The European Association for People Management (EAPM) and its national member organisations in 30 European countries – comprising not only members of the EU but also Norway, Switzerland, Russia, and Turkey – are pursuing the goal of improving the quality of HR management and developing and improving professional standards. With its initiatives, conventions, surveys, and dialogue platforms, the EAPM is promoting professional exchange among HR experts all over Europe.

One of the most recent initiatives of EAPM was the launch in June of the EAPM/Boston Consulting Group report “Creating People Advantage, How to Tackle the Major HR Challenges During the Crisis and Beyond”.

The report analyses the results of the most comprehensive HR survey ever conducted in Europe. BCG and the EAPM conducted the online survey in Europe from November 2008 through January 2009, receiving 3,348 responses from HR and other executives in more than 30 European countries. This survey was supplemented by 109 interviews with senior executives, which were conducted between December 2008 and April 2009.

The survey asked executives to rate the future importance of 21 HR topics. Despite the crisis, managing talent remained the most urgent future topic in 2009, as it was in 2007, when the previous survey was conducted. Managing talent is vital for companies today and in the future, and they know it. Among the 21 topics, improving leadership development and enhancing employee commitment have risen significantly in importance since 2007. In the current economy, leaders have to show that they can lead in stormy weather and maintain employee commitment. Other topics, such as managing work-life balance and managing corporate social responsibility, have less priority compared to 2007.

Another important conclusion is that most European companies are unprepared for the demographic “Double Whammy” that will strike when the recession ends. Companies are hastily cutting their work force without taking into account that people will soon be a scarce resource, but it is not too late to take action.

Only 15 per cent of European companies plan their work force more than three years in advance, suggesting that many companies may soon face key shortages in skills as the “double whammy” of falling birth rates and rising numbers of baby boomers entering retirement shrinks the size of the work force.

Strategic Workforce Planning

It was also found that 47 per cent of European companies do not plan their work force requirements more than a year in advance. Companies that have been forced to cut costs and reduce head count during the recession may struggle to find the people they need when growth eventually returns. Companies therefore need to consider the long-term impact of their actions, even – or especially – in times of crisis. In 10 years’ time, the scarcest resource for a company will be people. Companies should understand how their work force will develop, which job categories drive the business, and how demand will evolve. With the uncertainty prevailing today, the human resources (HR) department should analyse different scenarios to figure out whether and how to find, hire, retrain, outsource, or lay off employees.

In March, BCG and the EAPM published a White Paper, “Creating People Advantage in Times of Crisis: How to Address HR Challenges in the Recession”, that summarises survey results as they relate to the recession. The results revealed that one-third of European companies were planning to lay off full-time employees. The White Paper encourages companies to follow a 12-point HR plan to cope with the recession and safeguard their long-term prospects.

The full report builds on that theme and lays out an approach, strategic work force planning, which allows companies to prepare for the future. Companies need to calculate how different strategic scenarios will affect the demand for specific job categories, and they need to determine whether there is an adequate supply of employees – either internally or in the job market. Strategic work force planning, however, requires fundamental changes in HR practices. Besides engaging in strategic work force planning, companies should also tightly link their overall corporate strategy with their HR practices and rely on metrics that track and prove the performance of people and HR processes. Few non-HR executives believe that the HR department acts as a partner with business units. One remedy would be to rotate executives in and out of the HR department. But in half of the HR departments, only three out of 10 employees had experience in the business line. Many companies struggle not only on metrics but also on delivering HR business partnership and meeting the customer’s needs.

Mr Haen is the president of the European Association for Personnel Management with a long track record in international Consultancy and as a prime catalyst for development in the HR sector. He will be one of the main key speakers at the conference organised by the Foundation for Human Resources Development on 16 October. Mr Haen will speak in detail about the research mentioned above and will be offering insights into strategies and options that provide companies with a competitive edge during times of crisis.

For details about the conference go to www.fhrd.org

www.frhd.org/conf09regform.html

www.fhrd.org/programme.pdf

The European Association for People Management (EAPM) and its national member organisations in 30 European countries – comprising not only members of the EU but also Norway, Switzerland, Russia, and Turkey – are pursuing the goal of improving the quality of HR management and developing and improving professional standards. With its initiatives, conventions, surveys, and dialogue platforms, the EAPM is promoting professional exchange among HR experts all over Europe.

One of the most recent initiatives of EAPM was the launch in June of the EAPM/Boston Consulting Group report “Creating People Advantage, How to Tackle the Major HR Challenges During the Crisis and Beyond”.

The report analyses the results of the most comprehensive HR survey ever conducted in Europe. BCG and the EAPM conducted the online survey in Europe from November 2008 through January 2009, receiving 3,348 responses from HR and other executives in more than 30 European countries. This survey was supplemented by 109 interviews with senior executives, which were conducted between December 2008 and April 2009.

The survey asked executives to rate the future importance of 21 HR topics. Despite the crisis, managing talent remained the most urgent future topic in 2009, as it was in 2007, when the previous survey was conducted. Managing talent is vital for companies today and in the future, and they know it. Among the 21 topics, improving leadership development and enhancing employee commitment have risen significantly in importance since 2007. In the current economy, leaders have to show that they can lead in stormy weather and maintain employee commitment. Other topics, such as managing work-life balance and managing corporate social responsibility, have less priority compared to 2007.

Another important conclusion is that most European companies are unprepared for the demographic “Double Whammy” that will strike when the recession ends. Companies are hastily cutting their work force without taking into account that people will soon be a scarce resource, but it is not too late to take action.

Only 15 per cent of European companies plan their work force more than three years in advance, suggesting that many companies may soon face key shortages in skills as the “double whammy” of falling birth rates and rising numbers of baby boomers entering retirement shrinks the size of the work force.

Strategic Workforce Planning

It was also found that 47 per cent of European companies do not plan their work force requirements more than a year in advance. Companies that have been forced to cut costs and reduce head count during the recession may struggle to find the people they need when growth eventually returns. Companies therefore need to consider the long-term impact of their actions, even – or especially – in times of crisis. In 10 years’ time, the scarcest resource for a company will be people. Companies should understand how their work force will develop, which job categories drive the business, and how demand will evolve. With the uncertainty prevailing today, the human resources (HR) department should analyse different scenarios to figure out whether and how to find, hire, retrain, outsource, or lay off employees.

In March, BCG and the EAPM published a White Paper, “Creating People Advantage in Times of Crisis: How to Address HR Challenges in the Recession”, that summarises survey results as they relate to the recession. The results revealed that one-third of European companies were planning to lay off full-time employees. The White Paper encourages companies to follow a 12-point HR plan to cope with the recession and safeguard their long-term prospects.

The full report builds on that theme and lays out an approach, strategic work force planning, which allows companies to prepare for the future. Companies need to calculate how different strategic scenarios will affect the demand for specific job categories, and they need to determine whether there is an adequate supply of employees – either internally or in the job market. Strategic work force planning, however, requires fundamental changes in HR practices. Besides engaging in strategic work force planning, companies should also tightly link their overall corporate strategy with their HR practices and rely on metrics that track and prove the performance of people and HR processes. Few non-HR executives believe that the HR department acts as a partner with business units. One remedy would be to rotate executives in and out of the HR department. But in half of the HR departments, only three out of 10 employees had experience in the business line. Many companies struggle not only on metrics but also on delivering HR business partnership and meeting the customer’s needs.

Mr Haen is the president of the European Association for Personnel Management with a long track record in international Consultancy and as a prime catalyst for development in the HR sector. He will be one of the main key speakers at the conference organised by the Foundation for Human Resources Development on 16 October. Mr Haen will speak in detail about the research mentioned above and will be offering insights into strategies and options that provide companies with a competitive edge during times of crisis.

For details about the conference go to www.fhrd.org

www.frhd.org/conf09regform.html

www.fhrd.org/programme.pdf