There is no doubt that the downturn in the economy posed many challenges for businesses. Many organisations focused on restructuring their business, which sometimes meant using strict measures aimed at driving down costs and improving the bottom-line. Hence, the ultimate aim of most businesses was to ensure that their organisation survived the economic recession. Inevitably, all this had a knock-on effect on employees’ engagement and morale. In fact, recent research carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) shows that employee engagement has declined significantly to an all-time low.
Fortunately, however, the dark days seem to be receding as the economy is picking up. Ruth Spellman from the Chartered Institute of Manage-ment argues that employers need to change their focus from that of organisational survival to one of employee engagement. This implies a need to move employee engagement to the top of the HR agenda. This is crucial if organisations want to position themselves well for the competition for talent which experts predict we will see in the forthcoming economic upturn. Resource and Talent Planning adviser for the CIPD Claire McCartney said: “There’s a real danger that employers could face a talent drain as the labour market recovers – just when they need all hands to the pump to capitalise on recovery.”
The above statement suggests that during the period preceding an economic recovery HR, together with senior management, should work on re-building the trust levels that would have taken a beating during the recession. Essentially, this means that HR should work continuously at building the engagement and resilience levels of employees. In this regard, Lisa Sultana, HR Manager for World Aviation Group commented: “Employees need to be aware not only of the financial situation of the company but also where the company is heading in the coming months/years; what the focus will be and what plans are being drawn up. Fluid and frequent communication will be crucial to avoid wrong
perceptions, worries of unfounded fears, which may be assailing the workforce and which might create uncertainty and insecurity.”
In preparing for an economic upturn, it is crucially important that employees are able to see for themselves the efforts and energy that their organisation is putting into engaging and developing them. In relation to this, Sultana said: “Employees need to see and experience that their employment is not only guaranteed but that there are also opportunities for them to develop.”
Moreover, Sultana mentioned ways in which organisations can re-build the engagement levels of employees: “Regular training and refresher programmes, involvement in succession plans and career development paths are all ways of tangibly showing one’s workforce that their company wants to invest in them and deserves their engagement in return.”
In relation to the organisation that Sultana works for, she remarked: “At World Aviation Group we have a number of employee development programmes we have been working on for some time now. The result of this work has already been evident but we will continue to reap its benefits when the economic upturn ensues.”
Hence, by focusing on employee engagement and working at rebuilding the trust levels of employees, organisations will be reducing the risk that their employees will leave the organisation after the upturn to look for better opportunities elsewhere. This is especially so as global research carried out by Mercer has showed that over 75 per cent of organisations are now concerned about their ability to retain talent once the economic recovery is fully underway. Finally, Sultana observed: “Preserving talent should always be one of the main aims of any company. The long awaited economic upturn will bring with it future possibilities which will provide more and new opportunities for employees, resulting in greater mobility. Some loss is inevitable but a careful strategy for employee retention can ensure that the attrition is kept to a minimum.”
Ms Camilleri is a researcher at the Foundation for Human Resources Development