Many U.S. Firms Lack Long-Term Talent Strategy

Workforce Management (08/08) Marquez, Jessica

Approximately 33 percent of U.S. companies do not have a workforce contingency plan, according to a recent Watson Wyatt Worldwide survey. Out of companies that do have contingency plans in place, over 50 percent base their plans around layoffs. Very few companies take steps to protect their talent during an economic downturn, according to the survey results. Experts predict companies failing to protect their workforce now will have to pay a higher premium for talent once the economy recovers. "Maybe some companies are thinking they can't anticipate what's going to happen, so they will just address issues as they arise. But it's hard for me to believe that any business could think that they would not be subject to the volatility of the market," said Laura Sejen of Watson Wyatt Worldwide. The lack of contingency planning will put many companies at a competitive disadvantage with their competitors in Asia and Europe, say experts, because more than 80 percent of employers in Europe and in Asia have workforce contingency plans in place.