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Employee Engagement in Recessionary Times!

Written by: Melissa Gallagher

Article Overview: In our experience companies that have succeeded in attracting, engaging and retaining talent have done so because of a company wide commitment to people development. Many of the organisation’s top management have invested considerable amounts of time in mentoring, talented employees both formally and informally.

Employee Engagement in Recessionary Times!

In our experience companies that have succeeded in attracting, engaging and retaining talent have done so because of a company wide commitment to people development. Many of the organisation's top management have invested considerable amounts of time in mentoring, talented employees both formally and informally. In the current climate talented employees still have the power. Their self-belief often ensures their ability to move with confidence between employers. They also are the first targets for head-hunters. Most importantly, with more expected from fewer employees all employees need nurturing. As our research has shown, receiving positive feedback, having senior people showing an interest in their ideas and personal development is a very important factor in why talented people stay with an organisation.

• Our belief is that every individual is unique, but added to this uniqueness there are some people who are living with something else that presents them and the people, or organisations with whom they interact, the opportunity to really make a difference.

• Above all it is an attitude of mind, which engages with the heart and soul that encourages an employee to go the extra mile for an organisation. Many SME's successes are built on discretionary activity, because the individual feels their values are aligned with the organisation and together they are pursuing a common goal.

• As we have highlighted, talented people are different. They have different drivers and motivators. They are also very individual and as such there is no one universal approach that suits all talented people. The most relevant action that an organisation can take is to focus on all individuals. This process should start at the recruitment stage and continue throughout the organisational lifetime of an individual, and in many cases beyond that.

• Helping talented people to identify which ideas are worth pursuing, finding other ways of progressing ideas that they have lost interest in, and helping them integrate with others are some of the ways that you can help them fulfil their potential both as individuals and also as a major contributor to the success of the business. What is equally important is recognising the importance of not just talented people, but all employees and what they chose to contribute.

• Real talent is in such short supply that if you identify someone who is particularly talented you may want to encourage them to return, even if they leave your organisation to gain new experience or expertise elsewhere.
  
  

Here is checklist of actions for HR, or line managers in how to help motivate talented people:

• Recognise that one size does not fit all in terms of personal development; be genuinely interested in all individuals, but be aware that talented people may have different needs, ask them about their hopes and aspirations. Encourage them to identify what they feel they need in terms of development.

• Motivate people by tapping into their values and passions. Enthuse people with your own energy. Spend time with them. Show genuine interest in them and their lives outside work.

· People have a range of needs, including physical, financial, social and psychological needs. Individuals need to find the work itself both challenging and rewarding. They need you to give them positive feedback when they do well. Remember that good motivators lead by example.

• Delegate real authority to people, giving them both the power to make decisions, the support and information, which they need to do this. Give people recognition, show you value them, encourage them to take responsibility. Monitor and give them constructive feedback on their performance. In recessionary times, their ideas for improvement can make significant difference to the bottom line.

The above is an extract from the forthcoming new book - Employee Engagement in Recessionary Times- what organizations need to do differently to attract, retain and develop the next generation of talent. Kaye Thorne

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  Global Employee Engagement Declining
  Using Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Data to Strengthen Company Performance
  Eight Ways to Engage Employees and Power-Up Performance During a Recession
  If you don’t take care of your employees… they won’t take care of your customers

Article Tags: attitude, climate, common goal, confidence, extra mile, head hunters, heart and soul, lifetime, organisations, personal development, positive feedback, recruitment, relevant action, self belief, successes, talented employees, top management, ul type, uniqueness, universal approach



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Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? - I've started work with a brand new company that is going to do loss mitigation. My boss intends to hire a "big" PR firm - ie one that costs a lot of money - because he wants press releases sent out to the New York Times, the LA Times - all the major papers around the country - and he think they'll be more likely to print them if they come from a "big" firm as opposed to a one-person PR firm. I think it doesn't matter where the press release comes from as long as its well written. What are the opinions here?
Re: Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? - [quote="OmnivoreInk":dmj1i0sv]I've started work with a brand new company that is going to do loss mitigation. My boss intends to hire a "big" PR firm - ie one that costs a lot of money - because he wants press releases sent out to the New York Times, the LA Times - all the major papers around the country - and he think they'll be more likely to print them if they come from a "big" firm as opposed to a one-person PR firm. I think it doesn't matter where the press release comes from as long as its well written. What are the opinions here?[/quote:dmj1i0sv] I think the most important factor is whether your press release will reach the most number of your target audience or not. It won't matter if the press release is well written if no one has the opportunity to read it. I also believe that credibility comes with having your press release in an established source like The New York Times, LA Times, etc... For instance, if you enjoyed playing tennis, who would you trust more? The advice from a recreational tennis player who has his own column in [i:dmj1i0sv]Tennis Magazine[/i:dmj1i0sv] [u:dmj1i0sv]or[/u:dmj1i0sv] the recreational tennis player who has his own blog? I don't know about you, but I'd listen to the guy on [i:dmj1i0sv]Tennis Magazine[/i:dmj1i0sv] over the blog owner at least 9 out of 10 times.
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