HR Predictions for 2009
By Marryam Chaudhry on Dec 29, 2008 in General HR, Recession and Unemployment
What do you think HR will look like in 2009?
Recession is hitting hard and times are difficult. Many companies in Pakistan are turning to layoffs and firing staff as a remedy. The effects of such actions will be discussed later. For now I just want to see what will be the result of all this in the coming year 2009.
Just a while back there was an HR boom in Pakistan. Everyone is hiring HR staff and setting up HR departments and making HR manuals. If you weren’t…You were considered backward and not going along with the times. So whether or not you knew what the purpose of an HR person or Department was, you had to have it.
Ads of various posts and positions were placed in the media and the hunt began. The expectations were mountainous as compared to the salary.In interviewing the candidates they have been expected to achieve herculean tasks or things the management didn’t want to do itself as it would MAKE THEM LOOK BAD in the eyes of the employees. So let HR do it.I have even heard statements like “I want you to fix my people and make them work” or “I want to get rid of some weeds in various departments “or “make my company great” or “I want you to restructure the organization and make it an employer brand of choice “(by the way without giving the guy any resources, extra people or the authority to make any decisions on his own!). Reading this may sound as ridiculous to you as it did to me when I experienced it. But the fact is that most of all the top successful local companies are doing
Where is all this leading us to?
Well it is very clearly leading to the fact that the year 2009 will not be one in which HR, Training and developing employees will be a priority on the list of local industries! One thing is for sure unemployment will be rampant and the entire HR racket about HIRING THE BEST TALENT will go down the drain. Companies want to keep their departments lean and some are even closing down entire departments.
There is one huge manufacturing company In Lahore that has decided that the solution to their problem is to abolish and do away with a newly established HR department. The company says we just don’t need it right now.This is just one of the many short sighted hurried decisions made by local companies. They have no idea as to what the impact of such decisions will be in the long run. One thing we must understand is that any company that will use recession as an excuse to treat their staff like excess inventory will suffer lasting damage to their employment brands and lose their competitive advantage in the labor market.
Another well written article in this regard is CFO vs HR and also HR predictions 2009: An exclusive insight
Well HR and its evolution in Pakistan has been captured in the article above. I would agree with the valid observations,however, I would like to re-inforce that the HR professionals have to influence the mindset of the CEO, CFO and the Senior Management.
You have to bear in mind that HR and the more core HR concepts are still new to many organizations and their management.
The Value creation and capturing the impact of the investment in HR has to be packaged and presented so as to facilitate the accepatability of the Human Resources. It will also ensure an equitable position for HR practice leaders on the Senior Management Team.
As far as the downturn is concerned the better employers will definitely look at this as an opportunity. You have to stay one step ahead of the competition. Employers should not forget 2006-07 when they were all struggling to attract and retain their best talent.
By re-organizing and channelizing the current resources to plan the future startegy and consolidate for the future the organizations can gain a competitive advantage. Only organization having a leadership with a vision will survive. It is the time to remain patient and have a long term strategy business strategy.
Arif Hussain Nomani | Dec 30, 2008 | Reply
Agreed with. The times are tough and the decisions even tougher. Organizations have no doubt started feeling HR and its sub components as an overhead cost which they end up deciding that they need to cut. Although the core HR concepts of HR are new to the Industry in Pakistan on the whole, but one should see who is sitting at what level of HR Hierarchy to implement and as Arif said INFLUENCE the minds of the CEO or CFO. Not many qualified HR Professionals are sitting at the right place to make an impact; to start off with. It’s a dilemma that corporate entities still take decisions in Personnel Management style and expects it would yield results like HR Management.
As far as 2009 is concerned, it sure is not a year to execute many plans but it is nevertheless a good time to plan with vision for long-term scenarios. Explore possibilities which perhaps would not have clicked us before. The HR along with many support functions will stay affected the most in this time of recession but according to me, a true HR professional will be someone who would be sitting with the CFO with balance sheets in front of him/her and brainstorming to cut costs OTHER THAN laying off resources and abolishing departments. How many would there be?
JSana | Dec 31, 2008 | Reply
Also we have to bear in mind that there has been a significant shift in the way we do business. Before the 90s, 70 percent of all company value was in fixed assets. Now all major cooperations (e.g.Microsoft & Google) only 30% of their value is in fixed assets. The rest is intagible human capital which we are talking of layoff. So if any institution does make a choice they are losing their capital which does not show on their balance sheet.
Arif Hussain Nomani | Dec 31, 2008 | Reply
Hi Marryam
I do agree with your prediction as well as the observations made on few attempting business community trying to attain the Corporate stature.Infact , if one needs to identify who is a strong leader with clear vision , mission and objective.The answer is so simple.An organisation with more than 200 + staff , be it in one country or spread out in different countries , wherein the CEO has not retrenched any of the employees except the routine non-performing .Where there has not been any new cost cutting measures, no withdrawals of benefits!
Well ! The key to this is basic foundation , clear vision , and logical decision making.An industry which perhaps went beyond the permissible borrowing limits , without sustained cash-flow as well as most importantly the expectation of slump in business, cannot but be swept away in the storm.As of November 2008 , there is lull before the storm.
The UAE is going through such a phase , and many organisations are being caught unaware.
What can be done during the recession, slump in market .Well I would say , use the time to sharpen your tools.Who does this ?well as we do see , many ignorant business houses have shed-off HR dept , little realising the value , the importance and the expertise that was in store(if professionally selected).
Training is indeed the key word for all organisations.Equip your team with excellence .Build up all areas identified that requires training.If you dont’ have the budget for this, identify HR leaders who has the capability to do so either in-house or from sister concerns.
A quick view of few areas that can be trained may be:
- Effective communication skills
- Effective organisational skills
- Team Building
- Art of listening
- Art of evaluations
- Business correspondence
Am sure that HR leaders can definitely comment and advise from their own experiences.
If you believe in yourself,
Then nothing can stop you
From achieving what you believe in.
Remember “After every dark night, there’s a brighter day”
B Prasaanth | Dec 31, 2008 | Reply
Prasaanth,
Valid observation but my question is that you must be interacting with HR leadership in the UAE. I just want you to tell me that is it geared with the ability to implement and execute the kind of programs and vision that we are talking about here. Do they have the capacity to influence the Senior Management team to charter and alter their route to what they are already are on.
Arif Hussain Nomani | Jan 1, 2009 | Reply