By Ian J. Cook

Picture the control room for the Apollo 13 space mission. The malfunction on the space craft has just happened and the people in the room have analyzed the data. They realize how bad the damage is and how difficult it will be to rescue the astronauts on the space ship. The press officer for the government stands staring at the screen, hands on his forehead and says “This is going to be a disaster”.  Jean, the leader of the earth-based team, stands beside him and watches with a scowl. “I disagree” he says “I believe this will be our finest hour.” Those not familiar with the movie know that Jean turns out to be right.

This 10-second scene resonates with the situation now facing our organizations and HR professionals. The economic malfunction has happened, the data as to how bad things are has come streaming in and the analysis is projecting a tough forecast and an uncertain future. There has been a lot of comment in the press about which functions will win and lose through this crisis and there has been a lot of comment to suggest that HR will be a loser. One article in The Economist went so far as to suggest that HR was heading back 20 years to being the personnel department – relegated to solely  administrative duties and tasked to control costs to a minimum. This would be a disaster for the profession, the progress we have made and for the organizations we serve.

A more careful and evidence-based look suggests that this crisis provides a unique opportunity for the Talent Management and HR professionals to prove their value like never before. The last 20 years have created some new truths about talent and much deeper insight overall as to why people are at the heart of organizational performance. Understanding and making the best of this insight is the role of the HR function and will be a deciding factor in which organizations make it safely back to earth.

Strategy without talent is wishful thinking

The first truth that has been proven repeatedly is that a strategy without talent is wishful thinking. In the boom times a poorly executed strategy could be overlooked or carried by results in other areas. In these times every choice and action taken by an organization has to be right and has to work. This means that HR has to be at the table during the formulation of strategy to work through talent requirements and make sure that the right people are in place committed and able to do what needs to be done. Strategies will be changing as a new economic norm is established and therefore so to will the talent needs of each organization. Re-shaping the organizational workforce to align with and drive the evolving strategy remains one of the top business priorities and the mandate of HR.

Some would argue that a strategy without financing is also wishful thinking. This is true. What is missing is that a strategy is more likely to draw financing if the people and capability to deliver has been proven. Increasingly investors realize that they are investing in the people who drive the business and the outcomes rather than simply the idea, the technology or machinery. Nowhere was this more apparent than the 8% drop to Apple’s stock price when Steve Job’s health came into question. People are the only beings capable of the innovation and creativity required to find ways of creating value from limited investment.

There are no jobs so we don’t need HR

A few people have commented to me that HR functions will be shrunk because there are no jobs to fill. This may seem true in the short term but is far from true in the long term. A research paper by Taleo analysed US labour market data from the dotcom bust in 2001. What they identified is that although there were 1.2 million net jobs lost during this period. The overall job pool shrank. There were still 7.6 million gross jobs created. The nature of the job pool changed dramatically. Where these jobs come from is start ups, the re-alignment of organizational strategies, organizations entering into new markets etc. Although the numbers for BC will be smaller the same dynamic will happen where lots of work opportunity is created through changing strategies, new organizations, ventures into new markets and more. The market for new talent may be slow but the opportunity for existing, experienced talent will still be hot and HR will need to be in the thick of this dynamic ensuring that the people you need stay with your organization or can be brought to your organization.

Far from being a disaster this current economic phase is an opportunity for HR professionals to show that they understand the tyranny of quarterly financials but more importantly they can craft and execute talent strategies which can flex to volatile markets whilst preserving the organizations core ability to be successful. We have the tools and insight to do this. If we follow Jean and develop our own belief in our value and success,  this next phase will indeed be our finest hour.

Ian J Cook is the director of HR knowledge and research at BC HRMA. Ian is using his global HR consulting experience and business knowledge to grow a function which delivers informative, relevant and timely comment.