Stuck between a rock and a hard place.
In tough economic times, many companies are forced to go through rounds of layoffs. No employer enjoys layoffs and it's not a parade for employees, either. An AARP report shows that the economic downturn is affecting people's health. In some cases those employees remaining are left fearing for their jobs and doing more work for the same amount of pay leading to burnout, dips in productivity, and poorer work quality.On the client and community side, even private employers seem to be under more and more scrutiny by their constituents. Poor business ethics, lousy customer service and other "slips" are broadcast at lightning speed through modern social media. Yet, with fewer people doing more of the work such oversights seem inevitable.
How do you balance cost effectiveness with employee appreciation, good corporate citizenship and quality work product?
Measuring is important, but sometimes it is not easy. That's why good managers know judgment is important too. How are the effects of layoffs or other "soft" or non-quantifiable issues affecting you or your company?
- If you were a client how important would you say quality customer service is in your choice of vendor?
- As an employer would you say stress negatively impacts your bottom line?
- As a manager, how important do you feel good morale is to work quality? Does it matter if you are in a service based versus a manufacturing environment?
- How are you coping with these problems in ways that are cost effective?
Labels: corporate wellness
posted by Recess at
4:37 PM
1 Comments:
As a consultant to organizations who are faced with the daunting task of reducing operating expenses which often includes staff reductions, I find that many, if not most employers’ focus on the driving factor and fail to proactively manage the resulting reaction(s). When counseling these clients, I recommend a cost effective balanced approach that hinges on open communication. In fact, as organizations walk through the initial planning phase of cost cutting and/or staff reduction activities, I incorporate the communication plan with the main reduction activities that will take place. As others have said, leading by example goes a long way; however, it’s a much larger task to keep up service and productivity levels in the aftermath of a reduction.
In building a plan that is balanced between the actual activities and minimizing unnecessary negative repercussions, it is essential to reach all parties that will be impacted in any way. Employee’s who remain with the organization, just as the AARP report showed, often suffer health issues because of fear of losing their job in the future, general anxiety brought on by changes, stresses of seeing friends and colleagues lose their jobs, and many other factors. When employee health and morale dips, productivity suffers and employer health care costs may increase, which is counter-productive to the cost savings efforts that were initially taken. Within organization that put a focus on their remaining staff, many times the managerial staff is asked to execute on the reduction plan, while not being given an opportunity to have their own fears and concerns addressed. Thirdly, members of the communities in which the organization operates may also be impacted because of friends and family who are affected by the reductions, fewer available jobs in the local market, reduced philanthropic activities in support of local charities, less money to be spent in the community, and so on. When members of the local community are touched by an organizational downsizing, the company must be careful to manage its public relations efforts to prevent a negative perception of the organization in the community and media. Failing to do so can lead to difficulties in attracting qualified candidates in the future and retaining the current employees who remain.
Fortunately, a well put together communication plan can ease the fears and stresses that are placed on the organizations staff and the local communities as well. The best developed communication plans provide honest and somewhat detailed information concerning the driving factors of the action, and provide employees with an overview of the organizations plans to move forward successfully. While this often includes the communication of additional responsibilities for some staff, knowing how and why the events took place makes it more palatable. Post- reduction, the first communication is best delivered via a well respected, senior level employee. In this communication, it is essential to provide a compassionate overview of what occurred and what the organization will be doing moving forward, while recognizing the emotionally debilitating aspects of how the action has affected all employees. After this initial communication, line managers must be coached to be compassionate towards their staff and to proactively foster an environment of open communication that eases concerns, attends to growing morale, and that holds everyone accountable for meeting goals and expectations. This includes being able to explain how each employee’s contributions contribute to the bigger picture in addition to taking ownership, as a member of management, of the decisions that were made. Eliminating the “evil empire did it” mentality actually increases employee respect for their manager. Softer employee activities may also be implemented; however the first step in balancing the needs of the organization and employee health/morale/productivity must be effective communication. Simply communicating is not good enough and can do more damage than triage; therefore the overall communication plan must be aligned to the strategic goals of the organization and developed in a way to target employee concerns.
While this is a summary of how to balance the actual cost reductions with maintaining the mental health and morale of staff, it contains both quantifiable and non-quantifiable measures. Quantifiable measures include looking at productivity indicators for particular workgroups pre and post action and intervals that are meaningful to the organization, and employee survey data surrounding morale, communication, etc. Non-quantifiable measures may include the soft communications such as what is being said “around the water cooler”, how the organization is viewed in the community post action, and how employees embrace the changes that are brought forward.
To summarize and more directly answer some of the questions you ask- As a client, customer service plays a 99% role in who I would chose as a vendor. Poor customer service is not a symptom, rather an indicator of deeper issues within the organization. As an employer, stress absolutely impacts the organization. Stress = lower morale and lack of focus = reduced productivity and service levels. As a manager, good morale is essential. Employee’s directly correlate their employment with their manager, not the organization as a whole. Employees work for you, not the company and they want to know that they are valued by their manager. People accept and leave jobs because of their manager and loyalty is on the part of people, not organizations. As a manager, it is essential to build open, respectful relationships and increase employee morale in order to drive a highly productive team.
www.kohrgroup.com
February 26, 2009 11:47 AM
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