| What are some tips for having an effective human | | | | these implied promises and interpreted them as job |
| resource management plan? First of all, it has to | | | | guarantees. It is extremely important to have people |
| address the facts that business fortunes rise and fall | | | | understand the actual deal the company can provide. |
| periodically, employees and talent needs change and | | | | Be clear that staffing levels would change. However, |
| evolve, workforces age and retire in perhaps | | | | also make employees comprehend what they can do |
| unplanned ways that do not match business needs. | | | | to improve their value to make it less likely that they |
| Also the market value of talent changes over time, | | | | will be picked for lay offs and salary reductions. |
| sometimes becoming more valuable or less valuable. | | | | Measure performance: |
| Business focus: | | | | Build an accepted and valid way to judge |
| Be a best business place to work, not just a best | | | | performance before it is needed. It is important to have |
| place to work. Create a human resource management | | | | a credible and reliable performance management |
| strategy to live with throughout the business cycle. | | | | system in place when times are going well. In good |
| Test some alternative solutions assuming growth and | | | | times, it is easy to protect inadequate performers |
| shrinkage of the number of customers and their | | | | when staffing levels are high, but not when cutting is |
| profitability. Reward people who have helped the | | | | necessary. The best way to foster distrust, to say |
| organisation to succeed. | | | | nothing about litigation, is to adopt a makeshift ranking |
| Emphasise key skills: | | | | system just before it is needed to reduce staff and try |
| Mentor staff with the crucial business skills so that they | | | | to use it to decide who goes and who remains. |
| grow and learn. While everyone is important, some | | | | Humanity counts: |
| people have skills which a business needs than do | | | | Cut the workforce quickly and humanely. Spreading |
| others. This means investing in the talent that is closest | | | | the pain around does not make much business sense. |
| to the business' core competencies - capabilities which | | | | When there is a need to reduce staff, reduce it. Build a |
| are vital in making the business a winning one. Inform | | | | reputation for keeping people close to the meat of the |
| everyone what the talent priorities are and build a | | | | business even when cutting is inevitable. |
| reward solution that fits. Invest on the area where | | | | Get it over with: |
| most of business value comes from - people with | | | | Cut enough so that when it is over, it is really over. Do |
| expertise that add most to the business. | | | | some staff planning and stick with it. Companies |
| Communicate: | | | | cannot continue to regain the trust of the workforce if |
| Educate employees about the rules of staffing growth | | | | they do not make the needed cuts and commence to |
| and reduction early in their career. During the staffing | | | | regain business momentum. While it is very hard to |
| build up over the last 5 years, companies implied that | | | | predict the next possible economic fortunes of the |
| jobs were more secure than they really are. Thus, | | | | business, the staff cutting must stop when |
| when the business tide turned, workforces recalled | | | | management promises that it will. |