Day 1 and IMPACT is off to a great start. We just wrapped up the pre-conference workshops with impressive attendance for both Lean Learning and Talent Management in Today’s Recession. Not surprising, companies recognize the criticality of understanding best practices and key findings when it comes to changes in today’s workforce. Companies can no longer afford to wait. After an overview of top talent challenges and the key actions required to strengthen talent management in a recession, participants were not afraid to get to the heart of the problem and ask some difficult questions around workforce planning and recruiting.

Some of today’s discussion included:

1. Resume vs. Job-matching. As job-matching tools (often referred to as the “e-Harmony of recruiting”) gain steam, will these tools actually be more effective than the traditional resume or will they create a different set of issues? Some companies are investing heavily in tools such as Jobfox and MyPerfectGig while other companies are slow to embrace this technology. Other companies have tested job profiling against current high-performers and the results were disappointing. Resume vs. Job-matching- who will win? Only time will tell but as today’s leading ATS systems begin to establish partnerships with these job-matching companies and in some cases, create a standard application form using Jobfox’s ResumePal, companies will have options when testing both methods from their existing ATS.

2. High-Performers on the Market: Myth or Reality? Given the struggle with resume overload, identifying the right people is a greater challenge than ever before. But are companies really laying-off high-performers? The answer is simple…YES. When companies do not have strategic workforce planning and react in crisis mode, both highly qualified and under qualified employees are facing the same reality…unemployment. What does this mean for recruiting? The candidates you were hoping to poach from your competitor five years ago are now looking for work.

3. Forecasting Skills. One of the top challenges in workforce planning is the ability to forecast both headcount and skill gap analysis. Few companies are able to think into the future and instead provide static reports based on historical data. One way organizations can plan ahead is by scenario planning and “what-if” models. Being able to think through potential situations ahead of time can save organizations both money and time.

Speaking of “scenario planning”…toward the end of the session, we asked attendees to split up into three groups based on different business scenarios (Workforce Reorganization, Workforce Relocation, and Mergers & Acquisitions). Each group was tasked to think of the challenges they would face and how they would respond and align their talent management strategy to the overall business strategy.

When thinking of talent acquisition, a little advice from these groups would include:

• Workforce Reorganization: Focus on integrated talent management and employer branding.
• Workforce Relocation: Strategic workforce planning is imperative.
• Mergers & Acquisitions: Act quickly and engage employees or you will lose high-performers.

I will be updating you on these sessions during the next few days. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter - @bersinIMPACT #im09.