Last week we received news of another layoff. This time it’s coming from Robinhood who cut an additional 23% of their workforce less than 100 days after laying off 9% of their workforce. According to TechCrunch, “the layoffs are particularly concentrated in the company’s operations, marketing, and program management functions”. Layoffs are never a good thing, but I understand why. Who could predict a pandemic and a war to happen back to back along with all the other things that followed like inflation and a recession?
What stood out to me about this one is the blog post by CEO Vlad Tenev. He said “As CEO, I approved and took responsibility for our ambitious staffing trajectory - this is on me”. The good part is that those affected will remain employed with the company until October 1, 2022, will receive regular pay, receive benefits, and be offered cash severance payments. I have to admit, it’s better than most companies that went through layoffs this year. He took responsibility and maybe over-hiring in a booming economy isn’t the best solution. We’ll save that topic for another day.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also released the jobs report for July. Something you should be aware of is that employment is cyclical and industry-specific depending on the economy. For instance, in this report, you’ll see that there were 528,000 jobs added. However, most jobs added come from the hospitality industry with 96,000 and only 12,000 jobs added in management and technical consulting services.
I understand why companies usually cut their talent acquisition teams first due to hiring freezes but there is no doubt in my mind that talent acquisition is going to be the centerpiece of their recovery. Repurposing and strengthening your talent acquisition team when there is uncertainty about the economy is necessary. I wanted to share some helpful hints for talent acquisition leaders and companies on what to focus on during a recession.
Talent Acquisition Tools
More than often a TA team has a variety of tools to source, outreach, and manage a candidate through the hiring process. It’s time to reassess the effectiveness of these tools and begin to centralize. With a smaller team after a layoff, it’s crucial that time is spent efficiently so I suggest investing in tools that have automation integrated leaving the TA team to focus on the human elements of recruitment.
Training & Development
There may not be much hiring happening so it’s time to double down on training for those hiring managers and current employees. Use this time to host lunch and learn that cover the best-interviewing practices, unconscious bias training, and updates on the current status of the labor market.
Keep the Pipeline Going
How many times have we heard our teams say they want more “diverse” candidates? This is your time to start outreach to local, HBCU, and HSI colleges. Also, don’t count out the bootcamps helping new talent enter the workforce. Start those relationships and do some info sessions about your company to gain traction and boost your employer brand.
Relationship Building
Just because the roles aren’t open doesn’t mean you should stop talking to your hiring managers. Stay in the loop of what their teams are working on and identify the skills gaps. People are our currency and that information is helpful when we engage with passive candidates.