Comment by Mike Madura on January 4, 2009 at 10:27pm

Jonathan,

This is an excellent list of expectations for 2009. Your points that stand out to me:

#1 - Smart organizations will definitely look at improving their staff even if total headcount remains the same. Sourcing these individuals is not going to get any easier since most of them will still be employed. However, based on the economy and the state of their employers, they will be more open to networking and taking that call where you can quickly differentiate your employment Value Proposition from what they currently have.

#2 - 3rd party agencies will continue to be used, but more selectively.

#3 - More job seekers => not only more opportunity to build out your network but to also build future IOUs through pay forward networking.

#5 - Not only streamline internal processes for cost take out, but also look for other value add functions that recruiting can provide to the organization. This could include outplacement assistance and direct recruiting candidates for client firms.

#6 - ATS optimization becomes important once the candidate is identified. An issue for 2009 will be how to integrate the ATS with a CRM to support the actual candidate identification.

#8 - In addition to the listed activities, understanding the organization's go-to-market is key. Recruiting organizations can also assist the business in providing competitive business information.

#10 - Internal recruiting organizations are being right-sized just like other departments. A key here will be establishing a recruiting staffing strategy now for when this downturn does break. Initially this will most likely be accomplished through contract recruiting until additional recruiting headcount can be justified.

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