By Cheryl Liew-Chng, CEO of LifeWorkz Pte Ltd

Employers and managers may be tempted to think that talent management is the least of their problems during these turbulent times. After all, people fear for their jobs and are more likely to be compliant and hardworking.

However, I believe that this is a myopic view of talent management.

In tough times, talent management matters more than ever. Here's why:

1. In turbulent times, organisations are under pressure to do more with less.
   
   You have to achieve sales, productivity and results with fewer resources, in less time and with lower costs.
   
   When you have to work within limitations - budget constraints, hiring freeze and low headcount - talent management becomes critical. Now, more than ever, you need to maximise the contributions of your talent pool, to draw the best from them so that they can make tangible contributions to the bottomline of the company.
   
   

2. In turbulent times, the need to build resilience and increase engagement is greater than ever.
   
   A company is only as good as its people. Ultimately, the organisation that will survive is the one that demonstrates resilience. A resilient organisation is one that enjoys higher productivity and suffers less burnout in spite of turbulent times.
   
   In the days ahead, the resilience of your workforce will be tested. The good news is, resilience can be nurtured. You can build resilience, expand capacity and increase the capability of your team. And you need to do so now, more than ever. As the Elvis Presley song goes, "it's now or never".
   
   

3. In turbulent times, talent management is your lifeline to your future success.
   
   Understandably, cost management is a pressing concern during these times. However, if you adopt a slash-and-burn approach in cutting HR costs, you may inadvertently cut off your lifeline of future success.
   
   If your talent management system is outdated, your best talent will leave once the economy improves, bringing their skills to your competitor.
   
   It is possible to increase staff engagement and build loyalty to the organisation while managing costs; the key is to invest where it counts. But here is where things get tricky.
   
   

4. Turbulent times or not, Generation Y is here to stay
   
   Rewards and remunerations mean different things to different generations. The arrival of Generation Y in the workforce is forcing employers to relook at their talent management systems. Is your talent management system able to encompass the diversity of today's workforce?
   
   You may cringe at their work habits and work ethics, but Gen Y is here to stay. The multi-generational workforce is a reality you can't afford to ignore. Many managers are finding teamwork difficult to achieve and team cohesiveness, a remote dream. This management nightmare can only get worse.
   
   If you don't have a strategy for managing today's multi-generational workforce, they will be at each other's throats instead of working together, and that can't be good for business --- not in good times, and you definitely can't afford for that to happen in bad times.
   
   

Join us on Feb 25 and hear Cheryl Liew-Chng, the CEO of LifeWorkz, unveil the latest research findings on Talent Management in Turbulent Times.

Cheryl speaks frequently on HR matters at both national events and prestigious international platforms, including The Conference Board and the Alliance for Work-Life Progress in the USA.

She is an established authority on work-life integration, women in the workplace, and the multi-generational organization. LifeWorkz specializes in real-world, Asian-based research that is borne out by data and conversations with thousands of managers and workers in Asia.

Cheryl is the author of 'Talents Onboard' and co-author of 'Working Together' - two landmark publications on work-life integration - and has two decades of experience across a wide range of industries.She holds a master's degree in Human Resource Development from George Washington University, USA, and is an alumna of INSEAD.

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