Give HR a break

The long-awaited CSR has now been on the streets for a couple of weeks. Announcements about budget reductions and 490,000 fewer public servants dominate the media. Financial directors across the sector have been working on the details of what the review means in terms of money and HR folk have been in back-to-back meetings trying to sort out the implications for staff. There will ultimately be fewer employees, and the terms and conditions of those remaining look set to be different. The plan is for the private sector to create more jobs, even though it too may experience a negative impact. Economists differ on the speed and scale of what is required and, if you in add the political dimension, we have a landscape of uncertainty for staff.