Dealing with the Times

Employees are reporting high levels of anxiety during this economic time, yet 50 percent say their employers are doing nothing about it.

The many forces facing businesses in today's economy bring to mind once again the importance of having and executing effective HR strategies as a seamless part of how organizations run.

"Sure," some might think, "that is easy for you to say. I am sitting here dealing with performance issues, complaints, deteriorating trust, questions about pay and disgruntled employees leaving for better opportunities elsewhere and I am supposed to think strategically. I'm preparing for layoffs!"

Others won't be nearly as stressed. Even as they may have to resort to trimming salaries or their workforces, they will come out the other end with their brand and reputation intact as a good place to work. That is important -- because there are many more business opportunities ahead.

Building trust in your business through strong, consistent communications, role model behavior, expressing interest in and motivating employees with challenging jobs and knowledge about the business and its direction create the foundation for getting through the rough spots, such as we are experiencing now.

It is no surprise that the Herman Group cites two recent polls - one from Gallup and one from a New York think tank (The MASIE Center) - that report very high levels of anxiety about the economy throughout the country and specifically in businesses.

One troubling aspect of this research, however, is that nearly 50 percent of the MASIE respondents indicated that their companies had taken "no actions" to discuss the economy, their organization's financial health, or provide workshops or briefings on dealing with 401(k) management. And so the answer to the ensuing question, "So what?" -- is this. Economic anxiety in many companies already is having a dramatic impact on getting work done, productivity, work-life balance, stress levels within work teams and is contributing to declining performance levels. These consequences all can be positively affected with the right approaches.

If you have invested heavily to bring good talent into your business then you want to insure your investment by "re-recruiting" that talent periodically and ensuring they are engaged in the work they are doing, know why they are doing it, and understand the importance of how that relates to business goals and the company's philosophy about performance, pay and development. Creating this foundational level and trust makes the understanding of difficult business decisions that must be made during down economic times like these much less stressful.

Investments in training and preparing managers to be effective leaders of people and strong communicators when it comes to pay, performance, development and career advancement are also key approaches because they sustain employees' engagement. They relay the sense that the company cares about its people even during times of declining business and sales.

One of the biggest challenges for organizations in these areas is this. If these foundations and approaches -- call them HR strategies or whatever -- have not been well thought through and implemented while times were good it is impossible to benefit from them when times are not so good.

Businesses that differentiate themselves by implementing solid, business support and growth strategies, which HR strategies are, to accelerate their day-to-day business success and streamline growth, certainly ease the stress of dealing with change.

We talk to our clients and contacts about these themes constantly, hoping to serve up the reminder of their importance. Collectively, the past two issues of our bi-monthly newsletter Merit Guidelines(tm) have touched on the majority of the topics just mentioned above, and in December we'll be discussing even others.

If you would like to share your input and ideas about the importance of these issues in running a successful business we are always interested in hearing from you. If we can be of assistance in helping you put any of these approaches in place at your company please let us know that as well. You can always reach me at rodh@merithr.com.