#Nextchat: HR’s Roller Coaster Ride from the Great Recession

From the report entitled The HR Roller Coaster Ride: Are Key HR Metrics Back to Prerecession Levels? by John Dooney

All HR professionals have their own stories to tell about how their organization faced the Great Recession. After it began in December 2007, revenues fell more than 50 percent as the demand for goods and services dried up. Organizations slashed operating expenses, including staff and benefits costs, to stay afloat, leaving HR professionals wondering when the HR roller coaster ride—with its ups, downs, twists and turns—would end.

The HR roller coaster ride that arose from the Great Recession is now over. Devastating revenue losses that forced organizations to cut operating expenses and shed staff have stopped. As a result of the tumult, however, many HR professionals report that their organizations continue to employ business strategies adopted during the recession to improve their company’s financial health.

Are key HR metrics such as employee turnover, cost per hire (CPH), number of positions hired, etc. back to prerecession levels? Not quite yet—although they are moving in that direction. It is also possible, however, that a new normal may exist where companies are using fewer resources with the expectation of achieving higher results. If that is the case, it may be some time before HR metrics return to prerecession levels.

Additionally, the SHRM LINE report indicates that recruiting difficulty is increasing. The amount an organization has to pay for new hires is also going up.

Are you continuing to do more with less employees? What trends are you seeing, and how are you modifying your recruiting strategies and benefits packages to compete for talent?

Please join @shrmnextchat on July 8 for #Nextchat with special guest John Dooney (@shrmanalytics). We’ll chat about what organizations are doing today to boost hiring and retention now that the Great Recession is finally over.

Q1.  According to the rate at which your organization is hiring or turning over employees, do you feel the Great Recession is now over?

Q2. Has your organization’s employee turnover rate been increasing this year, as opposed to the past five years?

Q3. Are you finding that you are having more trouble recruiting now that the Great Recession is now over?

Q4. Do you find that you have to negotiate higher salaries to attract and retain talent now that the Great Recession is now over? 

Q5. In addition to one-time bonuses, what other unique compensation strategies are you using to attract talent now that the Great Recession is now over? 

Q6. What innovative techniques are you using to recruit talent now that the Great Recession is now over? 

Q7.  How are you leveraging benefits to obtain and keep top talent now that the Great Recession is over? 

Q8. In addition to benefits, what else is your organization doing to help curb the loss of top talent?