Talented people are hard to find, and even harder to replace.
During this recession, it is more important than ever to treat
people as crucial business assets.
People are critical to the success of every organization. The
leaders and organizations that adopt the smartest strategies for
attracting and retaining their key talent will survive this
economic crisis and be in a prime position to come out of it poised
to move ahead of their competition.
Many CEOs agree that finding and keeping employees with the right
skills is a top management challenge. The world economic crisis
that began in 2008 convinced CEOs that managing for survival is not
just about controlling costs but also about getting the most value
and best performance from their people.
In 2008, U.S. unemployment rose to its highest level in 14 years,
and employers around the world laid off hundreds of thousands of
workers. That trend continues in 2009. This massive and swift
elimination of people from the workforce highlights the importance
of knowing where critical capability needs to be in an organization
and where it actually exists.
Are you familiar with your company's key competitors and their
strengths? What is your company's competitive advantage - do
employees have the skills and competencies to successfully support
your business strategy? Listen carefully to key clients, and focus
on delivering superior service and products to your customers. As
workplace learning and performance professionals, you need to find
ways to leverage your company's key strategic advantage - its
talent.
Managing talent successfully calls for a high level of integration
of all the functions and processes that contribute to putting the
right people with the right skills in the right jobs at the right
time. Talent management professionals, in partnership with business
leaders throughout the organization, should determine and
prioritize the human capabilities needed to support the company's
key strategies and metrics.
The challenges facing this economy are painful for decision makers,
employees, and the workforce as a whole, but when making decisions
about how to survive this economic downturn, make sure that your
company is positioning its workforce for long-term growth. Use the
resources on ASTD.org, including our new white paper "The New Face of Talent Management," to help
you weather today's economic crisis.
Pat Galagan
Editor-at-Large, ASTD
pgalagan@astd.org