The 2 Things Managers Must Do During Testing Times

All businesses are affected in some way by the economic climate and we hear many managers discussing the challenges of ensuring their teams are motivated and performing to the best of their ability in difficult times. Whist there is still nervousness around job security and business continuity what can managers do to get the best out of their people? Well here are two quick suggestions from us.-

1. Communicate, Communicate and Communicate some more!

When times are tough the reaction is often one of heads down and let’s get on with it. If we are not careful people can end up feeling isolated and under intense pressure to “Perform”. This can lead to stress and conversely to reduced rather than increased productivity.

So talking to people is key – simple but very effective. Really make sure that you do hold those regular team meetings – it will give you an opportunity to talk about where the business is going, generate new ideas and approaches, (after all necessity is the mother of invention so they say!), and perhaps most importantly to openly discuss and allay any fears that people may have by being open and honest about what is happening. In these times the rumour mill is often working overtime and it can really unsettle people. As long as you keep talking to your team it will do much to keep them on track and maintain a more positive momentum.

2. Be a Role Model

As a people manager, your staff will often take their lead from what you are saying and doing on a daily basis. This is really key to remember in challenging times. How you talk about your organisation, its strategy, KPI’s, goals and objectives can really affect the way your team perform. So maybe it is time to ask yourself how committed are you, personally, to helping your organisation to succeed? Are you motivated and positive about finding a positive way forward or are you still indulging in the doom and gloom?

This can have a huge effect on how your people are feeling. We can’t ignore the challenging times – however, the way organisations respond will have a massive impact on their ability to ride out any storm and begin on the road to recovery. Rather than complaining about falling sales maybe the question at team meetings should be what else or how else can we sell?