THE economic downturn is expected to bring increased pressures for human resources practitioners in Jersey.

The Island branch of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development recently held a conference on managing and retaining talented staff and chairman Jane Pollard said that this was likely to be a recurring theme. ‘Locally our members are worried about firms downsizing and redundancy, and how they will manage with reduced resources,’ said Mrs Pollard. ‘They have a workforce that they want to hold on to, especially when things are changing so quickly – it will be a real challenge.

‘The key message is that at a time of economic change we have to work even harder and smarter to motivate staff. Money is part of the reason people come to work, but it is not the largest part – people want to be listened to and be consulted.’

Currently the CIPD has around 350 Jersey members and holds regular training and networking events. ‘We are a really active group and we also do quite a lot with the Guernsey branch – we have the same problems.’