What are the 7 steps to manage staff turnover in downturn economy
November 8th, 2008 by ALVIN SOONG
Sirota Survey Intellgivence came up with 7 “resiliency strategy” drawn up by a US research firm to focu on effective people management to ensure that the business, people are best placed to deal with whatever economic knocks that came up their way.
1. Develop a “partnership culture” within the business. This culture will perform better than confrontational, command and control culture in boom or bad times to build basic trust and long term perspective for joint decision making, open communications and financial sharing in a daily basis
2. Create communicate and exhaust “rings of defence” before downsizing. (An employer that treats its employees as true partners makes eery effort to avoid layoffs will find people willing to participate in arrangements for their own “funerals”. Employees must feel the management is open and honest to cushion the blow and only when it becomes necessary to reduce costs, then steps can be taken as alternative to involuntary layoffs.
3. Senior management to focus on local behaviour of immeidate superviosrs and managers giving them recognition, development and provide training/guidance. At bad times, it is even more inmportant to be consistent in words and actinos where everyone is respected. Eg leaders/managers receive guidance to understand their own and subordinates’ reactions to stress and how to develop coping strategies.
4. Pay more attention to higher potential employees as they are most likely ot leave in difficult times and have more opportunities. Develop a retention strategy for them to focus on career development and have special projects to meet their achievement needs.
5. Create ways for employees to contribute to company’s effieciency and effectiveness goals - eg. gain sharing efforts.
6. Wiser manager does not exclude employees from assisting with possible solutions and communidate openly to ask for help to develop actions to be taken.
7. Stop assessing the performing periodic employee assessments. Monitor workers’ stress levels, their perceptions of their workloads and be lookout for burnout.
Info extracted from The Edge 15th Sept 2008
