Transcript Retention During a Bad Economy

Retention During a Bad
Economy
Keeping Talent After Downsizing
March 24, 2009
Oklahoma State University – Oklahoma City
Overview
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Q4 2008 Labor Market
Today’s Labor Market Outlook
Layoffs with Dignity
Survivors Syndrome
What Employees Want
Get Motivated!
In Summary
Q4 2008 Changes in Total Staff Level by Organization
Sector
Q4 2008 Changes in Total Staff Level by
Organization Staff Size
Categories of Workers Affected by Q4 2008 Layoffs
Optimism about Q1 2009 Overall Job Growth
in the United States
Optimism about Overall Q1 2009 Job Growth in US
by Region
Downsize with Dignity
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How you treat people really matters.
Must preserve critical intellectual & human
capital necessary to keep you business
going.
Your surviving employees are watching how
you treat exiting employees.
Allow Legal Concerns to Design your Layoff.
Three Considerations
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2.
3.
Separating employees from the
organization.
Helping those who remain to manage
change effectively.
Redeploying employees to new roles in the
company.
Plan!
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Who must be laid off.
The amount of severance pay.
Will you provide outplacement services.
What are your legal requirements:
 WARN (employers with 100+ or more full-time employees or fulltime & part-time working 4,000+ hrs/week at all sites)
 ADA
 ADEA
 Affirmative Action
 Employment Contracts
 Labor Negotiations
Benefit Continuation:
 COBRA
 401(k), 403(b), other retirement plans
Communicate!
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Let them hear it from you, not from rumors.
Provide facts clearly and sensitively.
Present the decision as irrevocable.
Offer support and compassion.
Encourage the employee to take positive
action.
Preparing for Separation
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Set time aside to prepare what you will say.
Where to conduct the meeting/who will
conduct the meeting.
Anticipate reactions and prepare appropriate
responses.
Severance package planned and ready in
advance of the notification.
Prepare a letter detailing the separation
package.
Conduct the Meeting
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Open the meeting.
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Appropriate time and neutral setting
No longer than 10-15 minutes
Announce the Separation.
Outline the Benefits.
Listen and Support.
Transition Work Responsibilities.
Connect with Outplacement Assistance.
Layoffs Hurt Retention, Recruiting and
Productivity
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87% of those employees are now less likely
to recommend working at their company.
77% say their co-workers now make more
mistakes.
64% say their own productivity has declined.
Leadership IQ Survey
Survivor Syndrome
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Who’s next?
Acknowledge the mourning and loss of colleagues –
encourage your employees to express frustration to
you in a controlled environment. (EAP)
Insecurity can lead survivors to fire themselves.
Uncertainty cripples morale, climate, and culture.
Increased workload or change in responsibilities can
lead to burnout.
Talk about goals to tackle now, why, and how to get
there, together.
Anxiety is associated with:
Anxiety
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Stress
Psychological
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Decreased Commitment
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Decreased Job Involvement
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Burnout
Behavioral
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Absenteeism
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Turnover
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Accidents
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Substance Abuse
Cognitive
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Poor Decision Making
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Lack of Concentration
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Forgetfulness
Physical
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Cardiovascular System
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Immune System
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Gastrointestinal System
Anxiety and Customer Service
High Anxiety
Work
Environment
Low Anxiety
Work
Environment
Feel Optimistic about future
78%
87%
Have enough information to do my job
84%
92%
Feel a sense of belonging
73%
86%
Can express my opinions without fear
70%
81%
Very Favorable Customer Satisfaction
37%
50%
Favorable Customer Satisfaction
52%
72%
Sirota Survey Intelligence Jan 2009
Why Do Employees Leave?
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21%: Layoff/involuntary termination
16%: Remuneration
13%: Lack of Advancement opportunity
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Lack of growth & development
Lack of recognition or respect for their contributions
Senior management must demonstrate to employees
that they are important to business success.
Leadership Behavior
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Leaders throughout the organization must work
together to sustain optimism during hard times.
Leaders must demonstrate a strong commitment to
ethical business practices and fairness.
Leaders must think strategically and engage
employees in the process.
Leaders must provide opportunities for employee
development.
Leaders must recognize performance/achievement
timely.
It Isn’t Always About the Pay
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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
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Physiological needs
Safety
Love/belonging
Esteem
Self-Actualization
McClelland’s Three Needs Theory
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Affiliation
Achievement
Authority
What Do Employees Want?
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10%:
20%:
3%:
13%:
13%:
25%:
16%:
Development
Challenging Work
Benefits
Pay
Work/life Balance
Fairness
Camaraderie
Sirota Survey Intelligence study, January 2009
How to Improve Retention in a Tough
Economy
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Communicate with employees openly and often.
Be honest and proactive with employees about your
organization’s financial health and its business
plans.
Ask employees for cost-savings ideas.
Strive to retain the current culture: retain the lowcost/high impact touches in your workplace from
providing quality coffee to company picnics.
Stress the value of your benefits plan.
Focus on individual achievement and development.
Activate and sustain motivation.
Get Motivated!
The slides following are taken from Tamara
Lowe’s book Get Motivated!
This material is presented as a tool, with
copyright permission from the author, and
does not serve as a promotion of Ms. Lowe’s
book or other products.
Consider:
Motivated people advance further and faster in
their careers, earn more money, are more
productive, experience more satisfying
relationships and are happier than less
motivated people.
But – Not Everyone is Motivated the
Same Way
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Law #1: Everyone is motivated differently.
Law #2: Each individual has a unique and
distinct motivational type.
Law #3: What motivates one person can demotivate another.
Law #4: No one motivational type is “better”
than another.
Get Motivated! Tamara Lowe, 2009
Motivational “DNA”
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DRIVES – The internal forces that mobilize a
person to act.
NEEDS – The core requirements that a
person must have in order to be fulfilled.
AWARDS – The preferred remunerations that
a person desires for achievement; the
material, spiritual, and psychological currency
that they want to be paid for performance.
Get Motivated! Tamara Lowe, 2009
Six Motivators
D
N
A
Drives
Needs
Awards
Connection
Stability
Internal
Production
Variety
External
Get Motivated! Tamara Lowe, 2009
The Three Question Test
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Do you tend to be more competitive or
cooperative?
Do you prefer constancy or change?
Which would make you feel more valued at
work: sincere appreciation without a financial
bonus, or a bonus without appreciation?
Get Motivated! Tamara Lowe, 2009
What Motivates You?
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Motivational DNA Profile Tool
Get Motivated! Tamara Lowe, 2009
Eight Motivational DNA Types
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PSI: The Director
PVI: The Visionary
PSE: The Chief
PVE: The Champion
CSI: The Supporter
CVI: The Relater
CSE: The Refiner
CVE: The Explorer
Get Motivated! Tamara Lowe, 2009
Motivating People to Improve their
Performance
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The Dollars and Cents of Motivation.
Hiring the Motivated and Motivating the Hired.
Remember Maslow and McClelland.
The Secret to Motivating, Inspiring, and
Energizing Others.
 In order to get motivated and stay motivated:
Like the activity
Be able to do it well
Get Motivated! Tamara Lowe, 2009
How To Determine Motivational Types?
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Passive Observation.
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Spot the Clues. If they:
 Are speaking fast, are in a hurry, have a commanding
presence, are goal oriented and task-driven, are interested in
leading others or controlling the situation: Then relate to them
as a Producer
 Have a friendly presence, calm pace, want to spend time
talking, are “touchy-feely,” seem loyal, steady, and
dependable: Then relate to them as a Connector
 Are concerned about order, schedule, structure, or rules; are
concentrating, focused, studious, seem quiet and serious:
Then relate to them as a Stabilizer.
Get Motivated! Tamara Lowe, 2009
How to Determine Motivational Types?
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Passive Observation (More clues)
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If they:
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Are animated, expressive, high-energy, are interested in
having fun, think outside the box, are original and creative,
seem to have a short attention span: Then you relate to them
as a Variable
Want a sense of meaning or significance; are concerned
about philosophical ideals, how decisions will make a positive
difference on the organization or the world; want to adhere to
their strong value system: Then you relate to them as an
internal.
Are interested in pay, advancement, status, public recognition,
climbing the corporate ladder, gaining prominence or
influence: Then relate to them as an External.
Get Motivated! Tamara Lowe, 2009
How To Determine Motivational Types?
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Friendly Inquiry:
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“What kinds of things do you enjoy doing?”
“What activities do you excel at?”
“Which do you like better, structure or
spontaneity?”
“Do you prefer to work alone or with others?”
Get Motivated! Tamara Lowe, 2009
In Summary
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These are tough times for many organizations and
their employees.
Change left unmanaged can result in employee
stress and anxiety, undercutting performance in a
number of ways.
Communicate, recognize, and develop your
employees and support your leaders and managers.
Understand what motivates, act on this
understanding, and retain your most important
asset: Your People.