• COST CONTAINMENT
To meet these challenging economic circumstances, cost containment is still very prevalent. Cost cuts have been implemented across all functions but commonly manifest in the termination of temporary contracts, recruitment freezes (or at least limits on new hires), decreased working hours and reductions in use of outside services. Training opportunities also tend to be reduced, as do the number of talent and development related projects. E-learning training modules are gaining in popularity, just as expensive, classroom-based learning is on the wane.
These cost-cutting measures do, however, have a knock-on effect, namely that staff engagement is at an all-time low. When training is provided, it is important for employers to emphasise up skilling opportunities, so that people feel as if they are being provided with somewhere to go in their career: being perceived as “employable” is now valued more highly than safety and security.