Defense Wins Championships.

Mike Kapuscinski, Manager, Talent Acquisition

Dan Boyd, SPHR Director, Talent Acquisition

The hallmark of great teams is agility in a dynamic environment. Great leaders quickly convert from offense to defense with a strategy that involves being ready for the next offensive move. The global business climate over the past 9 months has required many companies to do exactly that when it comes to managing their workforce. Rapidly changing business needs are forcing many top companies to rethink hiring goals, freeze hiring all together, and even release valuable employees. A quick look at recent staffing trends attests to the impact of the economy and the need to be adaptable.

The engineering and construction (E&C) industry's unprecedented growth over the past five years exposed a shortage of engineering talent and engaged companies in a virtual "war for talent." In response, recruiting departments grew rapidly and built strong industry knowledge, and familiarity with the particular needs of their company and business lines. Everyone was on offense.

Today's picture is quite different.  The downturn affects clients' ability to justify and finance pending projects, so E&C companies are forced to trim the talent that was so hard to come by just a few short months ago. Furthermore, recruiting departments faced with fewer openings to fill are looking for savings by trimming their highly specialized recruiting staff. With regard to the amount of effort applied to the recruitment of the workforce, training costs, and the development of successful recruiting centers, it is clear that an active defensive posture is necessary in lieu of a more static entrenchment posture.

In response, the Washington Division of URS launched the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) in January of 2009. TAP leverages the Division's key staffing resources to assist recently released personnel as they transition to the next phase in their careers. While similar in approach to most outsourced outplacement programs available today, Washington Division's TAP delivers industry focused transition coaching at an overall lower cost to the organization.

TAP leverages in-depth recruiting and placement experience and places a strong focus on the E&C industry. TAP coaches possess a strong understanding of the projects the released personnel worked on, and have a thorough knowledge of the specific market segments served by the Company, which ensures a higher level of success for job seekers. The personal relationships Washington Division coaches develop with participants provides a smoother career transition and positions the Company for future re-engagement with the released staff as the economic climate changes.

These relationships are maintained through assistance with:

• Unemployment filling and Social Security registration
• Identifying target employers locally, regionally, nationally and globally
• Resume and cover letter writing techniques, review and templates
• Interviewing assistance and training
• Identifying job search tools; professional networking sites and organizations, community involvement  
• In-house developed online seminars covering a range of transition topics

Since the program's inception through the first week of April 2009, the Washington Division's TAP coaches have interacted with over 240 participants and of those, a little over 11% have been able to secure new positions, which is no small achievement considering the job marketplace in the first quarter of 2009. This is due, in part, to the efforts of the transition team.

Program satisfaction levels have been strong as reflected by an independent online survey distributed to the participants.  

• 44% rated their overall satisfaction level as "extremely satisfied," with an additional 25% reporting that they were satisfied.
• 60% were extremely satisfied with the level of care and follow-up they are receiving.
• 85% felt that they had more than sufficient access to their transition coach.
• 75% were either extremely satisfied or satisfied with the level and quality of information provided.
• 90% said that they were able to use the information provided in their job searches.

These statistics reflect the TAP's value to participants and the overall performance of the program. The high level of participant satisfaction is also a key indicator of the engagement efforts made by the Company and the TAP coaches in support of the released individuals.   

URS places a high value on its people. Faced with a challenging economic climate, the company proactively shifted into a defensive posture with regard to staffing.   These responsive HR practices exhibit strong HR leadership.

Through this program and the good will it generates, Washington Division is poised to restart its hiring practices, as needed, with a ready and willing network of potential boomerang candidates that remember the support the Company provided during these difficult times. In addition, the diverse experience gained by the recruiters now serving as coaches, and the financial savings delivered to the Company, all take a back seat to the true motivation for the program - supporting our colleagues to position individuals and the Company for success in any economic climate.