Making employees feel valued during the great reshuffle

Employees are often the first to be let go during a restructuring period, so when there’s an announcement that some staff members will be terminated, it can be hard to feel positive about the situation. However, having clear lines of communication throughout the entire process can make employees feel more valued in the midst of these changes and ensure that they are able to make informed decisions about their futures with your company.

Better Hiring Process

It’s more important than ever for employers to make sure they’re hiring quality candidates, especially in an increasingly competitive job market. As it turns out, there are many ways companies can go about improving their hiring process and ensuring that only top-quality applicants make it through to review. For example, ensuring that interview questions focus on skills and experience that align with a job description will reduce bias and help prevent discrimination based on identity or appearance. It may seem like a small detail but small improvements can be just as meaningful as big ones!

Better Support

Let's say you work in an open office plan, or on a team that uses Slack. The dreaded practice of employee evaluations is upon us once again, and it’s likely that lots of people will be getting appraisals from their peers as well as their superiors—great if you happen to be one of those lucky few! So how do you make sure your evaluations are positive experiences for everyone involved? Ask for feedback and have meaningful conversations. If a peer gives you constructive criticism (or praise), find a time later in your day to talk about it face-to-face. That way, there’s more space for empathy and less for finger-pointing.

Better Communication

Communication is one of those essential aspects of a healthy business relationship, but it’s often overlooked in favor of more tangible parts of your company. However, if you’re willing to invest some time into improving communication in your office, you can vastly improve how employees feel about their jobs and their role within your business. The first step is realizing that there are two elements to successful communication—the message itself and how it’s delivered. If you want to improve employee morale in times of big change at work, focus on making sure that every word you say comes across as supportive and encouraging as possible—no matter what it actually means. It doesn’t matter what they think they heard if they remember feeling good when you said it.

More Team Building

Sure, teamwork has always been important. But, it’s crucial that your team understand how their individual efforts affect those of other teams. Regularly communicating with them on company goals will help keep them connected to a larger purpose and, therefore, more invested in reaching those goals. Whatever you do, don’t assume they already know all they need to know. And while it might seem counterproductive to lay off team members at such a crucial time, sometimes employee performance just doesn’t fit with organizational needs. In cases like these, laying off underperforming employees will motivate your high-performers even more and help you build a better team moving forward.

Dealing with Disgruntled Employees

While you can expect that your employee may be a little frustrated at their reassignment to another department, you shouldn’t tolerate open rebellion. Let your employee know that it is both acceptable and expected to have questions about how long they will be in their new role, what their new position means for their career path, and other such questions. But remain steadfast in your answer: no matter how much time it takes for your employee to adjust, reassignments aren’t temporary—they’re permanent. If an employee cannot accept that fact and remains disgruntled, then you might want to take action.