How Can HR Managers Keep Up the Motivation despite Employee Layoffs?

During employee layoffs, it is a tough time for business owners and HR managers, but it is dreadful for employees who continue to work in your organization. These employees start doubting your decisions and questioning every move taken by the management.

In short, it is hard for everyone in the company, but the experience is extremely shocking and appalling for employees. They are constantly working extra hours and they suddenly start losing trust in the management and the overall organization.

In such a situation, it falls upon the HR manager to keep employees motivated because the work must continue. For this, HR managers need to figure out various ways, tricks, and methods to motivate employees during a layoff phase.

Here are some ways to motivate your employees during a layoff:

First, understand

To talk to your employees and to encourage them, it is important to understand what these employees are going through. They are constantly under the radar and thinking that they can be fired any time. Some may already be looking for a job, some may be struggling with other personal issues too, and some may be scared because they love the work. So, it is essential to understand what is going on in the organization and what your employees are thinking.

Communicate

Communication is the key. It is because when you don’t give clear answers, rumors start to build up, and then everything becomes rather uncertain. Clearly, communicate with your employees and explain them the reasons behind the layoffs, don’t keep them guessing. Your employees are already in a bad place and if you don’t communicate, it clearly means you don’t care and anyone can be fired next.

Appreciate

Appreciate people who perform well even if you have not done it before. It is the healthiest activity to let your employees regain their trust in your company. Make it a point to appreciate anyone who has done well in a project, someone who has worked extra hours to cope up with decreasing staff, or a person who stopped a client from leaving. Learn to appreciate.

Clear responsibilities

After you let go of some employees, it is natural that the work will be divided amongst existing employees. In this scenario, it is better to clear work responsibilities and clarify who gets to work on what project. This is will avoid confusion amongst employees and keep some employees from getting overloaded with work.

Feedback sessions

Organize specific feedback sessions with every team to clarify what everyone is going through and what these people are thinking. It will give you a clear understanding of how much damage control you have to do.

Issue resolution

After feedback sessions, another thing to do is to resolve issues your employees are facing.

·        If they are overloaded with work, then evenly spread work amongst teams instead of putting all the work on one team.

·        If they are worried about their jobs, then assure them that if they are performing well, you will not let them go.

·        If they are under stress because some people had to leave, then carry out some activities to reduce this stress.

And there can be endless things. You will have to figure out the specific demands of your organization and then act accordingly.

Conclusion

The bottom line is employee layoffs is a difficult period for employees, and during this time, they have a lot of things to handle and worry about. If you stop motivating and encouraging them, employee performance will eventually degrade. 

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Suggestions and comments welcome

Rakesh Jain

ceo@paysquare.com