It’s bad enough losing consumer confidence, what businesses can’t afford is to lose staff confidence too.

It’s something Rosie Boles, managing director of the country’s oldest department store, believes wholeheartedly.

“We trade on the friendliness of our staff and the great customer service they offer. That’s just not something we could do if our people are suffering from low morale,” she said.

The Burgess department store in Athlone has been trading for 170 years and, if the current MD has anything to do with it, it will be trading for 170 more.

As part of this, the department store has been investing heavily in itself, not despite the downturn, but because of it.
While others slashed their training budgets, Burgess sent her staff on sales training courses. She also invested in a new store front and a brand redesign. She believes that, as a result, morale is surprisingly high.

“The fact that staff can see we are investing in the business has in itself been a huge boost to morale. They appreciate we are doing the best to get customers in to them, to allow them do what they do best,” said Burgess.

To balance out the investment she has cut costs by negotiating hard on overheads such as insurance and waste as well as on administration costs. Rather than make redundancies among her 42 employees she put a ban on the hiring of seasonal staff.

“The result is that yes, sales are down this year, but not by as much as the national average. And at a time when our sector has taken a hammering, we are on track to break even,” said Burgess.

According to research from Deloitte, the downturn is taking a significant toll on employees. Of business leaders surveyed, 44% cited a decline in employee morale, a figure which rose to 60% in financial services. Almost half (46%) of Irish managers surveyed see ‘employee engagement’ as a top priority.

“Morale is difficult right now,” said Patricia Callan, director of the Small Firms Association.

“Most companies have been going through massive change. Employees feel they are lucky to be in a job but to be in it they are doing more work, are under more pressure and are, in many cases, suffering from survivor syndrome over the loss of colleagues as well.”

It’s a difficult environment in which to try and foster motivation, but it is possible.

“A critical part of it is openness and honesty,” said Callan.

“Be frank, share details, and give staff the numbers. Management traditionally buries its head in the sand in a crisis. Instead be visible, lead from the front and make it clear that you have a plan. Only then can people stop worrying and start being more productive.”

There is some reason to be positive. “The fact that a business has survived the toughest 18 months in 25 years is a good indicator that it will still around in 18 months time,” said Gerry Flynn, a consultant with Align Management Solutions.

Despite this, keeping employees engaged has never been tougher, he admits.

Younger staff members may be particularly vulnerable. “They will be used to business walking in the door. Now they need to improve their quality of customer service like never before, thinking not just about the sale but about the long term customer relationship.”

Where there is no budget for training, spend time with them instead, clarifying objectives and helping them achieve goals.
Equally, devote management time to succession planning.

“I’m not talking about who will succeed when you retire, but companies losing jobs through natural wastage, where people leaving are not replaced, need to encourage and help remaining staff to take on extra tasks to fill these roles,” said Flynn.

The more intrinsic a person is to the organisation, the more valuable and secure they feel, as long as the changes are not introduced in a way that increases their stress.

“Done properly, it will boost morale,” said Flynn. “Most people when approached reasonably will be reasonable and adaptable. But it’s about forward planning. The worst thing in any organisation is a crisis that comes as a surprise.”

For Orla Thornton, who lectures on the subject at Athlone IT, internal communications are now every bit as important as external PR.

“The current climate is uniquely awful but if you allow communications to break down you will make a bad situation an awful lot worse,” said Thornton.

She too believes there is reason for optimism. “All through the boom it was about big brands and big stores. Now there is a greater than ever sense of wanting to support the small guy, the local guy. That is an opportunity to be harnessed.”
With budgets tight however, owner managers need to find ways to reward staff other than financial.

“All the research shows that job recognition, not money, is the main motivator. Even saying ‘well done’ helps enormously,” said Patricia Callan.

Mike McDonnell, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, agrees. “During the boom the power of praise got completely lost in the workforce. Organisations would do well to rediscover it, because it doesn’t cost you a penny to say thank you or well done.”

Ensure staff realise too that, whatever travails your firm is going through, you all are going through it together.

“Research showed that mental health issues actually reduced during WWII, because of the sense of community that the war engendered. In the same way, focusing on the downturn collectively helps people cope better than they can individually,” said McDonnell.

After praise and a sense of community, look for tangible ways to boost morale which won’t break the bank.
“It may not be appropriate to have a big office Christmas party this year, particularly if you have lost staff,” said McDonnell.

“Instead offer practical rewards such as gift vouchers, which can be given to the value of euro 250 tax free. This kind of help is much more in the spirit of the current climate and is really appreciated by staff.”

Don’t dismiss team building exercises as too costly either. McDonnell suggests working with a charity to organise an office sponsored event, such as a hill climb or a bike ride, which has the dual purpose of raising funds and providing valuable bonding opportunities among staff.

Finally, where you do have to let staff go as a result of the downturn, be very careful how you do it.

Providing outplacement programmes to help former workers find their feet with new employment does not have to be costly, said Paul Mullan of Measurability, a HR consultancy, but it can pay dividends.

Run either on a one to one or group workshop basis, they help exiting staff with CV building and interview skills.

“Not only does it help the people leaving in a very practical way, it sends a very strong signal to the people left behind that you really do care, and that’s hugely important for morale,” said Mullan.

(ends)

You can connect with me on Linkedin Profile @ Paul Mullan – Linkedin

You can follow me on Twitter @ Paul Mullan -Twitter

Other websites

Interview Preparation Ireland – My Interview service website

CV Writing Service Ireland – My CV Writing Service website

Career & Jobs – Irish Jobs News

HR & Recruitment – Irish HR & Recruitment News

Outplacement Services – Measurability Outplacement Projects & Redundancy Advice

Psychometrics – Psychometric Testing Informtion

CV & Interviews – This is a site full of useful Interview Tips, Skills and Techniques. It covers most of the common questions jobseekers need answers to in relation to interviewing. It also contains excellent CV Tips. When you are job hunting in Ireland this resource will be of interest. If you want a paid service read more about our interview preparation service.

Careers & Jobs – This site contains loads of useful information for jobseekers. It keeps you posted on all the latest jobs news in Ireland with useful career related articles in between. HR & Recruitment is a similar site with a slant towards the employer.

Best of luck with the job hunting in 2009

- Help overcome the event and increase confidence and self esteem
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- Professional advice, career coaching, CV and interview coaching

If you are facing the possibility of making staff redundant contact us now.

www.careersandjobs.ie – Career advice and information about the job market in Ireland

www.cv4jobs.ie – information about CV’s and interviews

www.hrandrecruitment.ie – Blog for employers on related HR and recruitment topics

www.jobsnews.ie – Jobs and news on the Irish jobs market

www.jobsblog.ie

Yes there are an increasing number of redundancy announcements in Ireland but there are as many job creation announcements. New job announcements don’t sell papers at this present time and they are often by the way comments. “BREAKING NEWS: 400 jobs lost in Dublin as the employment market takes another bashing. Oh and by the way a US multinational will create 3000 jobs in Kildare”. The reality is new job creation is matching and even exceeding job losses. There has always been redundancy in Ireland. Remember when the IT/electronics sector crashed in 2001. Our economy is moving from its manufacturing employment base and there are also shorter product life cycles through factors like increased competition and improvements in technology. You can expect redundancy announcements at a more frequent rate. Gone is a job for life.

There are two points to make on the redundancy topic. Firstly people believe what they read and this affects their outlook and reinforces their beliefs. I met a chap through work recently and the meeting reinforces this point. He was working in a job he didn’t like. He had been made redundant, struggled to find suitable work and therefore took up his current post. He commented that there was no work in the region and he could list five recent redundancy announcements with great conviction. There was no future and everything looked grim and everyone and everything was to blame except him (this is my next point but let me finish this one). As we spoke I opened the local paper I was holding in my hand and I pointed out the new jobs announcement in the next town. This individual had not seen the article. Why? Because he was only looking for the news he wanted to see and the stories that would back up his reality.

The other point is that that people respond differently to redundancy and they have different outcomes after redundancy. Why is this? I have worked with a number of organisations that closed their doors in various locations, trying to get work for those who were let go. I have always been amazed with how different people react. Comments like “I hated that job and thank God I got the push”, “Now I have the opportunity to go traveling” and “I am going to use the few quid to set up my own business” still ring in my mind amid all the doom and gloom. I guess these people are not victims to the event. If redundancy was the determining factor everyone would be miserable but this is not the case. There are those who do not blame the event but instead they take control of what the think and what they to do to get the outcomes that they want.

Yes redundancy is not a nice place to be especially for those with financial and family commitments. There is the fear, anxiety, stress BUT if you blame the event you have no control of your destiny. If you change your responses to the event and take action what seemed like a disaster could turn into a bright new future. So is redundancy the end of the world or the start of new beginnings? – well that is up to you!!

For information about Outplacement & Redundancy Services – contact us now!!

“The workshop has helped me to layout my CV properly and identify what is relevant for the employer”

“Very good advice. I have a lot of areas in my CV and at interview I can improve. The course was a great help”

“Very helpful. I am starting to explore the job market after an absence of several years and I feel that I now know where to start”

“Yes Paul was excellent, approachable and very friendly”

I am running another workshop on 20th October. If you want more information get in touch via my website www.measurability.ie or email me on paul@measurability.ie

The reply read as follows; Hi Paul, I cannot say that you impressed me with this mail. Your spelling leaves a lot to be desired. Sorry for any offense but if you’re selling a service in your mail should be perfect.

I must say I did have a smile when I read this reply and I thought it was nice that Mr Kettle finally made contact with Mr Pot. For the observant you will notice the American spelling “offense” and that the final sentence does not make much sense. I suppose there are a few points to make.

First point is that it is likely that you will find spelling and grammar mistakes in my blog. Please point them out but make sure to do this with proper spelling and grammar.

CV Writing – Spelling & Grammar mistakes.

A more important point is that I lost a potential customer through my error even though I did try a charm offensive. As with job hunting poor grammar and spelling can cost potential interviews. I have viewed many CV’s in my time with poor spelling and grammar. It is essential to get this right before sending your CV to a potential employer or even an agency.

I agree that there are hiring managers out there who will accept basic mistakes (after all most accept basic lies on CV’s). This aside you should not leave it to chance. I recently worked with a client who was rejected for an internal promotion because of a spelling error on his CV. By all means use the available spell checker on word but bear in mind that this may not pick up all of the potential mistakes. I recommend that you proof read your CV and that you get a third party to proof read it.

If you have poor spelling and grammar then get a friend or family member to assist with writing your CV. Alternatively you can seek professional help or a professional CV service. It is important to develop a client focused CV with optimum layout and format. This effort can be vain if a simple mistake costs you the intervew. Remember you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.

Paul has worked with many organisations in a variety of sectors helping them recruit, assess and select the right candidate. He has designed recruitment processes, analysed job requirements, managed recruitment projects and helped oganisations implement psychometric assessment solutions. Paul previously worked with Saville & Holdsworth and was a founder and former Director of Eden Recruitment Limited.

Paul helps jobseekers to achieve career, life & business goals using an innovative approach in a one-one and workshop format. He is unique because he has experienced jobs, recruitment and careers as an employer – hiring staff, as a jobseeker – looking for work, as a recruitment consultant – finding jobs for others and as an assessment/hr consultant – helping company’s design recruitment processes, interview, assess and hire the right people. Paul is a Career Doctor with the Irish Independent for their Thursday Jobs & Careers supplement and The Sunday Tribune, regularly posts career articles on www.recruitireland.ie , www.salesjobs.ie and www.eirjobs.com and comments on jobs, careers and work life balance topics in the media and national radio.

Paul studied in Liverpool and qualified with a Degree in Business Studies from John Moore’s University and has since been awarded a Diploma in Business & Life Coaching. He has extensive training with Saville & Holdsworth including psychometric testing (Level A & B), competency based interviewing, job analysis and competency design and assessment center design.

Measurability is a professional, well established consultancy offering tailored solutions to meet our client needs. Our service is underpinned by psychometric assessment to help organisations recruit and develop the best but also to help individual’s achieve career satisfaction and success