Upgrading your talent

A McKinsey Quarterly article about how to manage talent in downturn here, points to an interesting case in point - Often the easiest is not the best.
The article talks about how organizations should carefully look at redesigning jobs and roles to effectively allow their employees not just to stay in the organization but also increase their productivity and improve their morale.
Its essential to see how most companies have reacted to the downturn, its not uncommon to see jobs being slashed in thousands. While its a knee jerk reaction, most would also point out, do they have an option ?
What happens to employees in these times, those who are shown the pink slip wonder whether its really their fault for what they are facing ? and those who escape it wonder, is that what they really are working so hard for ? Result - Loss of Morale, motivation, productivity and even Employer Brand.
Whats the difficult way out ? Look at redesigning jobs to get multiskilling and multitasking involved in these roles. What that would entail is a complete new set of jobs being designed keeping in mind the lean - mean organization thats required. That in turn could keep employees motivated and also help organization improve their brand image.
BUT a word of caution here, organizations need to carefully evaluate their needs to understand when is the best time for them to actually take such measures, also it requires HR to be in sync with business requirements.
So does System and processes have a role to play here ? A well aligned performance measurement system not only ensures that the right people are identified, but also creates a strong alignment to the organization goals, as also highlighted in the study.