A few easy steps to retaining employees’ devotion during tough times.

Wow! What a bumpy ride we’re all having.  The economy is forcing many companies to lay off workforce, eliminate raises and bonuses and find every avenue of cost cutting possible. Those companies that haven’t had to do that yet are going to have to keep all options on the table for the future.  How in the world do we keep existing workers motivated during these times?

Workers have experienced high anxiety during the recent months. Perhaps friends and co-workers have been downsized and they are uncertain about their own jobs. Perhaps you feel the anxiety as well for your own job. What can you do to hold your work force together while facing these challenges?

• Address anxiety head-on. In survey after survey, employees value honesty by the company and managers above all else. Don’t sugar-coat the truth. Give specific information about where the company is struggling.
• Let them know they are important. Show your employees in both word and deed that they matter to the company.
• Over-communicate, over-communicate. During scary times, employees value hearing from managers, owners and supervisors about the truth of what is going on. Frequent updates via email, personal meetings, or informal chats all serve to squash rumors and what-ifs.
• Show employees those at the top are sacrificing and doing whatever it takes as well. If top leaders are foregoing raises to help out, make sure your employees know this.

The team you have relied upon so heavily during scary times will be the same team that will help your company rebound when times are better.

• Take as many steps as possible before a headcount reduction to reduce the impact.  Employees will participate in cost saving measures with vigor to ward off the impact of layoffs.  Ask for their input on cost saving ideas.
• Set clear performance expectations now more than ever.  Each worker must know exactly what important duties are needed from their position.
• Keep the atmosphere as light as possible. Good positive feedback and recognizing solid performance keeps things positive.  This is not the time to take your stress out on workers.  Staying positive fosters resilience among workers. Laughter may not change reality, but it can certainly help people survive it.
• Show good, solid leadership with a plan for the future.  This reassures employees and keeps morale high.
• Address conditions where an employee or group of employees is overworked after a downsizing. Rearrange duties if necessary or pull in temporary labor where appropriate to assist.

Tough times require solid leadership. Leadership isn’t somewhere else in the organization or in some other state. Leadership starts with you. If you are in charge of employees, you are the first line of leadership that controls so much of an employee’s day.  Rise to the times and face the challenges head-on with a positive demeanor. When things return to a more normal level of chaos, you will be positioned with a stronger team than ever before.  The team you have relied upon so heavily during scary times will be the same team that will help your company rebound when times are better.

 By Renee Fulton, CPA