HR Strategy Group, LLC Newsletter

Here are some ideas that employers can do, from a human resources & business perspective, to help your employees "survive" in tough business times, including the post-lay off stage...

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate! You MUST get in front of your employees and explain to them what has happened, why it has happened, and what will happen going forward. I encourage you to have a team meeting (or if geographically spread out, a video conference, web-in-nar, or even a conference call) with ALL employees to explain what is going on. Your employees will appreciate it - employees hate not knowing.

Have individual meetings with employees. You need to talk with every employee individually to make sure that she understands her contribution to your company and how she can continue to help grow the business. This may be a great chance to re-align job responsibilities, to clarify expectations, and to maintain accountability. Also, you can continue to set and communicate business goals - clearly and visibly! Don't give up on your business goals! Keep those goals in front of you - and everyone else. Keep your employees' eyes on the prize - moving forward with business development.

On a Thursday or Friday afternoon, order pizza and let employees "just vent." Don't give it as an early dismissal day, but rather offer this as an opportunity to reacquaint yourself with your employees, get to know their concerns, questions, etc. Simply hang out and BE THERE. Build on this momentum to build trust and to get ideas for business growth. First and foremost - listen to people's concerns. If people ask you, "Should I be getting my resume in order?", answer honestly, "We ALL should always have our resumes brushed up since we never know what could happen... but I'm confident that we can weather this storm by focusing on XYZ." Treat people like the grown-ups that they are. They will respect you for it.

Avoid Excessive Negativity. Don't let "why bother" negative attitudes take up residence in your company. Negativity can and does cause productivity to spiral downwards - which then makes your business challenges all the more difficult. Don't ignore honest concerns and fears about the future - but you should tackle head-on excessive negativity and defeatism. Avoid negative messages such as "We are in poor financial shape" - unless you really, truly are. The more you disparage your own company, the worse your employees will feel about working for you. Employees will follow your lead - so be careful what you say! You are the leader. And in this case, people WILL follow the leader. You're it!

Allowing the company grapevine to go rampant. When you hear rumors, bring everyone back together and address them. Even if it's to admit, "I don't know what our next quarter will look like" - that is an answer. Channel uncertainty into a rallying opportunity to focus everyone's attention on business development and growth.

Not addressing the troublemaker head-on. If you know who is spreading ill, deal with that person immediately. This is not the time to let a disgrunteld employee sour the environment. If Suzy continues to stir up trouble by saying things like, "I don't know why they had to lay-off John, they could have just furloughed everyone a day here and there...", this is your opportunity to talk with Suzy confidentially to explain why a lay-off was a business necessity (without divulging private details, of course).

Encourage Your Employees to Use Company Benefits. Employee Assistance Program, Wellness Programs, Weight Watchers, etc. Encourage a healthy lifestyle in your employees - and take the lead in promoting wellness.

Re-examine your Company Benefits. Talk with your benefits broker to examine your company's utilization of your plan. Are you offering TOO MUCH? TOO LITTLE? What are you getting for your money? What are your competitors offering? Find out what your employees want! These discussions can save your business thousands of dollars from a benefits & HR perspective.

Encourage employees to learn new business development skill sets. Spruce up powerpoint skills, learn to set up your own webinars, employ cool technologies like Constant Contact/email marketing, customer service seminars, etc. Reward & incentivize employees who have new business development ideas!

Keep your networking active! Continue YOUR personal involvement in your chambers of commerce, industry associations, Small Business Administration, County Technology Offices, Regional Tech Councils, Rotary, Lions Club, BNI, etc. Keep your own business development & attitude positive - expand your network to make business grow. Not only will this networking keep YOU positive, but this positive energy will carry over to your employees.

HR Strategy Group, LLC has specialized expertise in facilitating "tough conversations" between managers and employees. Please let us know how we can help you communicate tough employment issues - safely, confidentially, and profitably. Please call us at 410-505-8723 if we can help your company deal with these issues.