How to manage your workforce during turbulent times - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Viewpoint careers advice blog

How to manage your workforce during turbulent times - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Turbulent market conditions worldwide, resulting from recent Chinese stock market jitters, have affected businesses over the last year. As a result, I decided it might be useful to provide some key insights and recommendations to employers who maybe aren’t in full growth mode. These recommendations are based on information obtained from the recent Hays Global Skills Index, as well as our own Hays Canada Salary Guide. Here are five ways that you can not just weather an economic storm, but come out the other side stronger and more able: 1. Talent won’t just be available, build a pipeline Countries worldwide â€" including the UK, USA, Brazil, Spain and Canada, are experiencing a  skills shortage, which is affecting business activity and productivity levels. Compounding their hiring difficulties is the fact that many employers believe that recruiting is getting more difficult and the time required to recruit is causing pressure on hiring managers. Competition for professional, skilled candidates is fierce and employers need to work on identifying people long before there’s an actual need. Companies that achieve the most recruitment success typically concentrate efforts on raising their profile and developing relationships with potential candidates over social media. Creating this type of talent pool or pipeline of engaged candidates gives an employer quick access to familiar candidates when hiring activity ramps up. Ultimately, the goal is to combat the skills shortage and improve the odds of sourcing the right talent by building a go-to network even if recruiting plans are several months away. 2. Succession planning is no longer a nice to have Develop an internal training program that can support staff in their progression Both current employees and potential candidates need to know that there is a clear path of progression within your business; however, some employers have failed to act on this demand. This could be the result of employers’ view that succession efforts should be kept confidential rather than leveraged as a retention and recruitment asset. This is simply wrong; and if you’re a culprit you’re missing out on a chance to sell your business. During a time of pause, employers should consider building succession plans that demonstrate an investment and commitment to employees. Doing so will support growth plans when the business is ready to go full steam ahead. I’d also recommend developing an internal and external communication plan that informs staff and potential employees about opportunities for growth. 3. Training is key to workforce planning One of the most important ways employers can demonstrate an investment and commitment to employees is through encouraging their training and development. Many employers profiled across the globe are expecting an end to the recent turbulent period, with most adopting a conservatively optimistic forecast for growth throughout 2016. Nevertheless, these same employers are also very cognizant of the bottom line, and so salary increases within my native Canada will stay below the three per cent mark. To combat these wage pressures, and as part of an effective succession plan, develop an internal training program that can support staff in their progression within the company. Hiring less experienced staff or temporary to permanent staff is a cost-effective aid to support existing workforce, while conscientious of the bottom line and supporting long-term planning. 4. Addressing awareness issues as a top employer is critical for long-term planning Define exactly why a candidate would want to work for your organisation Competition for top candidates continues to build. In my country of Canada, employers have identified a new set of issues which have eclipsed more traditional concerns such as salary. This change in employee priorities could is no doubt influenced by the different needs and desires of new working generations â€" Millennials for example value “work that is challenging and interesting” above pay, as detailed in our recent Viewpoint blog. Low company profile and reputation are two factors that now top the lists of challenges that further compound employers’ struggle to attract candidates, as is seen in our Hays Canada Salary Guide. Help meet these needs by defining exactly why a candidate would want to work for your organisation â€" this is a key part of an effective employer value proposition. Creating one can be a difficult task but it can help build the type of profile and reputation prospective employees are seeking. Once defined, employers should incorporate the resulting messages into a range of content and collateral assets such as web-copy, job postings and even conversations with individuals within the company’s growing talent pipeline. Getting this right is part of an effective recruitment strategy and could be what makes or breaks a company’s ability to attract the best talent. 5. Protect your people assets with better engagement Retention and recruitment concerns are also a trend identified across many countries. Career progression, professional development and salary increases are key reasons why staff leave an organisation. These facts may be true but we’ve seen that there is a disconnect between employee expectations and what employers have planned for 2016. For example, employers plan nominal salary increases next year, and the majority said they’ll do so based on performance and tenure. Employees, on the other hand, are in the dark on when any of this will occur and lack insight on what merits a bump in pay. The same can be said of training and development. Employees consider it very important but employers seem unaware of their expectation. Don’t let a breakdown in communication cripple your business; this is a problem which can be resolved by keeping the lines of communication open with staff by breaking out of silos and diffusing your vision throughout the business, as detailed by our Hays CEO Alistair Cox in this blog. Ensuring transparency around salary expectations, performance reviews and their alignment with business goals goes a long way in avoiding disgruntled personnel. Also consider that your definition as an employer of what merits a raise may not be clear or viewed as fair to all staff levels and age groups can result in disappointment and retention problems. Employers are advised to look at how reviews are conducted; factors that warrant pay increase and increase flexibility in how they’re administered such that they address differing levels of expectation. Lastly, employers that embrace staff training and development in addition to wage, dramatically increase their ability to not just retain staff but recruit new candidates. Weathering the storm Managing your business through turbulent times is an often difficult and stressful task, but there is actually much to be learnt from it. Without the luxury of excess capital and resource you’re forced to work smarter; streamlining your hiring process, perfecting your succession planning and listening to the needs of your team members. Hopefully the above advice will help you survive through lean times, ready to thrive again once the markets pick up. I hope you found this blog valuable, here are some similar ones that you might enjoy: 3 ways to help you love cold calling 5 ways to make your business more transparent 11 ways to become more productive at work Are you suffering from career burnout? Its time to make a change Successful people create their own luck 15 questions to ask your interviewer Prioritising personality in your hiring process Asking the right questions 10 Career Mistakes You Will Regret from Hays