Flashback to January of 2008. It began well, but dramatically disintegrated over time to end in a dismal financial state that has affected each of us in some way. Certainly it made managing HR much more challenging than it is under normal business scenarios. We know that millions of jobs were eliminated as the year progressed, with the fallout of significant job losses spilling over into 2009. As the economy deteriorated, job security became of paramount importance to employees. Towards the end of the year, employees became much more reluctant to seek other employment and had diminished opportunity to do so in view of fewer job openings. Employers found themselves in the diametrically opposed position of laying off employees while still hiring for specialized jobs. Even so, naturally there was still employee turnover in all industries.
