Tips to Engage Employees During Recession

Tricks to engage employees during recession

One of the most challenging aspects of running an organization is the task of ‘employee engagement’. The Human Resource Department is the driving force that keeps it on the go. HR does not face much of a problem when the company runs in good days. The big blow comes during the time of recession.

Recessions are normally dreaded times when the global market remains at question. Company ceases to grow which directly affect the employees. In simpler words, no more increments and no more promotions. It is a phase where employees feel demotivated and challenges the HR management to come up with effective strategies to pass the tough phase.

Importance of employee engagement

Most importantly, because it directly benefits the company. Profitability and engagement go hand in hand. The more the competition, the more is the outcome. Plus employees to need financial growth to sustain in this tough world. But when recession knocks at the door, the engagement level suffers questioning the sustainability of the company in future.

A few of the characteristics include passion for work, emotionally mature, affect positive environment, customer satisfaction, personal initiative, job involvement, relationship building, embrace change, critical thinking, self-development, creativity, trustworthy and so on.

Impact of unemployment

There has been a global unemployment session going on it the present. Jobs are scarce and layoffs are everywhere. There is a feeling of insecurity in the market, companies are being downsized and there is this constant fear of permanent job loss.

Feeling Good Matters in the Workplace, a 2006 Gallup study says that there are usually three types of employees in an organization:

• 28% include the engaged employees. This section normally works with the right zeal and potential with innovations to run the company and bring it to the top.
• 54% include the non engaged employees or the checked out. They are termed as sleepwalkers. They to work for the company but does not really care about the outcome. They only believe in meeting deadlines and getting their work done.
• The rest 18% form the actively disengaged lot. They seem to be unsatisfied and remain busy complaining about their grumpy work life. Nothing makes them happy. They keep on undermining engaged coworkers accomplishments.

However, the last decade has seen a certain growth in the engaged employee’s graph. It rose from 26 to 30 percent and actively disengaged employees rose from 15 to 20 percent.

Tips to engage employees in recession

Employ management/leadership practices

Managers and supervisors should understand the importance of their role and their influence on the employees. The flow of communication should never break otherwise it is bound to break employee expectations and affect performance report.

HR may adopt strategies like at times of severe recession when budgets do not allow for training off-site, they must be able to take advantage of employees’ interests and engage them for work.

Challenge employees

One of the most experimented human psychologies is that people tend to give their best if they are scaled or marked. They do everything they can to prove their potentials. Employ this strategy during time of recessions. Challenge employees with different task and they will automatically achieve more than normal. But do not forget to guide and mentor them.

Converse with employees

Listen to their emotional side. Maintain the communication bridge. Let them share their insights. Clear their doubts. This is because no matter how professional you tend to be, if any personal issue stings, you will never be able to give your cent percent. Therefore ease their mind with a healthy employee-employer relationship.

Arrange get to gather

Floor activities and events create short term good memories that immensely aid in developed work potential. HR can organize get to gather where employees can show their hidden talent and be rewarded. This way they get off work without getting off exactly. This is undoubtedly one of the best strategies to adopt during recession.