Not many organisations have been immune from redundancies in the past few years and most are staffed by the people who survived the experience, as few employers have been recruiting. The recession has impacted on trust, as well as damaged motivation levels and eroded engagement. Below are some pointers on how to re-build relationships at work, and invest in staff, so that they are up and running at full pace by the time the economic clouds well and truly lift for your organisation.
1) Rebuild trust and boost morale
Levels of trust, eroded by the recession, must be re-built by treating employees fairly and consistently. Dealing with stress and grievances is necessary but distracting and costly. Analyse the impact of the recession on your employees. What was your pre-recession level of engagement, and how does it compare to the present level? If there’s a downward trend, whats causing it? Ask employees what’s important to them, and consider how effective you are at providing things employees say they want. Be honest; telling the truth is the only effective long term basis for building trust.
2) Improve communication
To successfully remove perceived barriers between senior management teams and other employees, the communication needs to be interactive and two-way, not simply a general email to all members of staff. Adopting an ‘open’ policy when it comes to communication will also help senior management to re-build levels of trust between top and bottom staff that may have been eroded during the recession. Be realistic and honest by not downplaying the negatives but reassure people that you will survive and are well placed for sustainable growth.
3) Clearly define job roles
Job roles which have become blurred following waves of redundancies, and ensuring that employees are clear on their individual responsibilities within the organisation, is one crucial way to can get staff focused again. Surveys have shown that many employees do not understand how their current role helps the organisation to succeed. The right people doing the right jobs, is absolutely critical to sustain growth. Control structures which work for cost control may be less appropriate during growth. Align the size and structure of the workforce to ensure you are prepared for the upturn. Remember that you need to be lean without being mean or skinny.
4) Succession planning
Think about whether you will have the talent to thrive when the economy turns. If not, consider an in-depth review of managers at all levels that looks at their past performance, performance in current positions, and their potential performance in roles with more responsibility. Many organisations continue to see talent management as a key survival strategy to differentiate them from competitors and position them to benefit from the eventual upturn.
5) Consider talent acquisition
There is an opportunity to pick up talent from less secure employers. Recruit people based on where you want to be, not where you are.
6) Top performers
When preparing for the upturn holding on to top performers is crucial, because whilst it may not currently be a good time for staff to be looking for a move, once organisational performance improves employees could see it as a good opportunity for change. Invest in top managers and critical jobs. Let high-potential employees and top performers know how special they are and how what they do today is tied to future success of the organisation. Do not presume its obvious. If you’ve already told them, tell them again clearly, openly, and unambiguously.
7) Training
Training is key when preparing for the upturn as it can help to keep top performers focused and motivated at work and prepared for the upturn. Without training or any sense of progression, morale and loyalty can soon wither away. When it comes to filling your skills gaps, it is often better to fill by retraining, than bringing in new staff. Even though training budgets may have been cut during the recession development activity must target certain areas of the workforce and ensure that they are receiving the attention and opportunities for the progression that they need. Many organisations adopt the ‘if we train them theyll just leave’ attitude’, but in reality good staff are more likely to leave if they dont receive training. Training should be pushed in the direction of line managers as these are the members of staff close to employees and they can ultimately get your workforce back on their feet, motivated and ready for the upturn. Investing in line manager capability is critical; it is their behaviour which determines whether staff give real commitment to their employer.
8) Lift pay freezes and restore reward equilibrium carefully
When the economy deteriorated, many organisational leaders took steps to limit losses, including implementing layoffs, and freezing or reducing pay. Now, many are restoring bonuses and considering pay increases. But it is not just about salary so you need to find a mix of benefits and non-monetary rewards. Non-monetary factors are becoming more important to employees, which reflect a mind shift among employees who want good pay and benefits, but are also looking for paid time off, holidays, flexible schedules, and a secure place to work. To determine the non-monetary rewards, you should consider what is really important to staff in order to create a relevant retention strategy. Research shows a real disconnect between what employers offer employees and what they actually value.
9) Do not take your staff for granted
Engagement is just as important in a recession as it is during periods of growth. Ask them what you need to be doing and implement the good ideas, giving recognition to the people who thought of it and those who make it happen.
10) Focus on core activities
Make sure your training and performance review systems are linked to service delivery and the organisation’s mission. Understand and promote the benefits of aligning your internal culture with your external image.
Finally, it is worth remembering that strong leadership more or less trumps any other retention factor when it comes to the engagement, productivity and future development of employees. And it is worth saying again that all of an organisations efforts to fulfil employees needs will count for nothing, if you do not have in place effective employee communication practices, that are interactive, and provide opportunities for employees to have real conversations with senior management.
