What should HR directors be thinking about as we exit recession then? In the first instance, there is a growing realisation that things won't return to the immediate pre-crash days any time soon. From a resourcing perspective, HR directors can be confident that their own department, and the rest of their organisation, will need to adopt an increasingly lean, flexible model that is far more attuned to ‘just in time' talent to enable the organisation to enhance its agility and competitive edge. They will need to think more innovatively about the use of external flexible resources to deliver in critical areas, without necessarily the long-term commitment of taking on senior permanent hires.
Our expectation is that HR directors will therefore draw increasingly on the in-depth experience of senior interim managers, who can provide both strategic and tangible value to the organisation. Their years of experience across a variety of industry sector allow them to make an impact quickly. They work best when delivering against specific objectives over a specific timeframe - classically three to six months - and come to an assignment typically with experience of handling similar situations many times before.
The value and pace of hiring an interim is also immediate. Interims are usually in post within about a week of the interim provider receiving the brief. Contrast this dynamic with permanent executive search where it can easily take six months or so before the permanent executive starts. The problem, of course, is that the actual needs of the business have typically moved on quite considerably by the time the individual is in place. An interim, however, can address the business issues at once. Interims are being used more proactively.
So what roles do interim HR executives have to play in the current environment? Inevitably over the course of the past year, organisations have predominantly used interim HR professionals to help them with painful downsizing and restructuring activity. There is no doubt that for many organisations this is a theme that will inevitably continue. However, there has been a fundamental shift in mindset over the past couple of months for many organisations, and many are now using HR interims for more forward-looking activity that will ensure the long-term success of the organisation.
For example, many HR directors are acutely aware of the balance required between managing costs and the retention and engagement of key talent. Smart HR directors recognise that when economic growth is more sustainable, there will be considerable movement in the talent markets in response to the inevitable rise in job vacancies. Although the grass might not necessarily be greener elsewhere, they recognise that some employees may think that it will be. After 12 months of frozen pay and redundancies, enlightened organisations are investing in talent management and employer branding strategies, and many are turning to experienced interim HR managers to help them to do this.
It will be these employers who are much more likely to see enhanced levels of employee engagement and retention as we exit recession. For those who remain complacent and believe there has been a fundamental long-term shift of workplace power back to them, there is considerable risk they will lose key talent longer term. These are the organisations most at threat when growth resumes because their employees lack loyalty - and will be out and on to better options at the earliest opportunity. They should be thinking hard about taking a temperature gauge of the real engagement and loyalty levels of their workforce and, where necessary, creating appropriate retention building programmes.
Pay is another critical area to have emerged during the course of the recession. The public outrage at the pay details of senior executives in large organisations - both public and private sector - has come under a great deal of scrutiny. The work of Sir David Walker is not likely just to affect financial services organisations, but to extend across industry sectors as organisations seek to balance transparency of executive remuneration with the issues of talent retention already mentioned.
Several HR directors are therefore already turning to high-level interims for their expertise in reviewing and developing executive remuneration packages.
‘Transparent value' will be a mantra for the emerging new age of work. The best interims personify this and their ‘short-burst - high impact' expertise will be increasingly drawn on to support the development and execution of strategic HR initiatives.
Kate Mansfield is managing consultant of Alium Partners' HR Practice
