Every business experience challenge at some time or the other. Business owners must make tough decisions to improve their situation and pay attention to team morale. Tough times might arise for various reasons.
It can be due to low sales numbers, your company might experience the prospect of downsizing, or due to your team members who are struggling to adapt to a change in the company’s organizational structure. Regardless of the cause, knowing how to lead your team through the challenging period is vital for your business’s long-term success.
Employee engagement: Understanding the concept
Employee engagement refers to employees’ emotional commitment to their work, the organization they associate with, and organizational goals. It describes an individual’s bond with their job and the organization.
An individual having high engagement in an organization means that the individual has dedication towards their work, organization, and their attitudes and behaviours align with their organization’s core values.
Employee engagement drives organizational success. Moreover, it is excellent for increasing retention, attracting top talent, fostering loyalty, improving customer satisfaction, improving organizational performance, and enhancing stakeholder value.
It is a critical metric for any organization, as it impacts several aspects of a business affecting its overall profitability.
Strategies to motivate employees during challenging periods
While motivating our employees is crucial, inspiring the team has increased significantly during the challenging economic time.
When your business’s results are less than promising, emotions such as fear and anxiety often cause an impasse in your employees’ performances.
Enlisted are some basic strategies business owners can adopt to maintain their employees’ morale amid the firms’ challenging period.
Share the organization’s future vision
Communicating how your team and company plan to advance will help your employees join the storm clouds. These represent the organization’s existence, helping your employees focus their efforts in the right direction.
Once your team starts bouncing back, never lose the momentum you created. Ensure to maintain your leadership even when things are going well. It ensures you earn your teams’ trust for any future challenges.
Never hide the target
When you set clear expectations, motivating your employees, and keeping them on track is easy. Set clear goals with each, communicate your expected results, and analyze how the results contribute to your organization’s overall performance. Confirm their understanding by questioning them if they have any questions. In case of change in your organizational goals, ensure to communicate the same with their changing roles.
Celebrate small and big wins
During difficult times, it is easy to dwell on everything going wrong, which creates low employee morale.
Amidst tough patches, organizational leaders must celebrate small and big wins to keep morale high and remind their team about their value. Try to track team progress and break large organizational goals into smaller and more attainable objectives.
Whether your organization meets a tight project deadline, achieves a higher click-through rate, or launches a new campaign successfully, ensure to enjoy even these small wins. Reinvigorating your team with the possibility help boost your employees’ morale during a tough time. It further creates more confidence and productivity in your employees.
Regular and honest feedback
Every organizational leaders and business owners conduct annual employee performance; however, it is not enough. Employees must receive regular and ongoing feedback and reviews. It helps them understand when they have done a job well and when you expect them to improve.
Besides regular and ongoing feedback, ensure that you are giving honest feedback. Conducting online surveys is the best way to ensure how your employees psychologically and physically feel about their work and their association with your organization.
Remain positive
Every day millions of people reach their workplace to contribute their best. However, the attitude of the business leaders significantly affects your employees’ well-being. When you are supportive and positive towards your employees, give their best even during hard times.
Conclusion
Challenging conditions offer an organization an excellent opportunity to test the motivation and loyalty of employees. If you are looking for better ways to manage your organization, talent Intellect can help. As Asia-Pacific’s leading talent management company, they strive to create real-time insights into your employees’ productivity. With an understanding of the complex HR challenges, they offer robust solutions to improve the Talent dynamic in their client organizations.
