HR has to be at the forefront of economic recovery

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: Most organisations are well aware of the looming challenges presented by the current economic downturn. HR professionals in particular are searching for new, integrated and creative approaches to talent management that will give their organisation a competitive edge in the present scenario. In fact, the recession presents a great opportunity for HR to position itself to become a ‘business partner’ to the business and earn a seat at the leadership table within their organisations.

We are definitely in a recession that is likely to be costly in human terms as well. The question is: “Will it get worse for HR?” And the answer is—“Not worse, but different”. The current downturn could present the stimulus necessary to innovate around new, agile ways of working. In fact, in many ways this recession could be the re-making of HR. During this period, HR will be challenged like never before, and it has an opportunity to demonstrate how it can contribute to assessing and managing the talent within the organisation it serves and to provide leadership in creating organisational cultures that motivate employees at a time when they are feeling insecure by events beyond their control.

So how should human capital be managed? What role should HR perform, and how should it be organised in order to add value in the changing business environment? Let’s take a look at what the HR value proposition should be.

In organisations where there isn’t a strong involvement of HR with strategy, it can be difficult to make the most of talent (and to retain talent). This is because the HR professionals are not magicians. Unless they are fully involved in developing the long-term vision for the business, how can they know what talent to find and what capability building is required.

Many companies develop systematic strategic workforce planning to analyse, evaluate and forecast the talent that they need. To augment this, HR needs to develop proactive career development and succession plans tied to the relevant job descriptions and make the necessary adjustments to excel in the role of hiring, retaining, training and motivating talent.