You’re worried about having to lay people off. You’re worried about the economy and poor profits. You’re worried about employee morale. You’re worried about the effect of being worried all the time. You’re not alone.
According to the results of a recent national survey of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) conducted by the Duke University school of business, executive pessimism is at an all time high. In fact, CFOs are reporting gloomier outlooks than ever, as companies across the country foresee more layoffs and lower revenues. A whopping 57% of the CFOs interviewed report that they either have implemented or will be implementing across the board salary freezes.
With all this doom and gloom looming overhead—which all employees, not just CFOs, are feeling—its more important than ever for HR professionals to keep an eye out for creative, low-cost ways to improve employee morale. Whether you’re a Fortune 500 company or a mom-and-pop shop, your employees remain your most valuable asset. What follows are five tips aimed at keeping your employees happy and productive during difficult times.
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Tip 1: Plan social events for employees and management to spend time together.
When times are tough, the distance between employees and management grows. Especially if management is worried about having to implement layoffs or other changes that negatively effect employees. As employees see managers pull away, they become less trusting and more likely to feel like management isn’t looking out for them.
Informal social events where employees and management have a chance to know each other casually are a good way to build both trust and camaraderie. Consider having a monthly lunchtime pot-luck, or a company bowling night. Or, perhaps, rally everyone for a Saturday afternoon softball game and barbeque. Whatever you do, make sure you give everyone a chance to relax together, let loose a little, and maybe even get a little goofy.
Keep in mind that for your non-exempt employees, all social events should be voluntary, not mandatory. Otherwise its work time and you’ll need to pay them for attending.
Tip 2: Cut Fridays short.
Salaries are frozen, no one’s getting bonuses, and you may even have implemented wage reductions. While giving your employees more money may be out of the question right now, there are still things you can do to give them some “perks” to help soften the blow. Depending on the nature of your operations, consider letting everyone go a little early on Fridays (without reducing pay!). If you can’t close down early, you may still be able to offer half-day Fridays to your employees in groups, rotating them on a weekly or monthly basis. Employees will appreciate having more time to spend with family and friends, and knowing that you’re thinking about how to make their lives a little easier.
Tip 3: Make sure employees know they’re valued.
Normally employers reward employees for good performance with bonuses or pay increases. When that’s not possible, don’t forget that employees still need to be appreciated. If you find “employee of the month” to be too hokey, consider sending out company-wide emails when employees do especially well on projects or in meeting goals. And remember to give positive feedback whenever possible. A pat on the back is as effective as ever at making people feel valued if it’s done sincerely. Consider getting upper management involved too—a simple call or email from the company or division president is a great way of saying that the company knows how important employees are.
Tip 4: Adopt a company charity.
Nothing improves how people feel like helping someone else. Find a local charity that needs volunteers or goods, not just money. Hold company-sponsored canned food or clothing drives; you can even raise the stakes a little by making it a competition between departments or work groups. If you can, allocate a couple hours of work-time for employees to volunteer on-site with the charity. If that’s not possible and employees have to volunteer on their own time, consider letting them earn PTO hours for each hour they spend volunteering (this is legal under California wage and hour laws, so long as you treat the PTO earned like all other PTO hours).
Make sure you pick a charity that is likely to appeal to a large audience of your employees, and doesn’t require your employees to participate in religious activities (though, non-denominational activities hosted by an organization with a religious affiliation is okay), or partisan political causes.
Tip 5: Be more attentive and reduce uncertainty.
When employers aren’t attentive, employees feel neglected. Employees who feel neglected or that their concerns aren’t being addressed are more likely to leave and to file formal complaints and lawsuits. While HR professionals and managers may be busier these days, do what you can to make sure that employees’ problems don’t get lost on your to-do list. A little effort on your part will provide a great benefit to your employees.
Similarly, we’re all facing a lot of uncertainty these days. Make sure management isn’t adding to the problem by letting communication slide. Look for those places—whether an upcoming change in a project timeline or workload, time-off approvals, or news about benefit changes—do what you can to give employees information as soon as possible. Reducing the amount of uncertainty your employees carry around will help combat stress and improve productivity.