Managing employee engagement amid a looming recession is another challenge Human Resource professional confront. Keeping employees productive and happy has been one of the most significant priorities of HR since the pandemic. In this challenging economy, HR professionals must adopt effective strategies to boost employee engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty, while building and supporting a culture that attracts new candidates.
Effective Ways to Improve Employee Engagement in a Recession
Since changes come in several forms, from political and social shifts to climate and events, it is essential to maintain high standards of employee management despite the economic conditions.
Here are some strategies you can use to combat the damage employee engagement recession might cause.
1: Offer Flexibility
Organizations in today’s competitive market must be creative in their approaches to employee engagement. One of the best ways to improve engagement involves offering more flexibility to work arrangements, which consists in working from home for at least one day a week and offering reduced hours for parents, especially those who require picking up their children from school. When you offer flexibility to your employees, you strive to make your employees’ lives easier. These commitments go a long way toward improving employee engagement and retention rates.
2: Enquire about disengagement
Organizational leaders must hold regular one-on-one meetings with employees who seem less engaged than normal and figure out the underlying cause. Once you identify the underlying cause, it is essential to resolve them immediately and effectively. Communicate your action plan to all the employees so that they know the things happening within the organization. Focusing on resolving the root causes of employee disengagement helps you boost engagement in the future and improve your talent retention with the risk of recession.
3: Practicing Empathy
Understanding the feelings of the employees help HR professionals and other organizational leaders prioritize ways to help the employees through tough times. You can try out creative and innovative wellness programs, proactively communicate about existing benefits that help employees, and train managers to have one-on-one conversations with employees to determine the difficulties in their lives.
When you empathize, it doesn’t mean avoiding difficult conversations or necessary layoffs. However, it involves keeping your employees’ feelings and morale at the top of your mind while making important decisions. When you fail to understand people, they are at a higher risk and find an alternative way to prioritize their well-being.
4: Improving Company Culture
Gathering information and offering feedback help you tune up company culture. So, what can you improve in your company culture? Enlisted are changes that you can bring to your organization.
- Addressing toxic culture directly and promptly:It includes dealing with ways that leadership and management contribute to or foster a toxic culture. Remember the behavior you allow to continue will become a part of your organizational culture.
- Offering scope for learning and growing:Identifying the opportunities to learn and grow is the topmost driver of excellent workplace culture.
- Upholding your organizational values:Values are meaningful when they are real. Employees want something to rally around, support, and offer them with purpose. Strong values aligning with employees’ values are potent ways to weather any storm, including an economic downturn.
5: Recognize and Reward Employees
Offering growth opportunities for tenured employees help migrate these impacts. According to a report, lack of advancement is one of the top reasons employees leave their jobs. Company leaders must take proactive steps recognize and reward employees for their initiatives and accomplishments.
Conclusion
Here’s a list of things you can follow to improve employee engagement during an economic downturn. Besides, organizations must practice these things throughout the year. Above all, you must make your employees feel valued and understand their role in the organization’s success.
