Four in 10 executives are trying to attract critical talent with ‘hard to find' skills while 28% say they will increase the recruitment of ‘experienced hires', according to the survey of 326 multinational executives by Deloitte.
Anne-Marie Malley, a partner in Deloitte's human capital consulting practice, said: "Senior executives of global companies have no illusions about the severity of the economic crisis and its implications. We are now witnessing a flight to quality.
"In a time of declining returns, business leaders will try to enhance and deepen the capabilities of the people within their organisations."
The report, Managing Talent in a Turbulent Economy, also finds that senior executives remain pessimistic about the economic crisis and prospects for the future, with 30% believing the recession will deepen and only 5% thinking that the worst is behind them. More than two-thirds believe the operating environment will remain tough.
Other findings:-
Top strategic issues for global companies
Cutting costs is now seen as a higher priority than acquiring customers. The highest strategic issues for companies are:
- Cutting and managing costs: 61%
- Acquiring/serving/retaining customers: 56%
Reducing the workforce
Pressure to cut costs will lead to a reduced workforce
- 42% made redundancies in the final quarter of 2008 and 38% expect to make additional redundancies in the first quarter of 2009
- 49% say reducing headcount will be a major priority for the next 12months
- 28% will increase the use of early retirement
Restructuring the workforce
New priorities mean reconfiguring and redeploying the workforce
- 52% say their company plans to restructure jobs to lower costs and increase efficiency
- 36% plan to increase the redeployment of workers to divisions and jobs in higher demand
- 29% will increase the redirection of outsourced work to in-house employees
- 25% will increase the use of flexible work schedules.
Morale
The downturn is taking its toll on employees, particularly in financial services
- 44% of business leaders cited a decline in employee morale, rising to 60% in financial services
