Looking After Number One

It may be an old adage but it is surely true that your employees are your best assets; or rather your satisfied, positive and driven employees are your best assets.

They are the engine which powers your business and at a time when it needs all the thrust it can muster it is important to ensure that your employees feel that the company they work for has the direction and ambition necessary to ride out economic storms and secure their future.

But how should we maintain a positive and satisfied workforce at times when it is difficult to increase remuneration or add to our fixed costs?

What your employees seek in times such as these is not necessarily the dangled carrot of big bonuses and larger financial reward; they are concerned about external economic pressures and seek security that they are safe aboard your business and perhaps more importantly the boards ability to lead them and to articulate their future in a clear and concise manner.
 

Make the Most of What You've Got

Last month I considered making more efficient use of market strategy budgets, and the same principle applies to the workforce; if you're not employing at the moment then you need to be sure you're getting the best possible value out of your current employees.

Investing time in reviewing staff performance can reap tremendous benefits for a business both in terms of efficient use of resources and the satisfaction of the workforce.

By regularly communicating directly with employees and getting to understand their concerns, management can ensure that they are correctly deployed and that they feel valued and involved.

Perhaps consider a range of development programmes for staff, including personal development, mentoring and benchmarking, with the option to bring in short term assistance if required, based on a sound financial basis that can be measured by return of investment and/or morale. 
 

Face Your Fears

When your employees express fear about job security or future pay deals, it does not make sense to sweep them under the carpet and pretend they do not exist.  Your staff are generally articulate, well informed and have a pretty good idea of how the economic climate is affecting their company. 

By acknowledging their fears and being honest about the challenges facing the business you reassure them that the leadership appreciates their concerns and is well prepared.

Refusing to acknowledge their fears or offer clear leadership will send a message to the workforce that the management is ignoring them or in denial about the problems they face.

Consider the challenges facing your business, let your staff know what they are, and provide strong leadership to demonstrate that you know how to meet them head on.  By making employees feel valued, involved and above all under the stewardship of strong leaders, they will remain committed and driven, and be less inclined to make unreasonable and unaffordable demands on their employer.