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Introduction
The article, titled “How to Keep Morale High When Business Is Down”, written by Adriana Loeff was published in Forbes magazine. The article was published on 16th 2008.
As the article demonstrates, the article talks about the motivation techniques that should be and can be employed to keep employees happy when there is looming fear of stagnation in business. Clearly this deals with non-pecuniary motivation techniques in employee relationship management. The area of Human Resource Management that the article concentrates upon is Employee Relations.
The article describes the current situation of employee relationship management at the time of economic recession. The article exemplifies the use of pecuniary means used by Wall Street giants being inadequate means to motivate employees. As recession threatens of looming mass layoffs it has become extremely difficult to attract talent and keep them motivated to produce the desired result.
Main body
The article relates that even though Wall Street has the legend of hiring the best brains talent pool and providing them with exorbitant bonuses, perks, and salaries as the recession makes profitability low. Further promotions too are no longer available to motivate these employees. The article tries to gauge what strategies should be taken during this time of recessionary pressure.
During the initial days of recession, a study of employee motivation and satisfaction level in the Wall Street big houses like the Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Credit Suisse, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Moody’s was conducted among the senior executives of the company. The study showed that there was an excessive level of disappointment and anxiety among them. The article states that they these senior executives were “angry, anxious and deeply stressed.” The study also found that there was a downfall in the employees’ loyalty, engagement and trust during the beginning year of recession. The survey showed that more than 60 percent of the participants were considering switching their jobs and 25 percent of the participants were actually looking for an alternative option actively.
The article suggests that the only option of keeping employees and make them work in such stressful times is to make them like their work. The idea is to induce a sense of empowerment. Conducting senior executives meetings and informing the employees about the company’s current situation is a way to handle panic of a recessionary business. The trick is to let the employees know about the problems before the media does. This will keep them motivated and informed and avoid panic of the unknown debacle.
Insecurity of employees is common when there are incidents of massive lay-offs. This can be avoided if the company conveys to the employees that there are more jobs to be done due to the lay-offs. This would help in maintaining their motivation level and keep away the fear of inclusion in the next list of lay-off. To quote the author: “Managers should also show that they are there to stay, says Perez. “Most of the times, when a company has a problem in a downturn, people are afraid that the person they report to or the leader in their area is going to leave them. It’s just human nature.”
Due to the stress that recession ahs on business and the anxiety that employees face due to a slowdown causes several medical problems to the employees which actually is a problem as this reduces their productivity: “During this financial meltdown, workers have had less sleep, more anxiety and shown a wide range of physical and psychological problems: ulcers, memory loss, high blood pressure, fertility complications and depression.” What the managers need to do is to counter the sentiments expressed by the employees. As the company is not in a situation to commit it is hard to expect the employees to commit too. So the only available option is to counter their expectations.
In this time of recession, when financial strength of the companies is low it is essential to make the employees feel as a family inculcating team spirit. This can be done by taking “the team out to lunch, a drink after work or a workout in the park” and engage in activities that strengthen bond among employees, and the company.
Due to recession and excessive work load that falls upon employees due to layoffs, the level of stress goes up. So relaxation, physical exercises, and taking time out of work is a good idea and should be encouraged by the company. The reason to provide this levy is to ensure that employees do not take up physically harmful alternatives like “turning to caffeine, cigarettes, alcohol, food, painkillers and sleeping pills to cope with the stress.” Some other alternative suggested by HR mangers is to help employees take a half day off on Fridays on alternate basis or take a minor sabbatical to refresh their mind.
One important suggestion that the article provides is that if a lay-off is essential then it should be done fast. Otherwise all the employees would keep guessing if he/she is on the list and if when this would occur. Such unavailability of information and atmosphere of uncertainty breeds insecurity. So it is essential to treat the employees leaving the company properly and helping them to find an alternate job is essential.
For those losing their jobs, chances to rebound or find another one may shrink. For survivors, crisis is opportunity. Senior ranks are trimmed during reductions. That may open opportunities for employees to climb the ladder.
The article primarily details as to what are the alternative means that a company experiencing recessionary pressure to treat its employees. It deal with the motivational factors that work during this period and the stress that builds up due to recession is portrayed in the article. The article shows what the manager and employer should do in order to help the stressed and disappointed employees and what alternatives can be used instead of pecuniary benefits that would keep the employees motivated even when the business is not going that fine.
The article provides important insight into the area of human resource management and how employee relations have become highly important in a time of high financial crisis. With the downfall of the financial giants like Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, it is feared that the US economy as well as the global economy will undergo a recessionary period. The question that becomes of utmost importance is the condition human resource management in the time when there are massive layoffs and how employees who are still employed, how they can be treated and kept motivated at a time that demands stress and uncertainty.
Motivating employees is always a key issue for every manager. A motivated team will only make their manager’s job easier. Even during a recession, a manager still needs to motivate his or her employees. Keeping ones employees motivated will help the team keep a positive attitude during the tough times and will help the company when the recession has ended.
Motivation usually suffers during a recession; employees become concerned with staying employed and the current state of the company rather then keeping them motivated and focusing on their goals. There are some warning signs that managers should look for during difficult economic times. Employees will take more sick days that they will use for job interviews and Internet usage increases as employees look for employment elsewhere. Also, some employees will take advantage of medical leave. Generally, long vacations are not taken as employees fear that it will only give management an excuse to let them go. Finely, some employees become very interested in company financial performance.
During a recession, managers must continue to provide motivation to their employees and not let their attention wonder towards employment elsewhere. Fully motivated employees are a company’s greatest asset. This is usually forgotten during a recession when self preservation becomes the greatest priority for everyone including management. The teams become individuals; what was once a single minded team becomes many minded individuals (Waldo 2004).
Motivation is also an import aspect to continue engaging employees with during recessions. Monetary rewards are no longer available during recessions which makes keeping employees motivated a more difficult task. The best possible tools to achieve motivation are communication, education, and delegation (Wandenhoe Consultancy 2008).
Simple communication is the most effective motivational tool. Senior leaders should have taken the time to communicate the current situation of the company to their employees. They should also convey the current strategy of the company and the challenges that they are facing. Also, employees need to know just how they are contributing to the company’s performance (Wandenhoe Consultancy 2008). Communication from management will also give employees a sense that management cares about them.
Training budgets are usually the first causality during hard economic times but a recession is possibly the best time to receive the best training. The first thing that when one member of the team fails in a single task, it will affect the entire team.
Discipline and respect for authority is an important aspect that a leader must instill in their employees. This can most effectively be accomplished by direct communication on a regular basis and being honest. Above all, the team needs to know that the discipline to tell the truth will be expected. This discipline can be instilled by always telling the truth to the team. Discipline will give the leaders’ team the foundation to performing their jobs in the most effective manner (Krzyzewski and Phillips 2000).
Leadership affirmation is an ideal tool to inculcate employee motivation. A simple thank you can be the most effective form of motivation a leader can use. It is most effective when it is given as soon as possible after the employee’s action takes place and is also most effective when it is sincere. Most importantly, it becomes ineffective if it is given too often. When used in the most effective situations, sincere praise can be the most effective form of affirmation and motivation.
Combining these thee traits together is the difference between an average and a great leader. The best leaders will let their people gain from past leaning experiences and let them make their own decisions. Letting your employees make their own decision will instill confidence in their own abilities. Leaders need to spend their time making sure that the team has the resources that they need. Also, they need to make sure that they praising their people at the appropriate time. Above all, leaders need to make sure their employees are taking breaks when necessary to reduce stress and encouraging their teams to think for themselves (Blanchard and Muchnick 2003).
Empowerment is one of the best forms of motivation although it is not highly used. This is true because many managers believe that they need to keep control of their workers. One field that offers many examples of empowerment is engineering. However, one common them theme is present in all of them; there is a culture of control and a culture of empowerment.
The Chinese first used empowerment during the California Gold Rush in 1850. They brought a new idea that was foreign to the Americans: empower the workers in order to increase productivity. The Chinese management gave their front line workers the authority to make changes the authority to make changes that were required to increase productivity. At that time, the current accepted management style in the United States was control of the workforce. In addition, the public in the United States created laws that limited the industries that the Chinese could enter. Even though they were restricted, they still reopened gold mines abandoned by the Americans and made them profitable (Boone and Bowen 1987).
Meeting the needs of their employees is an important task to an organization. Workers have top job performance when they are engaged. Because their needs are satisfied, the workers will not look outside the organization for there needs satisfaction and will be motivated to improve their job performance.
Another tool to engage people is to let people know that you need them. To motivate them towards being on the team, let them know that they can actively contribute towards the success of the team. Compliments are an easy way of motivation people, it is the most fundamental and straightforward method towards inspiring people. These compliments are most effective when given in a public setting. Inspire people by 29 showing them as who they could be in the future. This will only encourage and motivate them to strive to be their best.
Encourage others to strive to achieve their dreams and never critique another persons dream. Instead offer them specific help towards making their dream a reality. All people desire to be praised, because of this fact it is important to pass on credit to coworkers. Doing so will instill trust and give others the desire to achieve. Also, active listening will make others feel like what they are saying is important. The best way to achieve this type of listening is to believe that what the other person is saying is gold. Completely eliminate outside distractions and focus on the other’s person’s point of view.
Another technique towards motivation others is to have genuine concern for them. People will be motivated when others take the time to get to know then and have a genuine concern for them. However, this concern is more than a one time method; it will only succeed when it is used continually. A written word of encouragement is generally perceived to be more genuine than spoken words. Simple words of encouragement have the power to motivate the receiver long after the writer has forgotten about them.
Helping people win is perhaps the greatest measure and motivational tool that any leader possesses. Hope is the one of the greatest and most powerful thing that helps a person though the toughest of times. It was hope instilled by Winston Churchill that helped England get through World War II and defeat the Nazis. When a leader provides help and support to one of his coworkers, that coworker will never forget him (Maxwell and Parrott, 2005).
Conclusion
Recession is a time that brings about stress, uncertainty and distrust among employees. Even though there are severe financial crunches during a recessionary phase, it is important to tackle the employee relationship in order to keep them loyal towards the organization so that when the cycle moves up, the employees can be attracted. Further retention of talent even during recession assumes importance for the shortage of talent today. Hence this article through insightful light on the recessionary times and management of employee relations and keeping them motivated during this phase.
Works Cited
Blanchard, Ken, and Marc Muchnick. The Leadership Pill: The Missin Ingredient in Motivating People Today. Free Press, 2003.
Boone, Louis E, and Donald D Bowen. The Great Writings in Management and Organizational Behavior (2nd Eds). Irwin/ McGraw Hill , 1987.
Krzyzewski, Mike, and Donald T Phillips. Leading with the Heart: Coach K’s Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Life. Warner Books, 2000.
Loeff, Adriana. “How to Keep Morale High When Business Is Down.” Forbes Magazine, 2008.
Maxwell, John C, and Les Parrott. 25 Ways to Win with People: How to make Others Feel Like a Million Bucks. Nelson Books , 2005.
Waldo, Dr. Douglas. “Recession-Proofing Employee Motivation.” 2004. Web.
Wandenhoe Consultancy. “Retaining and Motivating Staff in the Recession.” 2008. Web.
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