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The findings of a new survey show that companies are being forced to change their approach to attracting and retaining talent in the light of the global recession. Conducted by The Scala Group and The ACE Network, and supported by international law firm Salans, the International HR Barometer Survey, which polled over 550 senior HR management professionals across 17 countries, found that only 25% of respondents felt that enhancing pay and benefits would help companies to navigate their way successfully through the downturn. A much higher number – 63% – rated skill and capability development of employees as key.
The survey also showed that increased communication (65%) and employee engagement (51%) were ranked as the key drivers to ensuring companies were in the best possible position not only to survive the downturn, but also to be prepared for the upturn. Interestingly, over 56% of respondents felt that tackling poor performance was still needed in companies.
Janice Caplan, founding partner of The Scala Group, comments, “In contrast to previous recessions, UK companies are clearly dealing with the crisis in an increasingly-sophisticated way, through focusing on skill and capability development as the means to achieving business recovery.”
Barry Mordsley, global co-head of the Employment Group at Salans, added, “Many companies may have taken the easy road and used cost reduction directives as the reason to tackle poor performance. What the survey shows is that, from an HR perspective, tackling employee performance issues head on, at any stage of the economic cycle, remains one of the best ways to ensure business strategy stays on track.”
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 Although the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics showing UK unemployment at its highest since 1995, it seems there may be some light on the recruitment horizon. Louise Whitson reports.
The latest quarterly CIPD/KPMG Labour Market Outlook survey, which covers all sectors of the economy, shows the pace of deterioration in UK job prospects starting to slow as private-sector demand for staff begins to stabilise following a surge in redundancies earlier this year. Not only are fewer employers expecting to make staff redundant, but the scale of planned redundancies has also reduced.
A more positive outlook is also being reported by the recruitment industry. Though July’s Report on Jobs by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG, which draws on survey data from recruitment consultancies, shows the rate of decline in permanent staff appointments accelerating in July (having eased in each of the previous four months), the latest drop was much smaller than the reductions seen around the turn of the year; in fact, the number of vacancies available for people seeking permanent employment fell at the slowest pace since last August.
Bernard Brown, partner and head of business services at KPMG, commented, “Looking ahead to the second half of 2009, the sharp declines from the first quarter appear to be easing and a degree of confidence may return to the job market. While it's early days, and despite staff availability continuing to rise this month, the market may start to show slight signs of improvement by the end of the year.”
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The recently-released Office for National Statistics (ONS) employment figures make depressing reading. John Philpott, the CIPD’s chief economist, comments, “The latest official jobs figures offer a litany of wretched new records, with the unprecedented 281,000 quarterly (March–May) rise in unemployment on the Labour Force Survey (LFS) measure the most wretched of all. Any optimism that unemployment will peak below three million next year before the jobs outlook starts to improve would appear to have evaporated.”
Against this background, the CIPD’s quarterly Employee Outlook survey reveals that, despite a widespread, and understandable, reluctance among employees to change employers during a recession, a surprising number of people are considering a change of sector or type of work. The survey of over 3,000 employees finds that the vast majority (75%) have no plans to change employers in the foreseeable future, with two thirds (64%) citing difficulties in the current market as the reason. When asked if they would like to change jobs in an ideal world within the next year, however, a different portrait of employee intentions emerges: over a third (34%) of respondents are considering this option.
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 The growth and use of social networking sites over the past few years, such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn have some potential serious consequences for employers and employees alike. Issues can arise when employees post disparaging statements about other workers. Bullying that occurs online can just be as hurtful that takes place in the workplace and it is essential that it is prohibited in employer’s bullying and harassment policy and internet policy.
Also, employees who post defamatory comments about their employer may find themselves facing libel proceedings. If the comments are likely to have the effect of damaging the trust and confidence between the parties, then employees should understand that disciplinary action up to and including dismissal is likely to occur. |
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Move over Generation X – Generation Y has arrived and they’re increasingly turning to the internet’s social networking sites as a means of finding work. Louise Whitson reports. With unemployment nearing two million and the winter CIPD/KPMG Labour Market Outlook survey of employers’ recruitment and redundancy plans indicating a marked deterioration in employment prospects, the good news for jobhunters, and the challenge for recruiters, is that there is still hot competition for the best candidates. |
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