23 October 2008
Two hiring trends for organizations during economic turmoil
Companies are using interim employees and flexing resources.
During the current credit crunch, it seems US organizations are either hiring into full-time positions with a sense of urgency – or putting positions on hold, using existing staff or bringing in freelancers.
Lynn Hazan, president, Lynn Hazan & Associates, an executive search and consulting firm specializing in marketing and communication placements across the US, recently spoke to the Hub about her observations.
In terms of freelance positions, she's seeing several models of employment. These include a non-local virtual PR writer based in West Virginia; a candidate in their third year on-site for a publishing company; and spot projects or bridging appointments until the client can hire a new employee.
When the economy picks up, communicators and marketers tend to do well.
Up-and-down cycles for communication
Hazan has been in the recruiting business for 24 years. “The profession of communication and marketing is always experiencing up-and-down cycles,” she says. “There’s definitely still hiring going on and there are always pockets of opportunity.”
When the economy picks up, communicators and marketers tend to do well. Hazan says this is also true in a downturn. “Communicators and marketers are still being used because a company has to get its messages out,” she explains.
“The ones that bow out of creating communication material, either external or internal, will be left behind when the economy picks up again. Psychologically, that’s hard for people to understand.”
Advice for candidates – be flexible
Hazan tells candidates to be flexible during the current credit crunch. “If there are no full-time jobs, think about reinventing yourself,” she tells them. “Create consortiums with other kinds of talent. For example, if you’re a PR person and know an art director or a web designer, bring your talent pools together to deliver as a unit.”
Not all corporations currently have full-time positions available. “The more you adapt to changing modalities of employment the more employable you will be,” Hazan tells candidates. This is better than putting everything on hold and spending 6 months looking for a full-time job that may not exist.
“We recommend people be flexible with their salary expectations – and they may have to work a little bit harder or longer.”
Still a shortage of candidates
Current candidate shortages result from the catch up phenomenon after 9/11 and the dotcom boom. During those periods, many companies didn't hire or let staff go. “Then the economy really started picking up in earnest in 2005,” Hazan says.
“We’re still seeing the repercussions of that because candidates who would’ve been in management positions by now weren’t being recruited them. So there’s still a shortage, which will be a double shortage when things pick up again with a sense of velocity.”
If you’re a PR person and know an art director or a web designer, bring your talent pools together to deliver as a unit.
Hazan has been doing more out-reach to tap into the new generation of communicators. “I do a lot of public speaking at universities, for example, to establish relationships with the up-and-coming talent – all kinds of candidates, freelancers or full-time.”
Need to boost knowledge management
“The trend to flexible recruiting and flexible working questions the whole notion of knowledge management,” Hazan says – a topic becoming particularly important as people are looking to retire or scale back their careers.
The loss of an organization’s knowledge could be unintentionally increased by an over-use of interims. If a person is quickly in and out for a project, the organization loses the opportunity for them to observe and gain wisdom. Hazan says it makes it difficult for the organization to maintain continuity in the longer term.
“You don’t have a sense of continuity to transition knowledge as it walks out the door with the end of a project,” she says. “What are you doing to build your knowledge internally and provide continuity on the basis of learning?” is a question she asks organizations to consider.
Balance interims and longer term employees
Hazan tries to find out as much as possible about what clients require before placing an interim.
The loss of an organization’s knowledge could be unintentionally increased by an over-use of interims.
- What are your needs and how should the outside talent help?
- Why do you need an interim – what will they do to advance your mission?
- What do you want to achieve and what results do you hope to obtain?
Organizations need a sensible balance of interims and longer-term employees, with the latter providing continuity and leadership. On the plus side, interims with several clients will have had to adapt to different needs. “They’ll see emerging patterns in terms of their assignments and how they can be a contributor.”
Where interims understand the business and provide value, they're the ones to be called back time and time again. “They’ll become temp-to-perm or freelance as an ongoing part of the organization,” Hazan says.
Have your say
What trends have you noticed in the use of interims – or other flexible ways of staffing? Do you think organizations should pay more attention to knowledge management when using interims?
Recommended resources:
The Melcrum Podcast 28 May 2008 - Lynn Hazan interview
How to draw up a professional development plan
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