Your business has just entered a financial rut. You can barely afford to run the place let alone pay your employees. Things may seem hopeless right now but you’ll be able to get back on your feet as long as you keep your workers motivated.
A business in shambles is enough to stress out any employee. So, how do you keep them from throwing in the towel and looking for a new job? The answer is communication.
As long as you work together as a team, there’s nothing you can’t accomplish. Check out this guide for making personnel changes and learn what you should do during these trying times.
Don’t Keep Your Employees in the Dark
During times of crisis, you may be tempted to shield your employees by keeping them in the dark or at least not telling them the full gravity of the situation. The truth is, by doing this you’re hurting them more than helping them.
Be as open and transparent about the company’s situation as you can. Hold a meeting and make a statement to address what’s going on with the company, the changes that are going to have to go into effect, and what the plan is going forward.
Make sure that when you’re giving this statement that you’re as calm as possible. If your employees can tell you’re worried, they’re going to start to panic themselves.
Get Input from Your Workers
The reason why you hired employees in the first place is for extra help. Let them assist you by giving their input on your current situation.
Hold team meetings and ask everyone to share their ideas if they have any. Listen to what they have to say and actually consider it. This will help make your employees feel like a team which is a huge morale booster.
Keep Them Motivated with Praise
If you implement someone’s idea and it works even the slightest bit, don’t forget to give them praise. You don’t have to spend a single penny to make a worker feel appreciated.
All it takes is a thank you and a few kind words to brighten an employee’s day and convince them to stay with the company during your most difficult times.
Be Positive
Again, if your employees catch you panicking then they will start to worry too. Keep a smile on your face and talk to your employees like nothing bad is going on.
Your good mood will have a domino effect on your team members. It’s also important to pay attention to how you speak to your workers.
During a rough patch, it’s easy to give in to stress and snap at everyone. Remember that it’s not their fault that your company is starting to decline. Treating them as such will cause a good number of them to turn in their resignation letters.
Keep Things Consistent
No matter how bad the situation gets at your company store, it’s important to keep business going as usual. Don’t make a big deal of your shortcomings and continue to supervise your employees as you’ve always done.
If you start to make any big changes then your workers will start to worry. If you must make any changes consult your team first. Their opinions matter and could bring your business back from the brink.
Be Realistic in Your Expectations
As soon as your company starts to fall, there will be some employees who will seek employment elsewhere out of fear of losing their job. You can’t be mad at them because people have to eat.
One thing you shouldn’t do is put the responsibility of the workers who abandoned ship on those who still choose to remain. This will cause them unneeded stress and force them to turn in their resignation letters.
Don’t Burn Out Your Employees
Sort of going off the point above, allow for a good work-life balance. If you force your employees to stay too late or have them work a bunch of doubles during the week, they’ll start to get tired and cranky.
There is only so much energy a worker can put into a place before they start to become overworked and burn out.
Listen to Your Worker’s Fears and Concerns
When you tell your employees that the company may potentially go under, there’s going to be some fears and concerns. It’s important that you let your employees voice them.
Keep your office open for anyone to come in and talk to you about their fears and listen to them with an open mind.
Stay Together
When it comes to building your company back up, it isn’t you vs. the world. You still have a team beside you to support you. Let them do it.
It’s going to take all of your efforts to save the company. Work as a team and let your employees know that you have their best interests at heart, no matter what.
Learn from Your Mistakes
It’s important that you record any mistakes that you’ve made that allowed your company to sink down so low. It may be hard to do so considering all the stress you’re under, but these notes will be important in the future.
Having them will stop you from making the same mistakes down the line. When you’re analyzing and making these notes, it’s important to not point blame at any one employee. That’s not productive and it’s cruel to put a target on someone’s back.
Stay Calm During a Business Crisis by Making Personnel Changes
The most important thing you can do during a business crisis is to stay calm. If your employees can tell you’re nervous they’ll be nervous as well. After that, it’s all a matter of making personnel changes to help you bounce back.
Even when you get your company moving again, it’s going to take a while before you’re back the way you were. Check out our blog daily for business advice to get you through the tough times.
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