Stability in the work place (1)

Welcome to another week where we’re going to be talking about a few HRM things. I’m not going to say welcome to the new normal, I think I would rather say welcome to the current normal. I have a daughter who is a student of criminology and she says there is nothing like normal. How is this time looking for you? I think we can all agree that it’s not what we would consider normal.

Today I’m going to be talking about stability in the work place. One of the banks made an announcement about laying people off a few days ago and there has been a big uproar. The truth about it is that whether you’re screaming it from the rooftop or you are quiet about it, there are going to be many layoffs.

Our topic is “Stability”. Why is it important for there to be stability?

Stability is security. Most people don’t mind excitement on holiday, at home at the weekend but usually when people go to work, they want to be sure that their jobs are secure and that they are valued by management. They want to feel safe and secure. It’s going to be difficult for any employee to put in their very best if they are worried and stressed out about the future of their jobs.  I am constantly profiling people and I know that there are some people profiles who are constantly a little anxious about their jobs almost no matter what the is.

Any organisation that wants the best out of your employees must communicate to them that they are valued safe and secure both now and into the future. Job security concerns are more crucial now than ever before basically because we’re all connected globally. the whole world is connected and if some countries sneeze, the rest of the world catch a cold, there is a lot of migration all over the place and to a large extent cheap labour is readily available. Also, the digital age has come in as a huge disruptor and fewer people can hold on to their jobs.

Stability is therefore important because when people are not feeling constant worry about their jobs they can relax and settle into doing the best possible. Job security is best used as a motivator when people see a direct correlation between their performance and their future with the company. Employee job security improves the bottom line as people are putting in their best when the job is secure.

Teams stick together and are more productive. They forge long friendships, strong bonds, strong connections and a strong sense of corporate culture is heightened providing job security improves the company’s reputation. As a recruitment consultant there are many times when we are recruiting for some organisations and even though the proposed pay is great, proposed good candidates are not interested because the reputation of the company has gone to the dogs. employing the right people to start off with based on your reputation is of great importance. Many people are placing a larger emphasis on ethical companies. Job security is seen as an ethical issue.

Having said job security is important, please don’t feel tempted to hold on to every employee good or bad in an attempt to reduce your turnover rates and increase your retention. While you want to maintain a good reputation, you don’t want to become a doormat. Don’t put up with substandard behaviour, don’t tolerate poor performance, bad results, missed targets just for the sake of retention. if you want your company to do its best and achieve your long-term goals you need to have the right people in your team.

Don’t ever be afraid to let people go who are not fit for your organisation or are not performing, this is for the greater good.

All this is good but how do you create a stable environment in a crisis especially a global crisis like the COVID-19 crisis.

The organisation needs to start looking for a plan that will minimise the impact of the crisis on the business. This should include a policy for bringing order to the chaos. The leadership should spearhead the developing of solutions. They should focus on the opportunities that may pop up, indeed that are popping up in this chaos that is COVID-19. It is important to keep one’s eyes open to see the opportunities and not be blinded because the organisation is too busy putting out fires.

Throughout the crisis situation, (the truth is that this COVID-19 crisis is actually going to go on for a little bit longer than most people expect). Leadership must keep the team informed on several factors, such as the desired outcomes, as a return to some level of normalcy or high-level of performance. After all it is important to learn from the crisis and then apply that knowledge to help make the organisation better and prepare for the next unexpected event. This is not the first crisis and by any means it will not be the last.

Inform and enlighten staff members of each of the rules as it relates to the desired new outcome.  They need to know what they should be doing and how they are doing on reaching the new outcome it’s important to keep them updated about the status and interim accomplishments.

In all of this, it is important to be visible to your team as much as possible. When they see you, whether it is online or even just hearing from you in a voice message it has a calming effect. Like when the captain of the ship navigating through rough seas, the crew (your team) are more likely to stay calm and focused, when they see you acting calm and focused.

Keeping them informed on as many activities as possible, the desired outcomes you expect will keep them engaged until the crisis has been resolved.