Root Step 2- Meet and own up to your Employee Family:

This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...


Root Step 2- Meet and own up to your Employee Family:

Okay now you are thinking fresh and you have decided to make some changes in your firm. But before you make the next step please don’t forget the next most important asset in your company. That’s right; I’m talking about your employees. If you think that this crisis period has affected you, then please remember that it has simultaneously affected the people who are working for you as well. Why? Because it’s these people you made your company and you are here in your position today partly because of them too. You owe them the time to make a choice. If in an emergency, then of course a day’s time is all they have but if you have time to strategise for your company, then you have to give them this time too so they can also strategise about their future.

The point I’m trying to say is this: As per your new strategy, it may be imperative to stop certain positions and so the staff must be aware of this well in advance and not at the last minute. If you tell them well in advance, they may be agitated, but because they now have a couple of month’s time at their disposal, they will definitely look for a better opportunity and move out smoothly. If that happens, they will sit in their new office with a better salary and actually be grateful that you had given them the time to move on. And that shows your loyalty towards your employee family which they will never forget.

Word of mouth goes out about your loyalty, people start wondering if such caring bosses still exist in today’s mean world, they start hunting you down, they become your customers, and once your shares start shooting up, you will find your former experienced staff coming back to work for you with more dedication and commitment. What happens if you use them till the last minute and then chuck them out with little or no time left? You not only lose out on all the above mentioned jewels, but you will tend to lose much more than you can imagine. Ponder on this when you have time.

And so, arrange a meeting with the staff and explain the current market scenario and the dangerous position of the company and let them know that as per the new strategies, some of them may be asked to leave but only within 6 or 12 months and not earlier. Make them feel that they are part of the company and will be requested to adjust with the times. But let the truth out to them before it’s too late for them.