Executives are working feverishly to deal with the current economic downturn, cutting costs, and working to develop strategies for survival. There is tremendous pressure on executives to meet payroll, launch new initiatives, reduce costs, streamline operations, and meet shareholders expectations while navigating these difficult times. Often times employee’s morale is not a top priority given the current circumstances. What executives fail to realize in these challenging times is that employees are the key to new innovation. Innovations that will not only help the company survive but thrive in these current market conditions.
Now more than ever executives need to hold onto their top talent while inspiring the employees that remain. Employee morale is typically extremely low during recessions. Employees have witnessed numerous rounds of job cuts, including friends and co-workers who were key contributors 6 months earlier. There is fear that they might be the next to be let go and skepticism about the future viability of the company exists. There is more work that needs to be done with fewer resources. Pay freezes, bonuses are cut which leads to a workforce that can become paralyzed in the absence of strategic executive planning.
With all of the pressure and other concerns that executives are dealing with, it is critical for executives to not lose sight of the importance of developing innovative approaches to improving employee morale. Employees with low morale are not typically thinking outside the box to develop innovative solutions. They are more concerned with just getting by. They are in survival mode and fall deeply into routine rather than innovate.
Executives need to deliver open communication that paints a realistic picture of the current state of the company and industry that is balanced with casting the vision for the company’s future. Not only do employees want to know if they are going to get paid next week but just as importantly they also want to know there is a plan and a direction for the future. When done right, this will create trust within the remaining employees while inspiring them to pull together to accomplish the task at hand.
Once the lines of open communication and trust have been established executives need to continue to look for innovative strategies that keep employees inspired. Typically, cash bonuses and pay increases are frozen during these conditions so executives must resort to other types of incentives and motivation.
Some executives have gotten creative with four day work weeks and multiple flex time options to allow employees to come and go with fewer restrictions as long they produce the required results. Executives have become more open to employees working from home. Executives have also applied innovative thinking to employee compensation plans by delivering incentives based on quantifiable results, new innovation and solutions that can improve the bottom line.
Other executives have made themselves much more accessible to employees. With executives being forced to take a much more active role in the day to day operations of the company it also provides executives with the opportunity to spend more time mentoring and sharing their wealth of knowledge with their employees. Not only can executives gain a better understanding of individual strengths and weaknesses but they can demonstrate their willingness to work side by side with the employees. This motivates employees, increases trust and enhances employee morale.
The key for executives during these stressful and difficult economic times is to be aware of the fact that employees are also under a great deal of stress. That can lead to low employee morale. Low employee morale can paralyze your company at a time when you need every employee fully engaged. By applying some innovative thinking to this specific challenge, executives and employees together will not only survive but optimize opportunities that arise.Share with us your experiences in dealing with low employee morale. What innovative executive strategies have you allied to increasing employee morale during these market conditions?
