Glossary / Hiring Freeze

Hiring Freeze

Simply put, a hiring freeze is when a corporation decides to temporarily stop recruiting and hiring new personnel for certain positions or divisions. Financial hardship, economic uncertainty, or major organizational transformation are common occasions for this action to be taken. Cutting down on salary, benefit, and recruitment-related spending is the main objective of instituting a hiring freeze. Rather than reacting to difficult economic circumstances with layoffs or downsizing, firms adopt a proactive strategy. Companies are hoping to stabilize their finances, keep their liquidity, and keep operations running smoothly until the economy improves by putting a hiring freeze in place.

Example Of Hiring Freeze

The worldwide financial crisis of 2008 is a good illustration of a situation when recruiting was temporarily halted. To save money, many businesses put a halt to recruiting. This was especially true for firms in the banking and car manufacturing sectors, which were hit hard by the crisis. As an example, a large bank that was hit hard by the housing crisis decided to put a hiring hold on all of its departments. The hiring freeze meant that departments could only use their current workforces until the economy recovered, which meant that no new posts could be filled or existing ones may be frozen. The firm was able to save resources during a moment of financial uncertainty by implementing a hiring freeze, which was a tough move. This allowed them to weather the economic slump and emerge stronger in the ensuing recovery phase.

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