The Bounce Back Plan – Recruitment & Retention

Key learnings:

• Survival measures have grown so severe that organisations are not thinking of the future
• But living for the moment should not make them unprepared for an imminent revival

Thankfully, nothing lasts forever. Although the end is far from sight, the current downturn is not permanent. As immersed as organisations are in strengthening their survival tactics, another concern that must be addressed is their preparedness and ability to bounce back when the economy turns around. Will it not be sad for an organisation to survive the downturn, only to stumble and fall when the economy revives? In discussing how organisations can prepare to bounce back, this mailer series describes what experts call the ‘recruiting turnaround plan’.
Leave alone a recruiting turnaround plan, a recent survey revealed how a majority of organisations are recruiting without documented strategies. Their excuse is, “How can one plan when things are so uncertain?” But the counter-argument is that the absence of a plan is what makes the future foggier. Even experts agree that the difficulties involved in drafting recruiting strategies right now are huge. Yet, they recommend putting together a series of efforts based on ‘what-if’ analyses. The efforts of such analyses would produce a recruiting turnaround plan with the following elements:

Priority-based recruitment:

When the recruitment freeze ends later, the absence of a plan leaves recruiting professionals in a state of panic. The panic translates into a string of random and chaotic activities where organisations ends up over or under staffed, or worse staffed against requirements. Getting back on one’s feet with critical positions vacant is more than merely challenging.
A turnaround plan allows recruiting professionals to direct their time and resources towards recruiting for critical and hard-to-fill positions and priority business units before recruiting for any others. It also prevents recruiting professional from buckling under pressure. With a plan in place, no big wig can ‘compel’ recruiting professionals to ‘do them a favour’ and recruit against priorities!

Competitive intelligence:

When recruitment becomes a non-activity, recruiting teams too turn inert. But a turnaround plan ensures some level of activity to keep their joints well-oiled, so that recruiting professionals will not be caught off guard when things bounce back to normalcy! Plans induce recruiting professionals to be proactive about collecting competitive intelligence. Learning about one’s talent competitors allows recruiters to draft and alter their re-entry to recruiting. Professionals, who remain active during the lull, will know what talent is available and what tools and techniques to use to attract them when recruiting opens up.

Defined schedule:

The outcome of a turnaround plan is a timetable that spells out clearly what needs to be done and who will do it once recruiting is unfrozen. With roles and responsibilities pre-defined, recruiting teams save themselves from last-minute delegation follies.

Studying the past:

A good turnaround plan encourages organisations to study past downturns and identify telltale signs of a recovery. That way, recruiting professionals can be on the look out for certain indicators of a revival. This increases an organisation’s chances of getting set right before it’s time to roll. Here is when incorporating the inputs of C-level executives becomes important. Their vision and experience helps them to be more perceptive about imminent changes.
Restrategised goals: A recruitment freeze is the best time to revamp recruiting strategies and tactics. With little pressure to fill positions, recruiting professionals can review their performance and ensure that what they do next will have a greater impact on business goals. With a turnaround plan to develop, the need to refurbish recruiting efforts becomes demanding. Equally important at this stage is to redefine metrics. Experts recommend the use of the following metrics as part of a turnaround plan:

• Employer brand influence
• Quality of recruit
• Cost of new recruit turnover
• Loss of revenue to vacant positions
• Innovation from new recruits

Top buy-in:

Last minute approvals and sanctions are not something managements agree to. A plan ensures that the management is kept in the loop about what will transpire once recruiting is reactivated. With the C gang informed of their imminent roles, they do not feel ambushed when recruiting professionals bombard them with a flurry of requests and requirements. Moreover, since the top controls budgets and requisitions, their buy-in becomes mandatory.

Candidate expectations:

A turnaround plan ensures that recruiting professionals remain in touch with candidate expectations. It is foolhardy to assume the expectations of potential applicants remain steady over time. Periodic discussions with a sample representing the talent that will be required clues in professionals to the latest decision criteria. That way, recruiting teams will know what to say in their job adverts and across the interviewing table. It also prepares organisations to counter the turnover problem. By building in a retention strategy, a good turnaround plan prepares for employee turnover, which will soar when the economy opens up. With competitors going all out to attract the best, organisations must be prepared to counter their desperate, last minute attempts to snare talent. With a plan in place, recruiting professionals can easily identify ‘at risk’ candidates and employ proactive measures to retain them.

Reference:

The ManageMentor