This month I was going to focus my attention on how to recruit, retain and develop the ‘future talent pool’.
My friends and colleagues know a bugbear of mine is the ’I want it now’ quick-fix mentality of a lot of today’s business newcomers. They watch The Apprentice or The X Factor and think success can come easily, without hard graft or on-the-job education. However, that topic will have to wait as I feel I must respond, from a recruitment and people-management perspective, to one of the most incredible weeks in economic history the world has seen.
At present we seem to be bombarded with bad news, and every time we think there may be hope another fiscal banana skin waits just around the corner. Getting on in business has never been easy. The list of tasks seems endless: finding new customers, innovating new products, keeping existing customers happy, growing and developing sales and margins, keeping managers and staff content, recruiting staff, training existing staff, etc.
As competition hots up and our customers demand and expect more, we have to deliver or lose market share – and possibly even our livelihoods. And now we have to worry about something we have no control over: massive uncertainty in the world business market, with no end or clear outcome in sight. In food and horticulture this scenario has been exacerbated by the rise in raw material costs and general business expenses, combined with the retailers’ desire to keep their selling prices under control to keep consumers happy. An already tough market place keeps getting tougher.
How can we respond? Many business owners may be tempted to bury their heads in the sand and ignore the issues. Other may over-react and panic and perhaps reduce costs – which usually means people.
Hopefully the more enlightened ones will take practical steps to cope. They’ll analyse the situation and react to the new business climate in a sensible and thoughtful way and recognise that there is always danger in times such as these and that a quick reaction is not the best – it’s all too easy to cut off your nose to spite your face.
The turmoil in the financial markets is already starting to spread out and affect the ‘real economy’, and the businesses that are likely to come through the potential recession in the best shape will be those that recognise now is the time to train and develop key people. This will make them more able to handle the increased pressures the next few months will bring.
My friends and colleagues know a bugbear of mine is the ’I want it now’ quick-fix mentality of a lot of today’s business newcomers. They watch The Apprentice or The X Factor and think success can come easily, without hard graft or on-the-job education. However, that topic will have to wait as I feel I must respond, from a recruitment and people-management perspective, to one of the most incredible weeks in economic history the world has seen.
At present we seem to be bombarded with bad news, and every time we think there may be hope another fiscal banana skin waits just around the corner. Getting on in business has never been easy. The list of tasks seems endless: finding new customers, innovating new products, keeping existing customers happy, growing and developing sales and margins, keeping managers and staff content, recruiting staff, training existing staff, etc.
As competition hots up and our customers demand and expect more, we have to deliver or lose market share – and possibly even our livelihoods. And now we have to worry about something we have no control over: massive uncertainty in the world business market, with no end or clear outcome in sight. In food and horticulture this scenario has been exacerbated by the rise in raw material costs and general business expenses, combined with the retailers’ desire to keep their selling prices under control to keep consumers happy. An already tough market place keeps getting tougher.
How can we respond? Many business owners may be tempted to bury their heads in the sand and ignore the issues. Other may over-react and panic and perhaps reduce costs – which usually means people.
Hopefully the more enlightened ones will take practical steps to cope. They’ll analyse the situation and react to the new business climate in a sensible and thoughtful way and recognise that there is always danger in times such as these and that a quick reaction is not the best – it’s all too easy to cut off your nose to spite your face.
The turmoil in the financial markets is already starting to spread out and affect the ‘real economy’, and the businesses that are likely to come through the potential recession in the best shape will be those that recognise now is the time to train and develop key people. This will make them more able to handle the increased pressures the next few months will bring.
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