenging managerial roles-thus improving the odds of engaging key talent in the redesigned jobs.
Consider Cisco Systems' approach to downsizing during the last recession. In 2001, as deteriorating financial performance forced the elimination of 8,500 jobs, Cisco redesigned roles and responsibilities to improve cross-functional alignment and reduce duplication. The more collaborative environment fostered by such moves increased workplace satisfaction and productivity for many employees. Initiatives like Cisco's succeed when companies focus on redesigning jobs and retaining talent at the outset of downsizing efforts.
In addition to redesigning roles, companies cutting jobs should carefully protect training and development programs. These are not only essential to maintaining workplace morale and increasing long-term productivity, but they also give people the skills necessary to carry out redesigned jobs that have greater spans of control. During the last recession, International Paper continued offering classes at its leadership institute by replacing external facilitators with the company's senior leaders. This approach not only reduced the cost of delivery but also, thanks to the involvement of senior leaders, redirected the content of the leadership program by tying it more closely to decisions and skills affecting the company's current performance. Similarly, IBM retained its employee-developmen
but the historical investments IBM had made in developing its people helped achieve a successful turnaround.
Before undertaking widespread layoffs, companies should use their performance-
downsizing, improve the bottom line, and help identify talented people the company should try to retain.
Companies that are reducing staff must focus relentlessly on the internal cultural and external reputational implications of cost-cutting efforts. Although strong employer brands are resilient, it's difficult to reestablish brand strength once the culture has been damaged. The way many companies conduct large-scale downsizing decreases efficiency, morale, and motivation on the part of remaining employees. It also increases voluntary turnover among high performers and compromises a company's ability to attract strong talent in the future, as potential employees wonder how risky it is to take a job there.
Counteracting these tendencies requires creativity. In 2001, Cisco gave generous severance packages and assistance with job searches to the workers it laid off and launched a program that paid one-third of salary, plus benefits and stock options, to ex-employees who agreed to work for a local charity or community organization. Steps like these protected Cisco's employer brand by attempting to make departing employees feel better about Cisco and underscored the company's commitment to its people for those who remained. The results were measurable: employee satisfaction remained high, and Cisco retained a prominent spot on Fortune magazine's "Best Companies to Work For" list.
A strong employer brand is also important for companies undertaking selective recruitment even as they cut personnel costs elsewhere. Using slowdowns to uncover and hire displaced talent is often fruitful. Studies have shown that although overall levels of recruitment may level off or even fall, the quality of workers hired rises in recessions. And opportunities to find and hire displaced talent may be particularly valuable during this downturn, as massive downsizing in the financial-services sector makes available to nonfinancial companies a large pool of highly educated and motivated professionals who previously might not have considered jobs outside their previous employers or industries.
Some organizations are moving surprisingly quickly in response to these opportunities in the talent market. In late October 2008, the US Internal Revenue Service hosted a Manhattan career fair targeted at displaced financial-services professionals. More than 1,300 people attended, many standing in line for three hours to learn more about an employer that offered a newly interesting brand of "job stability."
Cost cutting during a downturn is often necessary to ensure a company's current profitability and future competitiveness. Rather than freezing all hiring and employee-developmen
[About the Authors: Matthew Guthridge is an associate principal in McKinsey's London office, John McPherson is a director in the Dallas office, and William Wolf is a principal in the Washington, DC, office.]
Hari Nair
Vice President - Human Resources
Sona Koyo Steering Systems Limited
38/6, On Delhi Jaipur National Highway 8
GURGAON 122 001
Haryana
Mobile :
+91-98-102-89047
e-mail :
hari.nair@sonagroup
hari.nair69@
harinair64@gmail.
Web :
www.sonagroup.
www.haripassionhr.
http://finance.
http://haripassionh
http://www.orkut.
http://www.facebook
http://www.linkedin
"Send an e-mail to PassionHR-subscribe
" No one can predict to what heights you can soar, Even you will not know until you spread your wings "
"Please do not print this email unless it is absolutely necessary. Spread environmental awareness."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PassionHR/
http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=17331195369402941603/
http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=36313142/
http://haripassionhr.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/profile.php?id=551210263/
http://www.linkedin.com/in/passionhr
Post message : PassionHR@yahoogroups.com
Subscribe : PassionHR-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Mobile : +91-98-102-89047 {Hari Nair}
DISCLAIMER : This e-mail and/or all e-mail (including its enclosures/(s) or attachment/(s), if any) contains knowledge sharing information from PassionHR Group, which is confidential, proprietary, and/or copyrighted. Unauthorized disclosure, copying, distribution, or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information (either whole or partial) is strictly prohibited. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, displaying this transmission, or any part thereof, on any public domain such as a bulletin board. E-mails are susceptible to alteration and their integrity can in no way/cannot be guaranteed. PassionHR Group will/shall not be liable of this e-mail if modified or falsified. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail or received any link or derogatory material or article then kindly delete it immediately from your system, and notify the sender of the wrong delivery with the confirmation that the mail (with its enclosures/(s) or attachment/(s), if any) has been deleted. Disputes if any are subject to Gurgaon (Haryana), India, Jurisdiction only.
Moderator - PassionHR Group, India
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___
No comments:
Post a Comment