Contents

• Introduction 2
• HRM Developments 2
• Global Labor Market trend 3
• Demographic patterns 3
• Technology focus 3
• Younger working generation 3
• Impact on key HRM practices 3
• Employee Recruitment 4
• Internal Training 4
• Compensation and Benefits 4
• Managing HRM during Recession 4
• Human Capital Management (HCM) 5
• Preservation and increment of HCM 5
• Communication 5
• Motivation 6
• Planning 7
• HRM Processes & Innovation 7
• Cost Benefit analysis 8
• Prioritization 8
• Creativity and Innovation 9
• HRM – Creation of the Strategy 9
• Alignment with overall Strategy 9
• Strategy Road Map 10
• Recommendation 11
• References 12

Description

Recession in an economy segregates firms which are unhealthy and have business practices that are not generating enough value. This might be because of several factors such as lack of a coherent strategy, inefficient processes, lack of talented manpower, lack of a vision and mission of the organization. During period of high growth, organizations can chose to ignore these challenges as existing market demand still keeps the bottom-line in the green. But in recession, these deficiencies heighten the pressure on the balance sheet, because the setup is unable to cope with new changed realities. It is in such times that Human Resource Management, HRM can play a very crucial role. Put simply, the role of HRM in recession is to analyze and then implement policies which aim to use the human capital efficiently by transferring resources to value generating activities.
HRM plays an important role, as Patterson et al in their 1997 research found significant variation in company profits was explained by their human resource management practices. Similarly Storey 2002, found that companies’ culture consisting of its attitude and HR can be positively linked to its result.
All this require that HRM team takes some tough and rational decision on the top. These require that the team is sensitive of the employee needs, is aware of the depth of problem, in sync with organizational strategy and clear about future role it has to play. We will go over these issues as we go along and see how tackling these important issues make the role of HRM team a very important one for survival and sustenance in tough times. The HRM team needs to reinvent old processes with a clear vision.