Jun 10

Written by: Insights Account
6/10/2009 9:24 AM

 

While in search of a silver lining to an otherwise bleak economic outlook, it occurred to Cary Hatch,  president and CEO of MDB Communications, that never in her decades of navigating the peaks and valleys of commerce has she ever seen more brilliant people out of work.  Her observations follow:

The past three downturns were often HR opportunities to “trim the fat” or terminate deadwood; this is likely not the case this time around for many firms. Truly smart, dedicated and accomplished professionals can find themselves on the wrong side of a pink slip; and have. While not grand on the face of it; this rare reality has provided a remarkable menu of talent that my agency has tapped into to secure true subject matter experts in a wide variety of topics.

When I learned of a downsizing of a notable public relations firm, I found a wonderful resource that was suddenly “available” to jump on to our social media team to help launch a new campaign for a global technology brand leader. When we found ourselves primed for a (now) scarce opportunity to advise and secure a national non-profit initiative,  I was suddenly aware that a superstar [that I had been a long-time fan of ] was a perfect fit to pull into the fold as a resident expert on her core competency.

I admit that augmenting our team on the “back of” dismal news is opportunistic at least; but also symbiotic at best. I feel good about providing relief, support and a new point of view to my own team, while providing at least some revenue for the recently dismissed superstars. While a contractor’s fee is likely deemed a meager replacement for a “steady gig” it at least provides some validation of their MVP status from their fellow players.

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