Articles - Recruiting and Candidate Dev

We have been mired in this economic downturn for some time now. Many businesses are still operating from the defensive position they adopted when the recession first hit. But is this the right strategy going forward or should company executives start to adopt an offensive strategic workforce solution for the coming recovery?

Jeff Schwarz makes a compelling argument in the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business Knowledge Blog.

According to a 2009 report by Deloitte, more than one-third of top executives worldwide believe that the economy is on its way to recovery and are beginning to adjust their human resource strategy from defense to offense. As we are not out of the woods yet, finding the right balance between the two strategies is key.

Employment Solutions - Balancing Offensive and Defensive

While controlling costs and managing head counts maintained a high priority from a defensive position, by the end of the year-long study executives were again focusing on employee retention and workforce development training from an offense standpoint. In the first quarter of 2010, these executives ranked their priorities as:

1) 31% reducing headcount
2) 29% workforce development training
3) 27% employee retention

Considering what we have gone through economically over the past few years, the fact that one-third of executives from the world’s largest companies are shedding the ‘bunker mentality’ for an optimistic future is great news for all of us.

Leadership Training

Those companies with an optimistic outlook are able to retain high-level talent by investing more in leadership training. Companies that are focusing on cost reduction as their main strategy risk losing their top talent to competitors as the recovery curve slopes upward. As the Deloitte report states “Nearly all executives surveyed ‘talk the talk’ about the importance of leadership development and believe their companies have clear strategies in place to develop corporate leaders. Far fewer ‘walk the walk,’ because they lack the necessary tools to make their leadership development programs more effective.”

Are You Accelerating into the Recovery or Stumbling out of the Recession?

This question was posed in the Deloitte report and is a key question that business executives need to answer. While cost containment is still an important consideration, we must begin to look to the coming economic recovery. Are you prepared for what’s ahead and, more importantly, do you have enough talented employees to remain prepared? Have you developed a strategic workforce solution that enables you to take advantage of upcoming opportunities?  Now, may be the most opportune time to invest in recruiting and developing talent…or your competitors may beat you to it.

Gary Greene is President of Greene Resources, Inc., an employment solutions company based in Raleigh, North Carolina that designs and delivers specialized recruiting solutions for businesses from a wide variety of industries across the nation.  He is also a nationally recognized speaker and motivator in the areas of sales, service and leadership.  In his business, he excels in building and maintaining lifetime partnerships with clients.

Recognitions for Gary and Greene Resources have included:

• Seven consecutive years as a Triangle Fast Fifty (Fifty Fastest Growing Privately-Owned Companies in the Triangle area of North Carolina)
• Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Hottest Companies in America
• Business Leader Magazine Top 100 NC Small Businesses
• Business Leader Magazine/Wake Tech Community College Business Champion
• Business Leader Magazine Impact HR Leader
• Premier Recipient of the RSM McGladrey Integrity in Business Award
• Rotary Outstanding Service Award
• Business Leader Magazine Impact Mover and Shaker
• North Carolina Association of Staffing Professionals Sales/Marketer of the Year

Gary’s community involvement includes serving as a Rotarian, Junior Achievement volunteer, YMCA advisory board member, Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce advisory board member and committee chair, Wake Education Partnership board member, and a youth baseball coach.

Gary was born and raised in Raleigh, NC and graduated with honors from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.  He and his wife, Julie, have two sons, Joey 12 and Nicholas 9.

Gary can be reached by email at gary@greeneresources.com or by phone at (800) 784-9619.

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