We just got back from SHRM 2009 in New Orleans where we had the opportunity to speak with thousands of HR professionals about some of the most significant issues they and their organizations are facing in the current economic environment. We didn't want to stop the conversation there nor did we want keep all these great insights to ourselves, so we put together a summary of our findings and key takeaways just for you. We hope this valuable information will help you and your businesses succeed in today's economy and beyond.

HR definitely has a seat at the table.

In Jack Welch's keynote address to conference participants, he proclaimed that HR professionals have the “most important job in America ,” and he's not necessarily the only person who thinks so! According to the 130 HR executives we polled at the conference, the vast majority (76%) think their HR function has a seat at the table and gets enough visibility in front of their executive team. Companies seem to have learned their lesson from previous recessions and, even though budgets may be tighter and times are certainly tougher, they're still focused on effective recruitment and talent management strategies.

Sleepless nights are on the rise for HR professionals — and it's still about finding the right talent!

What's keeping HR professionals up at night? Not necessarily their own job security, which actually ranked on the lower half of the list. The top two concerns were “attracting the highest level of talent” and “future of workforce, shortage of long-term talent,” both of which continue to worry HR professionals even with the unemployment rate being at 20+ year highs. Coming in behind recruiting the right people was “staff retention” — finding, keeping and nurturing talent are still challenges regardless of the external economic environment, reinforcing the need for an effective staffing and recruitment model at all times.

What's Keeping HR professionals up at night?

• Quality of workforce —attracting the highest level of talent 40%
• Future of workforce, shortage of long-term talent 35%
• Staff retention 29%
• Employee Free Choice Act 28%
• The new presidential administration's stance on workplace and employment law 26%
• New healthcare legislation 25%
• My own job security 20%
• The flexibility of my workforce 15%
• Cost of recruiting and finding talent in the turnaround 13%
• Effectively managing all of the external vendors we rely on every day 6%
• Co-employment 5%

Beyond these concerns, HR professionals are also worried about the impact of new legislation coming out of Capitol Hill with the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), President Obama and his administration's stance on workplace and employment law, and new healthcare legislation coming in at the fourth, fifth and sixth spots respectively.

The near future does include hiring!

According to the HR professionals we spoke with, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. In fact, 39% of those polled predicted that their organization will be hiring aggressively by the end of 2009 and the vast majority (76%) thinks their companies will be back in the hiring game before mid-year 2010! How about hiring freezes and pay cuts? More than half of respondents (52%) think those too will be lifted prior to the end of 2009.

HR to C-Suite: More than anything, be more visible!

Generally speaking, HR professionals are thinking good thoughts about the leadership of their companies — 71% reported that their company's workforce has either more or the same amount of faith in their executive team due to their actions during the economic downturn. With that in mind, HR professionals do have important advice for their leaders — their top tip is: “be more visible to employees right now,” followed by “invest more in training and development” and “retention, even in a downturn, is a concern — invest more in keeping top talent.” ”Stop laying off staff” came in eighth place.

Top advice from HR professionals to the leadership of their companies

1. Be more visible to employees right now — it's very important. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61%


2. Invest more in training and development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56%


3. Retention, even in a downturn, is a concern — invest more in keeping top talent . . . . 48%


4. he actions you're taking now are responsible and necessary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29%


5. Our workforce should be more flexible to better withstand economic cycles . . . . . . . . 20%


6. Pay cuts and furloughs are a better option than additional layoffs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18%


7. Treat employees better as they are laid off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14%


8. Stop laying off staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12%


9. The actions you're taking now are going to hurt us in the long run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7%

As the world leader in recruitment and workforce solutions, Adecco has the solutions and expertise to help you and your organization meet your talent challenges in any economic condition. For more information or to discuss your needs, please contact your Adecco representative today.