Nice pitch for your own services, though.

I’ll bet his family can’t WAIT for him to come home each night.

REAL LIFE EXAMPLE: What kind of workforce do you get when you offer everyone a severance package? Call it the ‘opt out’ strategy. ANSWER: Highly valuable (tenure, knowledge, performance) staff will leave for greener pastures AND lower performing will leave before the axe comes down — both will be handed a bag of money as they leave. This is a recipe for mediocrity.

WORST CASE SCENARIO: An organization has no WFP in place, and no agreed-upon framework for critical roles — when time comes to reduce staff, they cut (or incentivize the departure of) people from critical roles even as they expect them to be in greater demand in the next 1, 3, and 5 years.

So, not being strategic with WFP and analytics has a cost, and it is exacerbated in these times….pants down, indeed.

Nicholas Garbis, Sr. Consultant with Infohrm
http://www.infohrm.com
Infohrm – the global leader in Workforce Planning, Analytics, and Reporting for over 25 years.

While I agree with some of the comments made in this article, it is irresponsible to classify the current economic situation as just another downtown. Previous “downturns” have not even come close to what is now occurring. This is not “just a downturn”, this is an economic crisis and to put this current economic situation in the same category as previous downturns is really oversimplifying the situation. Bank bailouts, auto industry bailouts, this is not something that has been seen in my career (and I doubt anyone else) have even experienced. There have been previous articles regarding HR’s lack of workforce planning, but what seems to be missing in those articles–as well as this one, is that with the current economic situation even having a “worst case” scenario workforce plan in place, would not have prepared companies for the current situation.

Merlynn Bertini

John, I also think you’re making a very drastic generalization about HR. Most HR departments would love to have the time and resources to do in-depth workforce planning. What you fail to state is that HR is usually one of the last groups to get resources, the first group to get cut, and are many times forced into being strictly transactional and reactive.

The current economic downturn is not cyclical. It’s a nose-dive that most companies could not have planned for. The cuts go beyond normal cycles and are eating into companys’ core workforce – the folks that you don’t plan to let go.

HR is not the only group “at the table”. Workforce planning is the responsibility of the entire organization. HR should definitely be developing the structure, but it takes everyone to make it work. The current state of affairs should not be laid entirely on HR’s doorstep.

In talking with leaders in Workforce Analytics and Workforce Planning I found that the RIFs that were done at some companies represented an utter lack of basic understanding of Human Capital…and in some cases, the insights of respected practitioners were left out of the decision making. Was it a SHRM study that found only 35% of HR leaders were involved in the reduction decisions?

REAL LIFE EXAMPLE: What kind of workforce do you get when you offer everyone a severance package? Call it the ‘opt out’ strategy. ANSWER: Highly valuable (tenure, knowledge, performance) staff will leave for greener pastures AND lower performing will leave before the axe comes down — both will be handed a bag of money as they leave. This is a recipe for mediocrity.

WORST CASE SCENARIO: An organization has no WFP in place, and no agreed-upon framework for critical roles — when time comes to reduce staff, they cut (or incentivize the departure of) people from critical roles even as they expect them to be in greater demand in the next 1, 3, and 5 years.

So, not being strategic with WFP and analytics has a cost, and it is execerbated in these times….pants down, indeed.

Nicholas Garbis, Sr. Consultant with Infohrm
http://www.Infohrm.com
Infohrm – the global leader in Workforce Planning, Analytics, and Reporting for over 25 years.

The real downside to not having an effective workforce plan is that right now the most common reactions and plans put in place aren’t a real roadmap through the messy unknown and unpredictable. And undoubtedly for those companies that don’t have good plans in place, right now the leaders and HR minds are just trying to manage the crisis and not focused on developing plans. Unfortunately those without plans are going to have to land this plane with whatever tools they can. It’ll be messy, but the plane has to land. I can assure you just as a pilot or crewmember wouldn’t be thinking about reviewing maintenance logs when a plane needs to land due to engine failure, business leaders and HR probably aren’t trying to come up with detailed plans at this time.

Something can be done right now though, and that means developing and implementing a “worst-case-scenario” component of the organization’s workforce plan and linking it to the Talent Management and Business Succession processes.

I’m not much into the “seat at the table” discussions, but I certainly think performing now, under pressure, in a real business crisis, is going to be the best chance for HR to show it’s leadership and value to an organization. So if the best and chosen path through this turmoil is through downsizing, layoffs, furloughs, and the like; then HR just needs to show how these steps are a part of business viability and not simply reactions to circumstances.

My real concern is for those in HR roles who don’t seek outside help if they really need it.

The previous reviewer mentioned that “we are dealing with people’s lives” well that is true. We are in such a litigous mind set that no one including department heads wants to call out mediocre or sub -par performers for fear of being sued. If these individuals (sub-par or out dated skills) were given clear and direct benchmarks and follow through on goals and objectives, the end result would be that everyone knows where they stand and understands their role. If an individual sees that their skills are outdated then they decide to update or change jobs. If the department managers have good forecasting plans in place they can decide which individuals are head of the game give them tangible direction and develop or weed out the “weakest links”.

Everyone is just trying to stay below the radar to get from “paycheck to paycheck”. HR including unfortunately. The term “movers and shakers” doesn’t exist. No one wants to rock the boat in up times and everyone wants to hold on during the down tiimes.

Lots of good points here in your article and I do agree with many of your suggestions. Though I have never worked as an HR Manager or Director, I do speak with them on a regular basis, and what you have FAILED to recognize is that it is very easy for a manager to prepare for a slow down in production; and it is easy for a retail manager to reduce inventory. But those actions are FAR different than dealing with people’s lives and well being. Even if HR does implement some of your strategies they are inevitably going to have to let people go in economic down turns. People’s jobs and income are at stake, so what is wrong with cutting hours, awarding buyouts, or offering furloughs to soften the blow and to give everyone a fighting chance? Also your example of Amusement Parks & Ice Cream Parlors I do not see as a valid point. In those cases you are dealing with seasonal workers, who know they are working seasonally, and many, if not most of which are teenagers and college students without mortgages and families to support.
Again, I agree with your suggestions, but failing to mention what it is HR REALLY has to deal with during these tough times is unfair. I recently blogged about this topic on our blog at http://www.CivilEngineeringCentral.com . The title is “Human Resources-Unsung Heroes” and readers can check it out at http://civilengineeringcentral.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/human-resources-heroes/ .

Best,

Matt Barcus
http://www.CivilEngineeringCentral.com
building teams . engineering careers