Turning towards tomorrow

Since we last wrote, the economy has continued to dissolve in what has become an all too familiar news cycle:  Credit is tight, consumers save rather than spend, sales decline, layoffs occur, credit gets tighter, consumers spend even less, sales decline more, more layoffs occur, and so on.

We’ve also inaugurated a new President in an historic occasion that marked a turning point for the country. To address the economic challenges, the new administration has proposed the largest economic stimulus package in U.S. history, which, while welcome, is not likely to do much in the way of actually spurring the economy in the short term, which is when we need it.  Really — how many laid off MBA’s, software developers, and retail clerks are actually going to pick up shovels and start laying asphalt and repairing bridges, the “infrastructure” improvements where a large chunk of the monies are going to be targeted.

But we’re not here to debate that — far greater minds than ours are well paid to address these matters, although we note with some concern that a number of these minds worked for companies that got us into this mess.  What we have found, however, in the midst of this “economic dark night of the soul”, is that companies are beginning to look forward again, rather than back at the wreckage that was their balance sheet last year.  It seems a turning point has occurred, however small.

While no one is predicting roses and sunshine in the next few months, looking out further towards the latter part of 2009, most economists are now predicting at least some timid steps towards a recovery, and with that in mind, great recruiting organizations are already building pipelines of top talent for when they’ve been given the greenlight to start hiring for openings that will be critical by late 2009, early 2010.

Yes, layoffs will continue, and we can expect to see unemployment rates of 8.5% to 9.5% before those rates begin to ebb. But contrary to a number of chicken-little’s running around screaming the “D” word, there are elements to our economy in place now that make it highly unlikely we’ll ever see anything approaching what the 1930’s brought, with 25% unemployment and the complete loss of family assets sitting in banks. Unemployement insurance, FDIC protection, food stamps…we created a safety net that will ensure enough economic activity continues that the horrors of that era are virtually not repeatable, save for some unforeseen cataclysmic event.

That said, HR is now faced with a two pronged challenge of simultaneously looking strategically at recruiting the talent they know they will need, sooner if not later, while effectively transitioning employees displaced by reorganizations and outsourcing. In simplest terms, they need to be looking at recruiting while outplacing employees, an altogether scitzophrenic activity on the face of it, but a sign of the times.

There are a host of services that rightPRO™ provides that will enable companies to effectively win the “race for talent” that hasn’t gone away — it’s only taken a break during an extraordinary time. If someone is interested, there’s plenty of information on the web site.  But our services also include offerings we’ve effectively and successfully deployed over the past eight years, but haven’t highlighted as much: our outplacement job search and skills training. These programs have seen thousands of program graduates from companies of all sizes gain a significant competitive advantage as these workers are forced to re-enter the job market due to reorgs, RIF’s, layoffs…etc…whatever we want to call them.  Regardless of the name, they are devastating to the people effected. And companies whose specialty is providing outplacement services, quite frankly aren’t very good at getting the right tools in the hands of these workers, tools which will enable them to stand above the crowd and actually get hired again.

Outplacement is a valuable benefit that eases workers laid off into the reality that being laid off is not the end of the world. And provides them with networking and other skills that can, in some cases, assist in getting them new employment opportunities.  But what these benefits don’t provide, and what is critically missing, are real life skills that look at the search for a new career from the perspective of the recruiter, and from the hiring manager. Why? Because the companies providing outplacement services aren’t typically recruiting firms, and even if they do provide recruiting services, the two sides of the business don’t talk to one another. Yet they are opposite sides of the same coin.

Our rightPLACEMENT™ and rightSTART™ programs don’t seek to replace the services that outsourcing providers deliver — they augment what these vendors offer. And by providing workers with highly effective tools and strategies to identify, interview with, and get hired by their next employer, we help both these displaced workers (or in the case of rightSTART™, graduating students) get back on their feet, and save their employers countless hundreds of thousand or more in unemployment costs.

We’re a long way from a recovery, but not so far away that we shouldn’t be planning for how we’re going to capture the top talent needed to maximize our potential during that up cycle. In the meantime, there’s a need to help tens of thousands of folks who haven’t been in the job market for years. Give them a leg up, and a competitive advantage. They’ll remember you.  And how you treat them now will in part determine how likely you might be able to call on their skills again, or call on them to network with when looking for talent.

We’ve spent the last six months watching a train wreck in slow motion, and it’s time to move on. As we look towards that time, and plan accordingly, there’re going to be moments that we’re tempted to look back. But we need to resist those urges.  They hold us back. We need to look forward. Because those who sow today will reap tomorrow. But in the meantime, don’t forget to take care of the folks who got you here, but whose services now need to be redeployed. In both cases, we can help.