The votes are in, and the news is grim: Employees are feeling more unvalued and resentful than ever, with dire consequences for firms that do nothing now to correct the situation.
The economic crisis is an excuse to be mean
It is clear corporations have gotten into the bad habit of overworking their people during this recession. In a time of high unemployment, people are loath to give up a job they have, and corporate managers (I won’t call them leaders) capitalize on these circumstances to demand more work from their workers.
An article in a recent issue of the Economist magazine condemned this approach as shortsighted.
“So far, workers have borne all this (extra burden) with remarkable stoicism, partly because they feel lucky to keep their jobs and partly because they want to save their firms from going under. But that “Dunkirk spirit” is beginning to fade.”
The article cites recent survey results that say 63% of workers say “their employers do not appreciate their extra effort.” And 57% feel that employees “are treated like dispensable commodities.”
The Corporate Leadership Council has more bad news for corporations who invest nothing in employee engagement and development. They report that “number of employees that are highly disengaged has doubled since the beginning of 2008.” This may be because their “job footprint,” which the CLC defines as “what a worker is expected to do,” has increased by a third since 2007.
Will you lose your best people when life is better?
Disengaged or not, most people have their heads down waiting out the recession, so even companies who treat their employees roughly don’t see much attrition. But, when the economy picks up, how will companies cope when unhappy employees finally get to vote with their feet and quit? If you wait until “when things are better” to suddenly turn on the tap of engagement and empowerment, it will be too late.
All during the economic crisis your firm (I hope) took the time to cut fat rather than muscle, keeping the best folks and wringing out weaker performers. Then you demanded lots of extra work of the remaining team and they have responded. Do you have active plans in place to reward that extra effort? Have you put in place non-monetary recognition programs (days off, parking privileges, inclusion in strategic planning projects) that clearly communicate that you truly value this extra effort and results?
“Discretionary effort and engagement are vital sources of the innovation and creativity that companies claim to value so highly,” said the Economist columnist. Now, in the depth of the crisis, is the most productive time to truly communicate and empower employees, to build “unshakeable trust” in your relationships.
Reap your own rewards for thinking ahead
Remaining committed to full employee engagement, even when you cannot afford it, will rebound to you in multiple ways:
-Get even more energy and productivity out of your remaining staff
-Get it from them willingly, because they truly believe you value their contribution
-Keep them working for you when the economy picks up and greener pastures beckon.
Here is another big reason to
invest in employee engagement programs right now:
None of your competitors are doing it, and their best employees feel unvalued and unwanted. Those bright people will be ready to listen to you when you ask them to join your team, because word gets around that you treat people “differently”, as in “better.”
Invest more aggressively in your company’s future by investing in your people today.
And we as vendors will respond with creative solutions too: We have worked out a number of affordable programs for our clients to keep the fires lit among their employees without breaking the bank:
It costs a lot less than you think and pays off in spades.
David Tighe has been helping companies resist the horrors of reorganization for twenty-three years as a principal for Bovo-Tighe, LLC. Bovo-Tighe helps organizations solve leadership, productivity, and hiring challenges using its MINDCHANGE™ and Organizational Transformation processes, which have been market- tested in hundreds of real-world business situations. Contact Dave at dave@bovo-tighe.com.
