Rebuilding Employee Morale Essay

Layoffs and work-force reductions have a big impact on both those who lose their jobs and those who remain. Employees who remain after a work-force reduction may be affected for weeks or months afterwards. They may feel overwhelmed, have a hard time focusing on work, or experience low morale. This may be a stressful time for you as well. As a manager you not only have to make the transitions yourself, but you’re also counted on to help steer your team through the changes. As a manager, it’s important to be aware of what employees are feeling and to offer support in ways that can help your team get through this difficult and challenging period. And it’s important to recognize how the changes affect you as well. Common feelings employees may have Several employees, or hundreds of employees, may have lost their jobs at your company. Whatever the size of the work-force reduction, it’s likely that many well-liked people who were doing good work will be leaving the company and that the employees who remain are sad and are grieving for co-workers who were let go. The remaining employees may also be fearful about the security of their own jobs or how their roles might change. Employees may experience some or all of the following emotions, all of which can affect productivity, commitment, and morale: †¢ Sadness. †¢ Anger. †¢ Guilt. †¢ Fear and anxiety. Many may wonder, â€Å"Am I the next to go?† †¢ Envy of those who are leaving. Employees may feel that those who were laid off are moving on to new opportunities while they are â€Å"stuck at the same old job.† †¢ Apathy. They may find it hard to concentrate or get back to work. †¢ Loss of trust in the organization. Employees may lose trust in upper management’s messages and mission and may not feel that the company cares. †¢ Overwhelmed. People may feel overloaded and worried about how their workload will change. 57114-1008 2 Rebuilding Employee Morale Following a Layoff Helping employees cope A layoff or downsizing is a business decision. But before employees who remain can move on and begin working productively again, it’s important to deal with the emotional side of the job cuts and their impact on people’s lives. †¢ Hold an initial meeting with employees staying on your team on the day of the downsizing announcement. Have an open and honest discussion with them about the job cuts and why they took place and how they will help keep your organization moving forward. Employees need to know why the cuts happened and what the organization is doing to avoid more job cuts. Talk about the layoffs in terms of job functions and the business. Do not discuss specifics or specific individuals. Expect this to be a time of deep emotion, confusion, and anxiety for your employees. †¢ Hold a â€Å"jump-start† meeting. A work-force reduction can change the way your team functions. In the days following the announcement, plan and hold a jumpstart meeting to get people focused on what matters. At the meeting: – Review the organization’s goals, strategy, and new direction. Enlist your team’s support in finding ways to meet those goals. – Clarify the reasons for the change. Identify and describe ways that individual employees may have to shift their attention. – Explain fully the expected results of the team’s efforts, linking those results to the overall business goals of the organization. – Identify those things the team and individuals are already doing well that support the new direction or business strategy. Highlight what may change. – Discuss needs and develop concrete action plans for short- and long-term periods. – Provide training if employees will be asked to take on new work or functions. †¢ Give employees continued opportunities to talk about their feelings. Encourage them to voice their fears, questions, complaints, and concerns. Hold meetings. You can do this both one-on-one with employees and as a group. Have drop-in sessions. These will be helpful for employees and for you as a manager. Remember that when people are allowed to express their feelings they are better able to adjust and move on. Continue to have these discussions for as long as they seem productive. Watch that employees don’t get stuck or caught up in too much negativity. Use coaching skills to help them accept the change and move on. †¢ Be honest with employees and keep lines of communication open. The more honest and straightforward you are, the more quickly you’ll rebuild trust on your team. During times of major change, information is often incomplete. No manager has all the answers. If an employee asks a question about the reorganization that you are not in a position to answer, don’t be afraid to say, â€Å"I don’t have the answer to 3 Rebuilding Employee Morale Following a Layoff that question.† If possible, commit to finding answers and information within a fixed period of time and â€Å"close the loop† with the employee who asked the question. If relevant, share the information with everyone on the team. Remind employees that in times of flux even some of the updated information will change but that you will keep them as up to date as you can when this happens. †¢ Lead by example. Take a close look at your own attitudes and behavior and how you are responding to the workplace change. Positive, sincere, and communicative managers who demonstrate strong leadership qualities while acknowledging the difficulty and pain of the layoff are typically able to get their staff back on track during times of adversity and challenge. †¢ Offer resources to help employees reduce feelings of stress. Make sure members of your team are aware of the resources available to them to help reduce feelings of stress, including the employee assistance program (EAP) or the program that provided this publication. †¢ Recognize that, initially, employees may be so absorbed with the reorganization that they get less work done than usual. During times of major change, especially in the period right after the change, it’s common for people to look out for themselves. Employees may spend increased amounts of time on personal activities like phone calls and Internet use. By keeping employees actively engaged in constructive job-related tasks with a direct value to the business, anxiety can be kept in check and employees will be more focused on what matters. It’s important to take action to rebuild the team and help employees get back up to speed and move forward. Ways to rebuild trust and morale It can take months for employees to adjust to a major organizational change and to new systems and ways of doing things. It’s important to keep an eye on employee morale during this transitional period. Here are some ways to rebuild trust and morale on your team during this time: †¢ Spend extra time with your team and with individual employees. In times of stress managers can be tempted to spend more time in their offices away from their anxious employees, but this is just the time your employees need you to be more visible and accessible than usual. †¢ Communicate openly and often about company strategies and goals. Share information. Clarify goals. Be honest in your communications. If more change is coming, share as much as you’re able to with employees. It’s critical to check with upperlevel managers on what messages to communicate to employees. Different messages coming from managers across departments will result in mixed messages and rumors. Encourage employees to share any rumors they hear with you and address each one as quickly as you can. 4 Rebuilding Employee Morale Following a Layoff †¢ Talk about changes within the organization and how these may affect the work and your group. Talk about how the work will change as a result of the reorganization. Let everyone know that plans or tasks may change and that this is normal during times of transition. If work expectations for the department or individuals have changed, communicate this as soon as possible. Be clear and concise about new job duties and responsibilities. Remember to give frequent updates. This helps employees deal with feelings of uncertainty and confusion. †¢ Avoid complaining about the organization or telling employees your woes. Managers sometimes do this to reduce feelings of guilt — they want employees to feel that they are suffering, too. But a manager who complains to employees only loses respect and creates more anxiety among employees. Speak with other managers you trust about your feelings and concerns and to get more ideas of what steps you can take to help rebuild your team. Take very good care of yourself during this time as many managers experience additional stress as they guide their teams through challenging times. †¢ Use team-building exercises to renew relationships and commitments to goals. Work on a group or team project together. You might order pizza or bagels when you do. Offer a seminar on dealing with workplace change. Work hard to be sure everyone understands his or her role on the team and how group efforts contribute to the larger business goals. †¢ Be respectful of the people who have been laid off. Avoid comments like â€Å"He wasn’t such a great employee anyway.† Focus on the positive attributes of employees who have left. Express regret and make sure your team knows that you wish them well. This will show those who are staying that the organization treats people with respect and dignity. Your employees will assume that if they were to be laid off, you would talk about them the same way you talk about former em ployees. †¢ Help employees see the opportunities that change can bring. The reorganization may mean that people will have the opportunity to learn new skills or to take on new responsibilities. †¢ Recognize and reward good work and continued commitment. Let employees know that you appreciate everyone pulling together to do their part in meeting the company’s goals. It’s more important than ever at this time to reward employees who are staying — for meeting goals and milestones and for steady, dependable effort. Here are some ways to offer rewards: – through company recognition or incentive programs – by giving public recognition at a meeting – by sending an e-mail to upper management applauding an employee’s efforts and spelling out what those efforts were and how they contributed to the company’s goals – by using bulletin boards to call attention to someone’s good efforts 5 Rebuilding Employee Morale Following a Layoff Keep in mind that it takes time for people to let go of old ways, adapt to new ones, and recommit to the organization. The more proactive you are in helping employees through this transition, the more everyone will be able to adjust, move on, renew their enthusiasm, and confirm their commitment to the company. Written with the help of Elizabeth Bakken, B.A., M.A. Ms. Bakken has a certificate in organizational development and an extensive background in the fields of human resource development and career coaching. She writes a column, CareerWise, on executive career issues for the Rochester Business Journal.  © 2001, 2008 Ceridian Corporation. All rights reserved. 102908