After 2009 Turned Business Upside Down...HR Needs New Methods for 2010.

The economic upheaval in 2009 forced companies to make fundamental changes in the way they do business. Managers were, and in many respects still are, under enormous pressure to re-structure, improve processes, control budgets, down-size, merge or do whatever was necessary to remain profitable or, in some cases, simply survive. HR managers have found themselves in the eye of this hurricane, needing to remain calm and focused while serious challenges blew all around them. While they dealt with layoffs, low morale, job redundancies, hiring freezes and more, most recruitment firms and head-hunters saw a significant decrease in new mandates. In addition, with unemployment rising dramatically, job seekers found fewer opportunities and in many circumstances lower salaries.

2009, while extraordinary, can be viewed as having accelerated changes that have been taking place for a decade. Re-structuring, streamlining and cost-cutting are not new. From the HR perspective, the obvious long-term trend is that companies are trying to reduce labor costs whilst continuing to increase productivity. They need to accomplish their goals with substantially fewer people. What 2009 taught us is that the expectation companies have for employee productivity has changed forever. Expecting employees to be more productive is no longer a trend – it’s a fact. Unfortunately, many HR managers and recruitment agencies don’t understand that, for companies to find employees who will succeed in this environment, clear methodologies must be consistently used to better evaluate potential candidates.

While experience and technical expertise remain qualities candidates need, the underlying competencies and the degree to which these can be harnessed and developed are factors that are now even more important as an indicator of future success of that individual with the organisation. At Greenfield, we’ve developed a framework of techniques that are used to assess and identify the following, or any other key competencies that are essential to the needs of our client's business:

Let’s start by looking at leadership. Employees are often overworked, insecure about their jobs and asked to deal with areas outside the core of their job description. Managers who can motivate employees under these circumstances and build morale are essential. We are able to identify qualified candidates by utilising methods that evaluate management styles, communication skills and their ability to command respect.

Efficiency is the foundation of productivity. Measuring a candidate’s ability to manage time, organise tasks and implement projects has always been important – but it is now an essential evaluation criteria. To get a deeper understanding of a candidate’s skills, we are able to develop in conjunction with our client sample projects that require substantial personal initiative and problem solving to determine the most efficient approach.

Many innovative technologies and tools come online regularly that give employees new ways to increase efficiency and streamline processes. An employee who seeks innovative solutions and has the ability and desire to use them is a great asset to any company. A manager who understands how to find and implement new methods, and who can motive employees to learn and use them, is invaluable. A desire to innovate is more an attitude than a skill, and something that we are able to clearly evaluate.

Finally, the new business paradigm compels companies to find employees that are flexible. Market and regulatory conditions change fast, so it doesn’t matter if your employees work in IT, finance, legal or other fields, they must be flexible. If they are afraid of changes to their job, they will hamper a company’s competitiveness. Again, evaluating a candidate’s ability to be flexible is not easy, and we’ve spent a lot of time developing methods that uncover how an individual will likely respond to change.

The key for HR success in 2010 is to attract and retain employees that have a combination of competencies that reflect the needs and demands of the business. This means all of us in this sector will have to be flexible and use innovative methods to find candidates that will thrive in the new, pressure-packed business environment. Companies should take this opportunity to ask more of their recruiters; and aim to develop long-term partnerships that really help them in reaching their business targets.

2010 Outlook: From a recruiters point of view things are certainly looking better since the last quarter of 2009 and we have felt a marked increase in mandates for new positions. In general the volume of companies that are actively recruiting has increased. One challenge we fear many firms will face as more job opportunities become available is a “double dip:” companies that had to push their staff hard in the last couple years, have cut salaries and bonuses or stopped promotions could have many unhappy, dissatisfied employees. The danger is that as the employment market improves these companies may find themselves having to contend with a new staffing crisis on a local level.

From a job seeker’s perspective, we foresee an overall increase in the level of vacancies available within the Finance, Legal and IT sectors – not a return to the levels of 2006 / 2007 but certainly many more than the last 18-months.

Recent years have taught us all some tough lessons. At the end of the day, we feel we’ve learned how to do our jobs even better giving our clients an edge by developing innovative methods to find the best candidates for this business environment.

Christopher Purdy, Partner, Greenfield

This article was first published in the American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg’s quarterly magazine Connexion in March 2010

www.amcham.lu