If you’re looking to help your business thrive during the economic downturn, here are a few initiatives to prioritize:
#1. Rethink hiring strategies
As the slowdown sets in, HR leaders need to think outside the box to ensure their organizations have access to the talent they need. The traditional approach of relying primarily on external hiring will prove challenging since recruiting and onboarding new talent is costly, especially as budgets tighten.
Instead, activating internal mobility should become HR’s focus. Leaders must develop systems and frameworks that enable hiring managers to tap into talent within their organization, rather than looking outside of the business to fill roles and bridge skills gaps. By prioritizing reallocations and redeployments, organizations can derive maximum value from every team member while empowering employees to achieve their full potential. With the addition of workforce intelligence solutions, HR leaders can make talent decisions in real-time and take the guesswork out of the equation.
#2. Prioritize critical skills
During an economic downturn, the concept of a skills-based organization becomes even more essential. As budgets tighten and hiring freezes set in, leaders must start thinking less about recruiting for certain roles and more about strategically utilizing skills across the organization.
When work is broken down into tasks and gigs, employees with relevant knowledge can put their expertise to use to get high-priority projects across the finish line. Many skills-based organizations leverage talent marketplaces to efficiently align employees to project opportunities that require the skills and capabilities they have to offer.
#3. Embrace flexibility and mobility
Today’s economic downturn will be doubly-difficult for HR leaders, who must balance attracting and retaining talent without room in the budget for pay raises or enhanced benefits. Since holding onto all-star employees is more challenging when you can’t reward them with hefty salary bumps, HR leaders need to get creative to find new ways to up the employee value proposition.
One of the most impactful steps HR leaders can take is ensuring that flexibility and mobility are core components of the employee experience. The Great Resignation demonstrates that people expect more from their jobs than a steady paycheck; they’re looking for choice, agency, and meaningful opportunities to grow their careers on their own terms. In fact, nearly two in three employees would like to be considered for new opportunities within their organizations and 54% believe their employer doesn’t take their future interests into account enough.
