TORC

Progress on London's Olympic Stadium sets the scene for Britain's recovery

Phew! The last 18 months have been rather unpleasant for all of us, but the powerhouses of Europe seem to be at last emerging from economic recession – and our nearest neighbour, with a new government in two months time, should soon begin to capitalise on its own pre-olympic growth.

Inevitably, Ireland will benefit from this wider European recovery.

The majority of organisations in Ireland have already restructured and taken the pain of job loss, pay freeze (or reduction), overtime cuts, divestment, outsourcing and/or general retrenchment.

During this period organisations have cut back on all cost centres wherever possible and management have focused keenly on delivering to challeging operational metrics.

A recent Mercer study found that as they responded to economic conditions organisations  have neglected areas which employees value and which encourage them to go a little bit further for the organisation.

As organisations begin to rebuild and renew their businesses they will again need to re-engage with employees. How is this achieved? Here are a few suggestions:

- Communication – this old nut will always be at the core of any successful engagement process. Leaders should ensure that staff know where they stand, how the business is performing, where the risks are etc.

- Job enrichment – this is often a viable option post restructuring

- Development – does not need to be a major investment – a lot can be achieved in a series of modular workshops

- Work-life balance – a short staff survey could tell you alot

- Wellness – address physical, mental and fun issues  

- Reward – check to see if the structure still fits with the new business strategy

What can the organisation expect to achieve from a well implemented engagement process? 

- employees are willing to go the extra mile

- employees are willing to embrace change

- they ‘energise’ their peers

- they feel and build a sense of community

- they are better disposed to take smart risks.

Clearly the key is to understand and focus on what is important to employees – your organisation will rely on them to deliver bottom-line results to secure the future.

PS. For more engagement insights, please click on a related case study here.