Peter Barron Stark Companies » Managing Layoffs

Three Ways Employees Handle Change

Peter Stark — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:00:33 +0000

Anticipating Employee’s Responses to Organizational Change

When your organization is facing obstacles that require change in order to succeed, staff, ie, the people in the organization, need to change.

Simple, right? Wrong! The problem for managers and supervisors is that most employees do not respond with the attitude of, “Fantastic! Another organizational change. I can’t wait to get started.” We have found that when change is introduced to an organization, or better yet, rumored, employees will respond in one of these three ways:

Some of the strongest willed employees will resist organizational change, even when deep down inside they recognize that the change is in the best interests of the organization. Strong-willed employees are dinosaurs. They may be well on the way to extinction, but they will fight it each step of the way.
This group’s responses are more moderate ones. These employees will not fight an organizational change because they do not think that the change will have a direct impact on them. They hope that the change will eventually pass by. These employees are rabbits. They will not actively fight the change. Rather, they are like a rabbit in the road who is staring at an upcoming headlight. Unfortunately, in many cases, the headlights are not a small car, but a huge truck. As fast as the environment is changing, the employee is eventually going to be hit!
The third type of employees are the ones who are able to accurately assess the future and possess the flexibility to adapt accordingly. These employees are the dolphins. Dolphins, one of the brightest mammals in the ocean, possess the skills to adapt to any environment they swim in. Dolphins are quite comfortable swimming in a pool of carp. They are equally comfortable swimming in a sea of sharks. They successfully adapt to a constantly changing environment. Dolphins are always thinking ahead to what changes they need to make to respond to their rapidly changing environment.

Can you think of any other ways that employees respond to change, positively or negatively? And how do you work with them to successfully implement change?

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Who Cares About Your Employees?

Peter Stark — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:00:45 +0000

Invest in Employee Engagement: it will prove worth your while

The buzz word most associated with employee satisfaction these days is “engagement.” As recently as two years ago we were writing about the impending talent drain, as boomers would be leaving the workplace in masses for retirement. We stressed the importance of creating a workplace where employees would feel motivated, enthused and most importantly, “engaged.”

That was two years ago. Today the whole business landscape has changed. As of December 2009, California’s unemployment rate is 12.1%. Massive layoffs have had a profound impact on not only the way we do business, but on the employees who are left shell-shocked after layoffs, wondering if and when the axe may fall on them. We’re not hearing the word “engaged” much these days as it relates to employees. In fact, some leaders have been so bold as to say, “I really don’t care what employees think and how they feel. They have a job and should be grateful to have survived the last round of cuts.”

So… does employee engagement still matter?

Watson Wyatt’s 2008/2009 WorkUSA Report, Driving Business Results Through Continuous Engagement, reports that when employees are highly engaged, their companies drive 26% higher productivity, have lower turnover, and are more likely to attract top talent. More impressively, companies of highly engaged employees earned 13% greater total returns for shareholders during the past five years. Clearly, engaged employees positively impact the bottom line.

Many of us today are working with fewer employees and are tasking those remaining employees with doing more than ever before. Times are tough, and now more than ever, employees need strong leaders. The outcomes of an engaged workforce: productivity, high levels of morale and customer satisfaction are absolutely critical to your organization’s survival in this economic downturn.

Here are six tips to Engage! your workforce:

Stay Positive
Your team is looking to you for hope, support and confidence. For your success, and the morale of your team, it is important that you keep a positive vision and remain upbeat by using strategies like these:
- Choose your words carefully. Use positive language.
- Learn something new. Teach someone else.
- Set new professional goals . . . for the week, month and year.
- Spend time with positive people.
- Show support for senior leadership’s strategic goals and direction.
- Forbid whining and gossip.
- Do something you love each day.
- Be grateful for what you have!
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
During these troubled times, communicate more, not less. Employees are hungry for information, even when the news is not good. Plus, if you don’t keep employees updated, they will keep themselves updated, with gossip, which is always richer than reality.

Set New Goals
Today it’s business as “unusual.” Your work may have slowed down and project priorities may have shifted. There is a tendency to just hunker down and wait out the recession, hoping for mere survival. Unfortunately, hanging out and waiting for something to happen, is demoralizing. Now’s the time to set clearly defined goals, identify measurements of success and then hold people accountable for accomplishing the goals. To energize your team, get your employees involved in setting new goals. Give people a reason to come to work. Having clearly defined goals and measures of success helps people believe in the importance of their team and the work they do individually to contribute to the team/company’s success. Get enthused and be a role model of commitment to successfully achieving the goals.

Hold People Accountable
It’s hard for employees on the team to be fully engaged when they feel they are carrying a “slacker.” Coach the employee who isn’t pulling his/her fair share. If the coaching isn’t effective, work with HR to help move that employee on/out so they can strategically undermine the success of one of your competitors. Working short-handed is much better than being held hostage by an under-performing employee. Effectively dealing with performance issues raises team morale and clearly shows that you are serious about your expectations.

Recognize Success & Find Reasons to Celebrate
Look for opportunities to celebrate team success, even small successes. Ask your team for their ideas about how to celebrate. Go beyond the typical “great job” and find out what motivates that particular employee. To keep people engaged, get to know your employees’ career aspirations and help them achieve their goals.

Ensure Everyone Learns and Grows
So many things have changed in the business world where we now reside. In this new environment, there is an opportunity to unlearn some old, less effective behaviors and learn new ones. When people are learning and contributing, they feel positive and motivated, knowing that they are making a contribution. Expect learning and recognize employees who demonstrate growth.

Being a leader today is tough. Putting these six tips into practice will help you not only survive, but thrive in these trying times. You will be leading a motivated, engaged workforce and will have positioned yourself for success.

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Motivating the Team During Downsizing

Peter Stark — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:00:29 +0000

Motivation is Always a Challenge!

One of the most frequently asked questions by managers and supervisors is, “How do I motivate employees when the workforce is downsizing?” If employees have a fear of losing their jobs, motivating the workforce can be a manager’s toughest challenge.

Lack of motivation costs more in productivity, both tangible (workers are able to accomplish more than they presently are) and intangible (the waste of capability), than we will ever be able to calculate. Most people would agree they are capable of accomplishing more in life. The big question is how do we, and the others who work for us, get motivated to accomplish more.

To understand the art of motivation, it is important to recognize and define what is motivation. Motivation is an internal need or goal, which is translated into some type of action or drive. As the need is fulfilled, it reduces the drive. By this definition, it raises an important question – Is it really possible to motivate someone else? It is not. But, what is possible is that you can create an environment where the people who work for you find it easier to be motivated.

This entry is dedicated to sharing ideas to help attain and maintain personal motivation, and to provide suggestions as to what we can do to create an environment where others are motivated.

Self-Motivation

If we are ever going to be motivating to others, we must first be self-motivated. When recently interviewing a manager about department problems, I could understand the source of the employees’ lack of motivation. It was depressing just to be in the manager’s presence.

There are several things managers or supervisors can do to increase their personal motivation.

Create a clear vision of where you want to go, both personally and departmentally.
A vision is a clear mental picture of a desired future outcome. It is like a picture on a jigsaw puzzle box. It shows you exactly what you are trying to create. For example, if you want to be a motivating supervisor, you need to be able to close your eyes and actually see yourself being an enthusiastic, motivating individual.
Set goals that will help turn your vision into a reality.
Good goals are specific, realistic and obtainable, measurable, have a specific time frame, and are meaningful to you.
Do not stop learning and growing.
One of the great motivators in life is the feeling you are learning something new. The reality is it really doesn’t matter what you learn. Last year I learned to install an automatic sprinkler system. This may not sound like much, but for me, it was a major accomplishment.
Associate with motivated people.
Motivated people have high self-esteem and people with high self-esteem have the ability to support you in achieving your goals. People with low self-esteem do not have this capacity. Low self-esteemers dig their feet into the quicksand of life and try to drag you down with them.

So, if we able to remain personally motivated, how can we motivate those around us?

Help those around you try to clarify their personal and department vision.
If people do not know where they want to end up, they will not know what goals to set. Be honest with your people. Admit that times are tough today. Ask them what they would like to create to make things better. Getting people to focus on creating a better future will take their minds off any negative environment they might be experiencing today.
Help your employees clarify their goals.
If the vision is clear, the goals will be definable.
Truly value each employee on your team.
As the workforce gets smaller, there is more work for those who are left on the team. The last thing a manager wants is people on the team who are not pulling their weight. One way to help foster the feeling of motivation is to value the “gifts” that the employee brings to the team. Each one of us has two values – a “commodity value” and a “gift value.” To explain this concept, it is helpful to think of an artist. When an artist paints a painting, the artist has given the world a true “gift” on canvas. Why is it a gift? Because no artist paints exactly like another artist. If the artist develops this craft, the paintings will take on a commodity value and can be sold. Employees also have a gift and a commodity value. When we acknowledge an employee’s gifts, we acknowledge their unique contributions to the department. When we acknowledge their unusual contributions, people feel like they make a difference. If we do not focus on an individual’s special gifts, then we focus on the individual’s commodity value – we pay them a certain wage to get a job done. If we concentrate on the commodity value, there are many employees who will lose their motivation.
Maintain high expectations for your people.
Anything less than superior accomplishment is not motivating.
Give your employees “the blessing.”
Most children want their parents’ blessing. This is the feeling children receive when they know their parents accept them for who they are and are proud of what they have accomplished. One parent said it best by stating, “We are very lucky to have such great children. All three have done us proud!” When children do not receive their parents’ blessing, it can have a devastating effect psychologically. What is interesting is that employees want the same “blessing” from their boss. Most employees want the feeling that their boss is glad they are on the team and that their boss is proud of their contributions. One manager gave this “blessing” by stating, “John, I am really glad that you came to our department. Ever since you came on board, we have not had unnecessary delays in the production cycle. You have really made a difference in this organization.”

If you help your employees focus on the future with a positive vision, clarify their goals, acknowledge their unique gifts, encourage high expectations, and give employees “the blessing,” you will create an environment that can produce a more motivated workforce – even in this economy.

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Lay-offs are not ending anytime soon!

Peter Stark — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:07:29 +0000

Last week, the economic downturn showed it was effective at impacting three very different industries. Johnson & Johnson cut 900 jobs in it US pharmaceutical division, Walt Disney Co. cut 1,900 jobs across its US theme parks and 3M cut its global workforce by 1,200 jobs. According to Forbes.com, 6,461 people lost their jobs within just the first nine days of April. With these types of press releases bombarding us on a daily basis, many managers and employees in just about every industry worry that they will be next. Worry and fear are two of the most powerful emotions that can distract people from staying focused and getting the work done. If you are one of the people who has not been laid off, the following tips will help you increase your chances of staying gainfully employed.

Keeping Employees Engaged During Tough and Not So Tough Times

Peter Stark — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:54:33 +0000

YourHRdigest.com

There may be 50 ways to leave a lover but there are only 2 ways an employee leaves an organization: physically, as in moving on to a competitor, which is manageable and the company hires a great employee to take over the job; or mentally. It is this second one that strikes fear into the heart of every manager: the employee who mentally quits, but stays with the organization…

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Remain a Valuable Employee Amid Lay-offs

Peter Stark — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:38:47 +0000

BendWeekly.com

Although workers can’t control the economic downturn, they can try to keep a positive attitude and play a part in the optimistic influence needed to maintain a company’s success.

Peter Barron Stark €” author of the forthcoming book, “Engaged: How Leaders Build Organizations Where Employees Love to Come to Work” €” recommends that workers attempt to envision what can be controlled in the office: the results from assignments, work relationships…

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Workers Scramble for Safer Jobs

Peter Stark — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:32:32 +0000

Reuters.com

With layoffs happening all around her, automotive worker Ellen Whittington is doing what many worried Americans are doing: trying to find a safer, better job before she loses the one she has.

Strange as it may seem, changing careers or trying to upgrade jobs amid a recession and millions of layoffs may be just the thing to do — to jump before you get pushed.

“Some organizations use downturns to go out and capture the top talent in the industry from competitors that are hurting,” said Peter Stark…

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Leading After Lay-offs – How to Keep Employees Engaged

Peter Stark — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:54:17 +0000

IndustryWeek.com

According to a study in 2007 by the Manufacturing Performance Institute, over 70% of the 984 manufacturers surveyed expected their revenues to increase. What a difference two years can make! Today, manufacturers are one of the leading industries dealing with managing labor costs in an economy experiencing headwinds that most of us have never seen before. With health care and retirement benefit costs increasing, consumer and business demands for products decreasing, and the challenge of gaining credit and raising capital, lay-offs have become the best viable business option for many manufacturers.

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Life After a Lay-off – A Survivor’s Guide

Peter Stark — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:28:40 +0000

The unthinkable has happened – your organization has experienced a lay-off. You are one of the survivors €“ your position has not been eliminated… yet. You currently find yourself surrounded by a group of fearful people. Fearful that workloads will increase; benefits will be eliminated; more people may be let go; and fearful of experiencing loneliness after losing friends at work.

You are now faced with a decision. You can be part of a positive force to help the organization be successful, or become paralyzed with the uncertainty of the future. What can you do to become an employee that your organization simply cannot live without?

1. Focus on the positive. Envision both your success and the overall success of your organization. When others spout doom and gloom, don€™t get sucked into these negative conversations. Sitting on a €œpity pot€ will only leave you with a ring around the butt. Take action every day to help turn your vision into a reality. Just hoping that things will improve for you, without taking action, is not an effective strategy. Stay positive and focus all of your energy on being the best you can be each and every day.

2. Communicate often with your supervisor. Share what is going well as and what needs improvement. As you talk about things that need to change, make sure you are ready to provide your supervisor with ideas for solutions and viable alternatives to address the problem. Ask your supervisor for feedback in your area of influence, and take actions to improve your team or department.

3. Keep on learning. Daily, make it a goal to expand your knowledge base. Learn about other areas within your organization, get training, and gain skills to make yourself even more valuable. Alvin Toffler said it best: €œThe illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.€ What new knowledge and skills will you learn?

4. Be a team player. This is not the time for an €œit€™s not my job€ attitude. When things get tough, the lines between job responsibilities become blurry. Positions may have been eliminated and work will need to be absorbed by someone else. Help develop options and alternatives to solve problems created by the lay-off. Get creative. Focus on what you can do, not what you cannot do. Make yourself the €œgo-to guy/gal.€

5. Be willing to go the extra mile. Face it… most of the survivors of the lay-off are going to be called upon to go above and beyond. Mentally prepare for this and be ready to rise to the challenge. Try to view the added tasks/stress as a short term situation and be thankful that you still have a job.

6. Clarify new roles and responsibilities. When people leave, it is important for everyone to know who will be responsible for what. Make sure you are clear on the goals and expectations for your position.

7. Reach out to other team members. You may have lost a friend in the lay-off. Chances are others are in the same boat. Find some new friends you can enjoy at work. (Note: Make sure they share your positive attitude. While misery loves company, now€™s the time to hang out with winners who intend to survive this economic downturn and surface on the up side of success.)

8. Develop a strong connection between your work and the bottom line. Understand how what you do contributes to the overall financial success of your team and ultimately, your organization. Find opportunities to link your work to an increase in the bottom line, either by increased revenue or decreased costs.

9. Delight your internal and external customers. Find ways to get to know your customers better and exceed their expectations. Approach each interaction with the goal of €œknocking their socks off.€ Get your customers singing your praises!

10. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Find something to be thankful for each and every day. We are reminded of a quotation by Anthony Robbins, €œWhen you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.€

While you can€™t control the economy, you can control how you react to negative situations. Following these ten tips will help position you as a survivor of 2009… someone that not only survived the downturn, but used the opportunity to prove that you were indispensable during these bad economic times!

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Leading After a Lay-off – A Manager’s Guide

Peter Stark — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:21:10 +0000

The unthinkable has happened – your organization has experienced a lay-off. You are left with a group of employees who miss the €œgood old days€ and are afraid of the future €“ afraid that their position may be eliminated; afraid their workload will increase; afraid they will lose benefits; and afraid they will be lonely since they have lost friends in the lay-off.

As a leader in the organization, you may share some of the same fears your employees do. Now is the time to focus on what you can do, not on what has been lost. The lay-off is behind you. You are now faced with a tremendous opportunity. The opportunity to engage the workforce you have left. By seizing this opportunity you will be positioning your team and your organization for success. By ignoring this opportunity, you will be left with a discouraged, disgruntled workforce more concerned about their own personal survival than the organization€™s success. The following six tips will help you use your leadership position to keep the team you have left engaged 100% of the time:

1. Sell people on the problems, not the solutions. Many times, people feel that since the lay-off has been made, everything should now be OK. Nothing could be further from the truth. We will experience a ton of problems moving forward. Many people believe we should view 2009 as even more challenging than 2008. Tough times are ahead!

2. Have a compelling positive vision of the future. Although there are going to be significant problems, it is important for leadership to have a compelling positive vision of the future. To be able to tell people the organization is going to experience serious head winds moving forward is the honest thing to communicate. This communication needs to be backed up with a positive vision of the future. The message could be something like this, “Although we are going to be in the middle of this economic downturn moving forward, if any team can survive and thrive, exiting the recession even stronger than we entered, our team will get the job done!€

3. Focus on hard tangible results. Although people feel depressed in a down economy, focus on managing the hard results that can be measured. If everyone is focused on achieving the best possible results and accomplishing their goals, there is less time for people to sit around complaining about the bad economy. When results improve, and people know that their efforts contributed to the results, most people feel better.

4. Fast change is better than slow change. When it comes to change, it is important for leaders to remember, fast change is easier for employees to deal with than slow change. If you need to make a lay-off, make it deep enough to get the job done. Some companies are having lay-offs on a weekly basis. This on-going, slow change is deadly to morale. It is what we call the torture drip of change.

5. Clarify new roles and responsibilities. When things get tough, the lines become blurry. Positions may have been eliminated and the work will need to be absorbed by someone else. When people leave, it is important for everyone to know, who will be responsible so customers do not experience the negative impact of an organization’s downsizing.

6. Remember, there is no such thing as organizational change. The only changes that take place in organizations are personal change. As each individual personally changes, they empower the organization to change. Encourage employees to think, “I can learn, I can change and I can do it really quickly.” To complain about having to do more with less is a waste of time. Everyone in the whole world is being asked to do more with less. Employees with the ability to adapt, be flexible and quickly outlearn their competition, are the ones who will be guaranteed lifetime employment.

Peter Stark is president of Peter Barron Stark Companies. His firm works with organizations to create a culture where employees love to come to work and customers love to do business. They offer a complete range of services including employee opinion surveys, customer service surveys, leadership training, negotiation skills training and management consulting. His latest book, Engaged! How Leaders Build Organizations Where Employees Love to Come to Work, will be published in February. He can be reached at 877.727.6468 or peter@pbsconsulting.com.

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