Motivation in Time of Crisis

Motivation in times of crisis. How to retain the right staff.

«Make more than usual, but at a lower cost» is the basically manager’s motto in difficult times - company needs a high profit with minimal cost. Being in active search of solutions how to increase the productivity of staff, managers risks to lose the main resource needed for survival - skilled employee. That’s why the motto should be rephrased: «Do more and better, apply as much effort as never before» - should have more interaction with employees, more contact with them, need to develop partnership and trusting relationship, focus on coaching. And remember above all: effective leadership is the pledge of successful staff motivation. Otherwise, why the «weak leadership» is the reason of leaving trained people.

Set clear objectives, expect only really possibilities. At crisis time only really things may be possible. In other words, the expectations should be within the reality. Just as the company as a whole, every employee must be clearly focused in its activities. This means that people should be able to understand the meaning of their work at the moment, what to do first of all, how and why. When people hear about the cuts in other companies and feel the economic downturn, they start to experience fear and anxiety because they are afraid for their future. This is natural.

So as the panic has not spread to your organization, or, if the layoffs have already begun, as a virus does not pass from one to another you must continue an open dialogue with employees and make them clear goals and objectives. Tell them that you would expect from their work in the future, how you evaluate their work today, what they are doing correctly, how you will encourage them.

To ensure that employees were able to submit a reality, you should try to separate the organizational vision from their specific job goals and objectives. People want to know in which direction organization is developing and how this movement...