HR: the economy’s barometer
As the economy ramps up, hiring remains tentative, a function of a swollen talent pool and human resource departments ”“ or managers winging it after HR cutbacks ”“ scrambling to pick up the pieces of the Great Recession.
“I would say the state of human resources sometime in the first quarter of 2009 was as bad as it has been in this area ever,” said David Lewis, founder and president of Operations Inc. in Stamford.
Lewis said in that time a tremendous number of human resources positions were eliminated.
“Since then it”™s just been slow,” said Lewis. “It is not improving in any major way.”
Maureen Mackey, CEO of Mackey & Guasco Staffing Associates L.L.C. in Stamford, said businesses that are hiring continue to use HR firms like hers.
“They need the agencies to help with their needs,” said Mackey.
Mackey said for every job on the table there are between 400 and 500 resumes.
“Most managers don”™t have the time and honestly are not that skilled,” said Mackey. “They don”™t know how to find the right resume in that stack.”
Lewis said to understand what the HR landscape looks like you need to look at what makes up the activity that drives the HR function.
“That activity comes from things that are not active,” said Lewis. “Hiring, turnover and employee relations. Hiring is slow; nobody is hiring all that much, even in a temp capacity.”
Lewis said internal HR functions remain lifeless partly because temp agencies handle the temp function, and therefore compound the lack of need.
“In terms of turnover, people have no place to go,” said Lewis. “You”™re in a log jam and as far as you know you”™re still going to be in a log jam. It”™s a vicious cycle on that function. Recruiting is driven by growth and people that have a job just aren”™t leaving.”
Lewis said employee relations have become relatively easy to manage.
“Who in their right mind is going to screw up, or slack off if they have a job?” said Lewis. “Everybody is on their best behavior.”
Lewis said families are pressuring their providers to suck up any workplace resentment and simply deal with it. Though Lewis said there are drawbacks to this bottle-it-up approach.
Between compensation and retention, you”™re creating “a powder keg in the work place” and eventually people are going to reach their tipping point, said Lewis. “When people feel like they have options is when that will happen.”
Mackey said the oversaturated market has also seen a continued increase in temporary hires and contract recruiters.
“The world of temporary has continued to pick up,” said Mackey. “Temp is busy, but it is slow; people are not making decisions.”
Mackey said “Hurry up and wait” is the slogan of the times.
We need a few more quarters of positive financial growth,” said Mackey. “We”™re always six months behind the market.”
Mackey said many employers are continuing to put off hiring and attempting to wade through resumes without resources.
“In the long run, it is hurting them and its hurting their reputation,” said Mackey
Lewis said many managers have stepped up to the plate of the HR administrative function and concessions are inevitable.
“There is still a great deal of skill training and education that that HR individual brings to the table,” said Lewis. “Without question the company that reduced or cutout their HR function, have dropped the service level to their employees significantly and done so on the basis of the money saved,” said Lewis. “And the question becomes is worth it?”
Mackey said that the managers and human resources professionals are dealing with more than hiring issues.
“The biggest employee relation issue is employees not being engaged because of the lack of growth potential,” said Mackey. “It”™s cyclical. Keeping employees plugged in and ready to work is a real issue. Things are on the upswing; it”™s a slow growth, being in slow growth is a lot different than hearing about it.”
Andi Gray, president and owner Strategy Leaders in Chappaqua, N.Y., and a Business Journal columnist, said unemployment has leveled off and it is going to stay up, but slow its pace, into 2011. “Although it”™s still not great for someone who is out of a job it is good for small businesses,” said Gray
Gray said there is going to be a great opportunity to soak up the most talented of the saturated talent pool.
“These businesses have spent the last year weeding out and letting go of weaker players,” said Gray. “And are now identifying areas of the business where they can grow. The nature of the economy right now is that it”™s not heating up at a fast pace; it”™s heating up slowly, leaving a lot of people out looking for jobs.”
Gray said 75 percent of job seekers right now, in and out of work, were waiting for economy to turn around to start looking.
“Lookers have been waiting for this,” said Gray. “Three to four months ago you would have thought there would have been a lot of people looking for jobs, there were just not as many as you would have thought. They are now.”
Gray said businesses are carefully and quietly upgrading talent.
Lewis said another twist for the former HR employee is one of the deepest talent pools in history.
“I”™m looking for a marketing manager with five years willing to take $50,000 a year who once got $80,000,” said Lewis. “There are former vice presidents and directors who are pleading. There”™s little to no flight risk so why not hire them?”
Mackey said remaining optimistic that there is growth at all is important.
“Hedge funds and other financial institutions have regained health, said Mackey. “Consumer products, and service industries are busy. You need to stay on the course, and ”˜hurry up and wait”™ is here to stay.”
Lewis said a lot of former HR professionals are doing independent contracting, many for the companies they lost their jobs from.
In the rest of the market there are a lot of people who are not doing anything right now, said Lewis.
Lewis said in the HR career there is not much retro fitting or repurposing of skills.
“What they are doing is self educating, volunteering participate in business associations and trying to stay as current as possible,” said Lewis. “Being proactive continues to be the key.”
Lewis said HR professionals who were in specialized functions face the steepest uphill climb in comparison to their generalist counterparts.
“Don”™t sit back and think that the indicator is how many HR posting are up on some job board,” said Lewis. “These people should know, work your network.”