A period of economic uncertainty is the time for companies to reflect on future needs and not fire staff or freeze hiring
Employers need to suppress the instinctive reaction to freeze hiring or begin laying off staff as the global economic growth slows down on the back of an expected recession in the United States, according to leading human resources (HR) consultants in the region.
Instead, they have advised firms to take advantage of periods of sputtering economic growth, such as that which is besetting the world, to catch their breath from the usual frantic pace of hiring. The consultants have urged companies to rationalise wages and benefits, adjust company structures and focus on training and development.
Consultants at Mercer, an HR advisory firm, noted that the trend had been towards hiring in quantity rather than quality.
According to Rajan Srikanth, Mercer's managing director, Asia-Pacific, employers must avoid a knee-jerk reaction by freezing hiring altogether or start firing people, and ask themselves what they expect their human resources needs will be during this economic uncertainty.
'You can see what your capabilities and needs are, mainly business critical needs in an uncertain time, and plan accordingly,' he said.