7 Simple Methods to Create Positive Staff Expectations in a Recession
1 Be Positive Staff will sense your negativity without even a single word from you.
They'll notice your body language, your tone of voice and general demeanor.
Keep calm and, as the old song says, "accentuate the positive".
2 Be Honest Tell the truth.
Explain how you believe the recession could affect your business.
Don't gild the lily.
But make sure you point out how you can limit the effects of the recession on your business and the opportunities it offers.
3 Set Specific Priorities And Targets Tell your staff what you're trying to achieve and how it will be measured.
Include short, medium and long term goals.
Clarify priorities too so that staff can focus their efforts.
4 Have A Positive Plan And Share It Explain to your people what you propose to do and why.
Explain how they'll be involved, how it will affect their jobs and the broad adjustments they'll have to make.
5 Structure Input, Participation and Co-operation The important word is "structure".
It's not enough to seek employee help.
Take the lead.
Put in place systems and processes that require their input and participation.
Look for ways to eliminate friction, real or imagined, between different areas of your business, 6 Have Staff "Own" Changes Structuring participation and co-operation is just the start.
To survive a recession, staff need to feel that they own what they're doing to help the business survive short term and prevail long term.
Offer rewards to staff who are successful And make sure their successes are publicly acknowledged.
7 Review And Reveal Establish a schedule to check the success of your combined efforts.
Be open.
Set up some way of publicly monitoring progress.
Be prepared to change if you're failing to progress adequately.
Conclusion Recessions demand firm leadership.
Only you can provide it.
But only your staff can create real benefits from such leadership.
The positive expectations you create will help that to occur.
They'll notice your body language, your tone of voice and general demeanor.
Keep calm and, as the old song says, "accentuate the positive".
2 Be Honest Tell the truth.
Explain how you believe the recession could affect your business.
Don't gild the lily.
But make sure you point out how you can limit the effects of the recession on your business and the opportunities it offers.
3 Set Specific Priorities And Targets Tell your staff what you're trying to achieve and how it will be measured.
Include short, medium and long term goals.
Clarify priorities too so that staff can focus their efforts.
4 Have A Positive Plan And Share It Explain to your people what you propose to do and why.
Explain how they'll be involved, how it will affect their jobs and the broad adjustments they'll have to make.
5 Structure Input, Participation and Co-operation The important word is "structure".
It's not enough to seek employee help.
Take the lead.
Put in place systems and processes that require their input and participation.
Look for ways to eliminate friction, real or imagined, between different areas of your business, 6 Have Staff "Own" Changes Structuring participation and co-operation is just the start.
To survive a recession, staff need to feel that they own what they're doing to help the business survive short term and prevail long term.
Offer rewards to staff who are successful And make sure their successes are publicly acknowledged.
7 Review And Reveal Establish a schedule to check the success of your combined efforts.
Be open.
Set up some way of publicly monitoring progress.
Be prepared to change if you're failing to progress adequately.
Conclusion Recessions demand firm leadership.
Only you can provide it.
But only your staff can create real benefits from such leadership.
The positive expectations you create will help that to occur.