This is part 3 of a 4 part post. Click here to read Part 1 or here for Part 2

Reason #3 – Increased “Noise” From Candidates

Sure, a turnaround is in sight, but unemployment is still high. The government assistance offered to the first round of those who were laid off has all dried out. As recruiters, we used to judge people that were unemployed for more than 2-3 months, immediately thinking “hmmm, what is making them so unemployable? What am I missing?”

Unemployment used to count as a strike against a job seeker (unless there was a really good explanation for it). Now, it is not unusual to see really talented people that have not worked in over a year. The problem with this market change is that job seekers have also become more desperate, sending multiple resumes for the same opening, and contacting recruiters directly. There are anecdotes from recruiters receiving 300 applicants for a single role within 24 hours of posting, jobs that only a year ago garnered 10 resumes in a month. While the volume has increased, the quality of the applicants has not. Here in our office, the number of applicants rejected at the initial resume screening has gone up an estimated, 45%-80%. Compound the increased administration time by the reduction in headcount, and the result has been a significant reduction in service, and increase in “time to fill” per opening.

Bottom Line: evidence indicates that the larger pool of candidates resulting from the economic slowdown is making recruitment more difficult, (read: expensive) instead of easier, thus increasing “time to fill” rates per opening. If you want to fill your needs in time to hit the company’s production and sales targets, you will need to begin hiring earlier, rather than later.

This is part 2 of a 4 part post. Click here to read Part 1

Reason #2 – Timing

Recently, there have been several positive signs that the global economy is coming out of its slumber:

• On May 22, the department of labor (DOL) published the first signs of hope in over a year, showing that Unemployment is actually DOWN in 21 States
• The May 26 release of the Consumer Confidence Index shows it is now at its highest level in 8 months!
• At its April World Economic Outlook, the IMF announced it expects the whole world economy to return to positive growth by 2010.

However, once the market has fully recovered from this slump, another, much steadier, and deeper, disruptive force will begin straining the economy…retiring baby boomers. The oldest baby boomer is now 63 years old. In roughly 2 years, the same demographic will begin to retire. This mass exodus of senior corporate leadership will begin to create an unprecedented skills vacuum unmatched even during the peak of the internet boom. If you are looking to top-grade, especially in some strategic, or tactical roles; or looking to put together a team that will help guide your business out of this market, then now is the time to do it.

Bottom Line: The market is turning around, and the talent pool is larger than ever before, however, the window of opportunity to access this pool before the boomers cause a shrink in supply, is 18-24 months. You thought you couldn’t afford to top-grade, before? Well, now you can’t afford NOT to.

We are in the deepest global recession since World War II. In Q4 2008 the G20 economies contracted by an unprecedented 7.5% of real GDP (Check out the IMF site for details), yet, it is the end of Q2 2009, and already we are discussing a turn around. Already, we are hearing discussions of ramping up on recruitment.

Why it is time to consider staffing for the future, NOW! 

Reason #1 – Increased strain on resources affects your ability to adapt to the market turn around.

In a recent conversation, one of my clients discussed how the key challenge her staff is currently facing is the reduction in productivity. While the fear of being downsized is in itself a major mental hurdle affecting employee morale and productivity, the modern lean and mean organizations look more lean and sickly  (think Isabelle Caro instead of Georges St. Pierre). Downsizing has become the most common organizational response to economic downturn. “Doing more with less”, and forcing staff to expand their responsibilities to accommodate the reduced head count, often taking on the responsibilities of two or more employees has hampered many companies’ abilities to respond to any increase in market demand. Lack of organizational slack, tends to stifle innovation and adaptability – overworked employees do not have the time to look beyond the immediate demands of their roles, or to even notice the market changing. If too busy to notice changes in the market place, how can they adapt? If your team of 10 line managers have been reduced to 4 to ensure due to a reduced demand in the market, how will your firm respond when the market starts to turn? Who will even notice that the market is growing, when the whole team is too busy just “getting things done”? More importantly, if your recruitment team has been reduced, (or, as in many cases completely eliminated), who is going to staff the new openings that the turnaround will create?

Bottom Line: If you are still working at full capacity, as a result of a downsizing, NOW is the time to start hiring again. Lack of Organizational Slack has been proven to reduce innovation and market adaptability. Do you want your business to be profitable again? Do you want to remain competitive in the market place? Start planning and building your capacity before your competition does.