Talent Acquisition in a Post Recovery World

Tuesday; December 15, 2009

RADNOR, PA – December 15, 2009 – With unemployment hovering around 10% and corporations continuing to watch the expense line very closely, most organizations aren’t actively focused on their talent acquisition needs at the moment. However, when the turnaround comes, many companies will find themselves ill prepared for the talent demands that growth will require.

“Many talent acquisition functions have been decimated by the downturn,” says Sally Stetson, a principal with Salveson Stetson Group. ”Given the recent state of the employment market, recruiting budgets have been the first to go as companies look to rein in expenses.”

As a result, many recruiting departments are currently running with skeleton crews while others have looked to more budget-friendly outsourcing options to manage the decreased demand. “The risk to companies is very clear – they may find that their short-term cost savings strategies lead to larger, unexpected costs when the recovery kicks into gear,” Stetson states.

Stetson recommends that companies create a flexible, future-oriented talent acquisition plan now to prepare for the increased staffing demands that the recovery will bring. She suggests that companies:

• Project what their talent needs will be in a growing economy so that a plan is ready to quickly bring the right people on board as their business improves.

• Consider redeploying their internal talent acquisition staff to focus on other talent-related issues rather than dismissing them as a cost-cutting measure. Their skills will be hard to replace when the recovery gets underway.

• Evaluate their relationships with external service providers with an eye toward reducing the number of partners and securing favorable pricing. When the recovery begins, these firms will be busy and in a better bargaining position. Companies should lock-in terms and access to them now.

• Maintain close contact with current top performers so that they understand their importance to the future success of the organization. While voluntary turnover is way down, people will remember the way they were treated when career options begin to open up for them again.

“Just because senior management isn’t seeing any signs of discontent in their workforce at the moment, doesn’t mean it isn’t there,” says John Salveson, a principal with Salveson Stetson Group. “Professionals are making decisions now about their interest in staying with their current companies, based largely on how they perceive management has treated them through the downturn. Those who feel they’ve been treated badly will leave when external opportunities are available and those people are often the ones companies can least afford to lose.”

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About Salveson Stetson Group

Salveson Stetson Group (www.ssgsearch.com) is a full-service retained executive search firm founded in 1996. Specializing in $150,000+ salaried positions, Salveson Stetson Group places executives at organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to non-profit entities. The company is based in suburban Philadelphia.

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