The HRD fired the lessons of the crisis of 1993 and 2001

According to the HRD, companies shake teeth! And 57 of them were not initiated major manoeuvres for downsizing. This is what reveals a study by TNS Sofres, on behalf of SCC and the magazine "Social bonding", with a hundred large groups in eight European countries. Last year, at the beginning of the crisis, the recruitment and retention best profiles constitute their priority number one, on a background of structural changes as the Granddad boom, the shortcomings of technical skills or the inexorable deployment of the international companies. A few months, the storm upset the gives.

If the cost reduction remains, unsurprisingly, the major concern of 79 of human resource directors surveyed, only 48 of them engaged in a restructuring. "The HRD fired the lessons of the crisis of 1993 and 2001." In 1993 including, it was a bloodbath, as employers were laid off. "And when the recovery has arrived, many found themselves destitute," recalls Frédéric Pichard, manager at SCC. Two decades later, European HRD seem to prefer une myriad of disparate tools to avoid the social plans. Among the measures taken: the freezing of recruitment (in a society on two), management of working time (in a company out of three) or even the partial unemployment (for an employer in four). Starting in January 2009, 290.600 employees have thus benefited from measures in Germany partial unemployment, or nearly 18 times more than the previous year. And, like giants like BMW, Daimler or BASF, businesses spend have used German in the first days of 2009.

Guardians of social peace

In addition, 14 of leaders attacked wages. With parsimony in France, where only a few employers, such as the HP computer manufacturer, have news by asking their teams to reduce their fees. With turmoil in Britain, where the airline British Airways, victim of turbulence, did not hesitate to propose to its 40,000 employees work without pay a month, to cut costs.

In France, companies have also conducted a loan of labour, which involves an employee in another company without breaking his contract of employment. Meanwhile, after having put in place a plan of voluntary departures, the manufacturer of innovative materials Soitec "ready" since October 20 collaborators the Commissariat for Atomic Energy (CEA). "It finds a real maturity of the HRD," said Danielle Tuarze, Vice President for CSC."

The recovery is not yet meet. And, at the time where 31 percent of those polled believe that the crisis has caused a degradation of the social climate, even movements social (in 23 of cases), improve the commitment of the teams advanced to the second rank of priorities (71). This is expected of them their branch, which are sacred, more than ever, guardians of social peace in the company, in the light of 74 of respondents. Certainly, the collective disputes which started in the spring, in companies such as Continental or Caterpillar, "remained scattered and were never doomed to join", according to the formula of the company & staff association, which brings together the essence of the HRD to big business in France. But "social movements have changed faces." "They occur by the demobilization, absenteeism or opting out, or even individual violence", provides Didier Pitelet, Dream Group founder, corporate reputation Council Agency.

The end of a managerial model

The HRD are aware: 76 of respondents now spend their time listening to the collaborators. "We are lot of Social Watch. "Because now it is up to HRD in the image of the employer to restore meaning to the mission of the employees", believes Jean-Claude Delmas, Director of the human resources branch supermarkets of the Casino group.

Sign of the times, 64 of respondents report working on the management of proximity. Finally, the prevention of psychosocial risks becomes a priority site for 43 of them. Last year, only 4 of the French HRD regarded themselves as an axis to improve. According to Didier Pitelet, "the crisis marks the end of an economic model, but also managerial."