As the recession nears an end, employers need to move fast to reassure and secure most important asset — employees
This recession has been tough on employers and employees alike. Discretionary spending has been drastically cut back or eliminated, curtailing morale-building activities within organizations. As well, staff reductions — where good people were let go to restore and protect profitability as revenues shrank — created great stress within many corporations.
The stress stemmed from four primary factors:
•‑Individuals feeling emotional loss at the unexpected departure of performing colleagues.
•‑Individuals fearing continued job loss in the uncertainty created by the recession.
•‑Individuals shouldering increased workloads as a result of fewer staff to deliver against greater work-related requirements
•‑Individuals receiving confusing signals from leaders about what was important to the organization, as leaders themselves went into survival mode and lowered their risk tolerance for taking chances and decision-making.
The question now before employers and employees alike is: “When and how will we return to the norms that existed prior to the recession?”
The onus is on leaders to strategically and proactively address this matter — and quickly. The markets are recovering. Left untackled, this issue will lead to growing employee dissatisfaction and, potentially, turnover — just at a time when organizations are counting on all hands on deck to contribute to growth during the next bull market.
Here are some suggestions for line and HR leaders to consider in securing their own organizations and potentially taking market share from competitors:
Over-communicate: While we may think employees understand the economy is recovering and job cuts and other recessionary-related actions are at an end, employee perception usually lags reality. Employees need to hear from leaders, clearly and regularly: the organization has weathered the storm thanks to the contributions of all employees; cuts and other actions are at an end with projected timelines for restoring some of the takeaways; and what the plan is for growing the organization.
Leaders at all levels of the organization must be engaged and believe in the messages since employees will look first to their immediate supervisors for validation of corporate messages, and believe or disbelieve based on supervisory feedback.
Recognize the contributions: Carve out some budget for celebrating an end to the recession and for recognizing the sacrifices made by employees. This need not, nor should it, be elaborate, but as we approach a business-as-usual stage in the economic cycle, there should be physical evidence to employees to reinforce the communication of leaders.
Re-connect with performing employees: Do not assume employees will automatically re-engage with the organization. Trust will have been eroded during the recession and will need to be caringly and consistently rebuilt. Leaders need to know what is in the minds of their employees and what their employees’ needs are. This activity should take place both at a micro level through one-on-one conversations with immediate managers and at a macro level in short, focused group or company-level employee surveys. Leaders will need to be empowered to act, with appropriate guidelines and support from HR and executives as action items are uncovered.
While not radical suggestions, this is intended as a reminder, as we get busy again growing the business — there is unfinished business from the recession we should attend to first.
By so doing, we will secure our most critically important asset for growth and minimize the risks of our people not being there for the great times ahead.
David Wexler is a Vancouver-based HR professional. He can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
