Newsletter - August 2008
Politics, Economics.And Getting the Job Done
August 14, 2008 - Steve Harvey
On a recent business trip to Europe to meet with our OI Partners there, I learned a great deal about how the global economy and its rapidly changing character has tremendous impact on getting the job done from a human resources perspective. Workforce mobility, pay differentials, currency valuations and local economic conditions can have a tremendous impact on your organization’s international growth and expansion plans. International politics have an obvious impact as well.
The formation of the European Union has accelerated the mobility of the European workforce as it has become easier to move from one country to another within the EU. Currency valuations, while more stabilized within the EU countries, have become quite a factor with large valuation differences in certain countries that are not on the Euro-based currency. Labor requirements, especially for technical and skilled workers, varies by country to say the least. But when the increased mobility and economic factors are entered in, some employers are left scrambling for workers while others can pick and choose from talent available from the mobilized workforce.
Our OI Partners team, comprised of Europeans and Americans, met with several clients in Warsaw who do business in both Poland and the U.S. As an example, the biggest challenge facing the HR executive in Poland is staffing. Turnover is running 20 – 30 percent. It is nearly impossible to maintain full staffing levels. The economy is booming as is the stress factor on the staffing professionals! Many businesses are growing and expanding but find it difficult to find and employ the people required to support the business growth. Technical and skilled people are the most marketable and have been leaving for higher paying jobs elsewhere. HR is getting creative, sponsoring employees from other countries—Eastern European countries primarily—and is sponsoring and promoting technical education at local universities to try to increase the ‘pool’ of talent.
We all know how international politics has had and will continue to have a heavy impact on economies throughout the world, creating winners and losers. While impossible to predict, this factor obviously adds tremendous risk to businesses growing and expanding worldwide.
As you sit at the executive table developing global strategies, factor in the human capital element prior to making business decisions on expansion, growth or acquisition when expanding internationally is an essential part of the conversation. It is this speed of economic change that adds to the challenges facing your business – but the rewards can be outstanding!
Steve Harvey is managing partner, OI Partners, Inc. for Southern California. He also leads the OI Partners International Division working closely with partners in 27 countries in Europe, Asia-Pacific, North and South America. He can be reached at 310-441-8393 or sharvey@oipartners.net.