Attack at the top of the hill
April 28, 2008
Go on the offense in the war for talent when your competition is hurt. Yes you hurt too but winning in business or in bike racing is a relative game - very relative. Of course you are stronger and feel more confident in your ability to sprint and attack when you are warmed up and ready, but the problem there is that so is your competition. In tougher times when every company is hurt from a slowing economy there is no better time to go on the offense and focus on strategic talent management issues. You can recruit the best from your competition and develop your key talent - if you get some slack you should use it wisely.
Of course when the economy is putting the knife on your throat it is easier said than done, but most organizations get very inactive in a slow economy. They simply resist taking any action, hoping things will correct themselves. Well the economic climate will eventually recover – it always fluctuates – but your company will come out weaker than your competition if you don’t act. But can you marry cost cutting with going on the offense? Yes, but laying off people can’t be done by simply applying stupid rules such as last in first out (very common in Europe, sometimes forced by laws) or broad 10% cuts in everything. Doing it like that is just lame.
Make sure you surgically get rid of the people that do not perform, nor have the potential to grow into the future needs of the organization. Think not only in terms of cost savings, but also in terms of talent optimization, although this is probably something that most organizations should do all the time in any economic climate. You just don’t see nor face this problem in booming times. So attack on top of the hill when your competition is hurt and you have a great chance of coming out winning. Pain is temporary, victory is forever.
Related posts
Comments
2 Responses to “Attack at the top of the hill”
Got something to say?
When time is tough it’s tough gets going, but the smart companies always keep their workforce busy and try to optimise their human capital. Jack in GE said about the 4E’s , it is applicable during the good times and bad time too.
I have a question , Say Mr A is performing exceedingly well during the boom time when the recession sets in Mr A’s performance/productivity goes down, economic conditions may be one of the reasons or, what should the management do with Mr A .
1.Give him Pink Slip.
2.Go for a pay cut , only give the fixed freezes the variable.
3. Shift him to a different process/sections or do a job enrichment or enlargement?
If the first option is taken it can be dangerous he will be picked up immediately by a competitor and can pose tremendous problem from the existing employers.
In the case of Second Option Mr A may start grumblimg.May leave on his own.
In the third case he may be a misfit.
What is your answer, please reply.
With Warm Regards
Does anyone have any insight into the Taleo/Vurv acquisition? It would seem that there is a lot of talent at Vurv that is ripe for the picking… Taleo surely will not be able to absorb the full Vurv staff. Has SuccessFactors made a raid… will they make a raid? This would seem like an excellent opportunity to execute on the “Attack at the top of the hill”.
Thanks,
Jim S.