Out of the red, into the black - From the Editors - Editorial

HR Magazine, May, 2003 by Leon Rubis

There's a good chance that you have worked, are working or will work some-lay at a company that is in bankruptcy-or is fighting to stave it off. About 40,000 private and public companies sled for protection under federal bankruptcy laws in 2002--compared to about 570,000 during all of the 1990s.

During such a financial crisis, the stakes are raised even higher on effective management of human resources. Besides the obvious need to cut costs and--most likely-staff, other HR functions such as compensation, recruiting and retention must be performed with strained resources and a perspective acutely tuned to a critical business strategy.

In our cover story on page 44, Contributing Editor Robert Gross-man draws on the insights of HR professionals and turnaround experts who have entered and operated under Chapter 11 bankruptcies. Some succeeded, some failed, and some are still struggling; all found it one of the most intense and demanding challenges HR can face.