Employee engagement in a downturn

Bettina Pickering and Amy Finn, PA’s people and change consultants, discuss in a short video how HR and organisational leaders can slice budgets without compromising on employee motivation.

It is in the immediate interests of organisations to drastically cost cut if the recession is hitting their bottom-line. However, is it in their longer-term interests if these pragmatic measures – from redundancies to pay freezes to benefits cuts – create a ‘recession culture’ that destroys employee motivation? After all, engaged staff perform better, and are therefore your most powerful armour in the downturn battle.

HR and business leaders must not lose track of the impact of cost-cutting on employee engagement by:

• Finding those specific drivers that keep your people performing – the best combination for your staff doesn’t have to be costly

• Cutting only elements that are less valued – gauge employee opinion to avoid inadvertently slashing the wrong thing

• Remembering what makes your organisation yours – now is not the time to abandon core values

• Leading from the top to lead into the future – engaged leaders create an engaged workforce.