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CULTURE, ENGAGEMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY
While each organization will determine what training aligns best
with its strategy, some programs have universal value.
“We’re seeing a lot of emphasis on leadership development
training because organizations know they need to drive a certain
culture,” said Avedon. “They are focused on creating the right
behaviours within their leadership population to drive the right
culture forward, in line with the business strategy. During times
of change, that’s even more important because you want to ensure
there’s a consistent employee experience across the organization.
That’s difficult to do if leadership isn’t aligned.”
When an organization’s future is uncertain, culture and engagement
can suffer – and it can happen quickly.
“It doesn’t take long for employees to become disengaged during
times of uncertainty,” said Avedon. “Reengaging them can take
months, even years, depending on the damage done.”
Rumour mills – quick to pop up when there’s a void of information
– pull employees away from their work and impact the mood
of an organization.
“HR is the primary communication channel for keeping employees
informed and ensuring morale and productivity in the
organization don’t go down,” said Khan. “It’s a daunting task and
easier said than done. HR can start by providing honest, timely
and accurate information. Never create any false expectations and
reassure your top contributors, at the right time.”
“Among companies who remain successful in a downturn,
the biggest common thread is a strong internal communications
plan,” said Chelsea Newton, executive coach with Talent
Formula, and an HR professional with a Calgary-based oil and
gas company.
“At our company, we get our employees together regularly,” said
Newton. “We talk about the market, we talk about the current
price of crude oil and what our strategy is to survive in this type of
market. We’re quite transparent about it. When companies don’t
communicate well internally, employees wonder if there actually is
a strategy to survive in this market, and that creates more anxiety
and trepidation about their future.”
It’s important for HR to keep an ear to the ground and listen for
any misinformation.
“Once you catch wind of rumours, you need to snuff them out
as quickly as possible,” said Girimonte. The best remedy, he points
out, is some fundamental information. “You need to know who is
impacted and how they are impacted. Once you can answer those
two key questions, you can then determine what you’re going to
do about it as an HR professional: Are you going to give managers
talking points about how to handle delicate situations? Devise a
plan for improving morale and keeping employees focused? Those
are all things HR can assist with, but they can’t do those things unless
they know who’s impacted and how they’re impacted.”
Another question that comes up around communication is how
to best deliver it.
“If more communication is paramount to employees during
times of change – and it typically is – how do we actually make
that happen?” asked Avedon. “Do they want to hear from their direct
leaders, or are they looking to hear from senior leaders? We
know during times of change, engagement is very closely linked to
HR AND STRESS
IN TOUGH TIMES
During economic downturns, HR comes under
tremendous pressure.
“HR is put under the knife in terms of reducing costs,
but it’s also the time when their workload increases
considerably,” said Girimonte. “The pressure on
the HR function is immense because you’ve got to
redirect people from recruiting to managing layoffs.”
That could mean shifting roles, extra training and a
host of other changes. “Sometimes, there’s some
reskilling necessary, some change in emphasis, and
just generally a lot of stress on HR team members.”
Teamwork, he says, is at the core of managing all
that stress.
“I would always advise HR professionals that this
is the time when you need to work more as a team
than ever before,” said Girimonte. “You need to
share information and best practices, and increase
communication both horizontally and vertically.”
Finding ways to stay on top of all the change can
help keep a better sense of control, and that, says
Girimonte, can keep HR not just reactive, but also
proactive in supporting the organization’s strategy.
Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock.com
HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA ❚ JULY 2017 ❚ 25
