Challenging Times, Hidden Opportunities
Times are challenging in today's economy. Of that, there's no doubt.
But well-managed companies across an entire spectrum of industries are seeking to make the most of their situations during the downturn. And the best among them are striving mightily to strengthen themselves internally, and to position themselves competitively for the better times to come.
Hidden Treasure in the Applicant Pool
How might this best be done within the people resource management area? Last month, we attended the People Report conference in Dallas, at which we chatted with, and saw presentations by, some of the best minds in the field. And we've listened to our own customers, who, we feel strongly, are quite an impressive lot as well.
(Of the attitudes we've encountered, our favorite was that of a CEO who had rather forcefully informed his team that their company intended to skip the recession. That's the kind of mind-set our country needs during these times!)
We heard over and over a conclusion that the economic downturn presents a number of workforce-related opportunities.
With the employment rate high and rising, your flow of applicants will increase. As more than one manager told us, "There are lots of good people out there." A growing number, in fact, seem to be over-qualified for the positions for which they are applying. By making wise choices among this fertile group of applicants, you can strengthen your workforce with new employees who are:
- Less prone to leave;
- More likely to become productive quickly;
- More apt to fit into the company culture and be satisfied in their jobs;
- More likely to be capable of developing into world-class employees; and
- More likely to become candidates for future supervisory and managerial positions.
One of our customers even advised its managers to temporarily increase their turnover, by identifying their weaker performers and replacing them with stronger picks from today's enhanced applicant pool.
Unlocking Work Force Opportunities
Sysdine was designed from the ground up to help you capitalize on these opportunities. Sysdine can help your managers to efficiently cope with today's larger applicant pools. And it can help them to effectively make wiser decisions about those who should be hired from this group.
Sysdine's performance management tools can help you determine your stronger and weaker performers within today's workforce. And its employee surveys can help identify the factors in the work environment which make employees more inclined to stay and to leave, and those which lead to stronger and weaker performance.
For many companies, reducing turnover by only a percentage point would more than justify their investment in a tool such as Sysdine. Yet, with Sysdine's tools, coupled with a strong management commitment, Baldridge Award-winning Pal's Sudden Service reduced its turnover by 50 percentage points during the first year of use. And Captain D's more than doubled that rate of improvement during its first year.
Turnover is expensive. And it is corrosive to workforce quality. But the economic downturn provides an opportunity during which effective hiring can capture the profit potential of turnover reduction... while building a stronger workforce for the better times to come.
Today's challenging economic environment is more than just a cause for concern. Tough times always abound with opportunities, and they are out there waiting for those perceptive enough to see them and seize them.
