Leveraging Recruiters in Recession: Unlocking Internal Mobility and Career Development Opportunities

I just finished reading the latest HBR article, "The High Cost of Neglecting Low-Wage Workers," by Joseph Fuller and Manjari Raman. The authors argue that some companies may blame external factors for their challenges in finding and retaining frontline workers. Still, the real problem lies within their own practices and approaches. They identify that recruiting & career development are very significant out of the six mistakes companies have made. Suppose recruiting & career development are so important. Why have many companies laid off so many talent acquisition employees instead of moving them to develop further recruiting & career development?

In times of economic downturn, many organizations face budget cuts, layoffs, and reduced hiring. As a result, recruiters, who are typically responsible for talent acquisition, may find themselves with reduced workloads or even facing the possibility of being laid off. However, organizations can leverage the expertise and skills of recruiters in innovative ways to address critical talent issues, such as internal mobility and career development initiatives. In this article, I explore the potential scenarios of utilizing recruiters in a recession to unlock internal mobility and career development opportunities.

Recruiters, with their knowledge of the organization's talent landscape, can play a pivotal role in identifying and developing internal talent. Here are some strategies that organizations can consider:

1. Internal Talent Mapping: Recruiters can use their talent acquisition expertise to map current employees' skills, capabilities, and aspirations. By identifying the talent pool within the organization, recruiters can help match internal talent with available opportunities, such as open positions, projects, or stretch assignments. This can help retain valuable employees and optimize internal talent deployment, increasing productivity and performance.
2. Career Development Programs: Recruiters can collaborate with HR and L&D teams to design and implement career development programs for internal talent. These programs can include training, mentoring, and coaching initiatives to help employees enhance their skills and competencies and prepare for future career opportunities. Recruiters can use their knowledge of the talent market to identify relevant external resources and partnerships for career development programs.
3. Succession Planning: Recruiters can work with leadership teams to develop robust succession planning strategies. By identifying key roles and critical skills, recruiters can help create a pipeline of internal talent who can step into leadership positions in the future. This can provide employees with clear career paths and development opportunities and ensure leadership continuity during challenging times.
4. Employee Retention Strategies: Recruiters can partner with HR and leadership teams to develop employee retention strategies. By understanding the needs and aspirations of employees, recruiters can help create customized retention plans, such as tailored career paths, flexible work arrangements, and recognition programs. This can help retain top talent and foster a culture of internal mobility and career development.
5. Internal Job Postings: Recruiters can facilitate internal job postings and transfers to encourage employees to explore new organizational opportunities. By promoting internal mobility, recruiters can help employees discover new career paths and broaden their skill sets. Recruiters can also guide and support employees in navigating the internal job market and preparing for internal interviews.
6. Employer Branding for Internal Talent: Recruiters can apply their expertise in employer branding to create awareness and excitement around internal career opportunities. By showcasing success stories of employees who have progressed through internal mobility, recruiters can positively perceive the organization as a place that values and supports career growth. This can also help boost employee morale and engagement.

In conclusion, organizations can strategically leverage their skills and expertise to unlock internal mobility and career development opportunities instead of laying off recruiters during a recession. Recruiters can play a crucial role in identifying and developing internal talent, designing career development programs, succession planning and retention strategies, promoting internal job postings, and enhancing employer branding for internal talent. By harnessing the potential of recruiters. Organizations can foster a culture of internal mobility, retain top talent, and position themselves for long-term success, even in challenging economic times.

In my career experience, many companies I worked for operated in silos, such as recruiting in HR, and had very limited formal joined goals collaborations below the director / VP level. The only company that did the best job leveraging and developing its recruiting and HR functions for one HR cross-functional work it's Intel Israel.?

Please let me know what your thoughts are. Do you know companies that think and execute strategically when it comes to it's recruiting org?