Managing talent in a turbulent economy – Part IPlaying both offense and defense |
The economic downturn has brought enormous pressure on businesses to cut costs and reduce staff levels, while at the same time, the need to attract, retain and motivate key talent grows stronger. Our new report, Managing talent in a turbulent economy, identifies how multinational companies are trying to strike the right balance between these two conflicting priorities. This report is the first in a series of three on this subject.
We surveyed 326 senior global company executives to understand how they are planning and managing their workforces in today’s challenging economic environment. Our research reveals several major findings:
- Senior executives have no illusions about the severity of the economic crisis or about the chances of emerging from it soon.
- At the same time, they are taking deliberate actions to manage through the challenges. Executives are seeking to find the right balance between cutting headcount and workforce costs and focusing on strategic talent issues.
- At the top of the strategic talent list, executives know they need experienced talent and strong leadership so they are focused on retaining the critical talent they have and attracting seasoned leaders.
- A surprisingly large percentage of companies reported they do little to integrate workforce planning into all levels of their planning processes. And outside of workforce planning, companies are making only limited use of analytic tools and modelling in their talent processes.
Managing talent in a turbulent economy - Part I
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