So I hear that the economy is a little slow right now, but have no fear search is the recession proof industry!  Not sure if I buy the hype on that one.  Search may be recession resistant, but I think it is far from recession proof.  We feel the strains that clients are putting on their media budgets, just maybe not as much as the traditional media channels are at this time.  Search can provide a more direct link to what consumers are looking for, intention marketing, and then provide analytic substance to back-up the results of our campaigns.  However, that is a topic for someone else besides HR to get into.

Here is the topic the HR guy wants to touch on…..retention.  Well at least the idea of retention, because it is like the proverbial iceberg – there is a lot more lurking underneath than just what you see on the surface.  Retention is a good practice for any time in any economy, but in an economy like this it’s even more important.  I just heard that there were 181,000 jobs cut in November alone.  I don’t care what industry you’re in, that is a lot of companies laying people off.  Even in “recession-proof” search people are concerned about organizational stability and definitely their own job stability.  Isn’t that just human nature, to be safe and wanted?  Abraham Maslow said in his hierarchy of needs that you need to have your basic needs met before you can move up the pyramid, and definitely before you get to self-actualization.

We spend an awful lot of time thinking about creative ways to recruit people into our companies, but there are not many companies adding people right now.  Now is the opportune time to look inward and start to assess your current staff and identify the people that are making a meaningful contribution to the organization. What does your company have in place that is going to make that person want to stay and continue to perform at that high level?  Monetary rewards may be hard to come by for a lot of companies right now, but think about other rewards and recognition that can be used.  No matter what the situation, any type of retention program or incentive has to fit the individual in order for it to feel personal and resonate with the employee.

For employees that may not be at the “meaningful contribution” level, figure out if there is something that the organization can do to help them rise to that level.  Is there a training program in place to develop a skill set?  A mentoring program to help them find their direction?  Are they someone that should be retained?

Organizations need to determine the traits that the company values and needs to have in their employees.  Do the top performers embody those traits?  What are you doing to keep those people around?

To quote Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.”  Better start counting because the economy can’t stay this way forever, people will be on the move again, and what are you going to do to keep them?