Employers should not assume they will have access to a ready supply of talent when the recession ends, according to the managing director of Hudson, English regions.

Speaking to employers at a seminar in Birmingham, entitled ‘Tackling the economic crisis’, Peter Cosgrove told employers: “When the economic crisis subsides the talent crisis will remain.” And therefore, employers who followed a strategy of attempting to rehire people who had lost their jobs in the recession were less likely to be successful than in the past.

Cosgrove said it was important for employers to get the balance right between short-term cost saving and longer-term talent requirements.

Even in the current downturn, there was still a need for strategic hiring, argued Cosgrove, explaining that the leaders who were successful in growing companies were not necessarily the same as those required to lead those companies in tough times. “A different skillset is required for battening down the hatches,” said Cosgrove.