|
2002
has come to an end and most folks are relieved to see it
pass. The
year has been dismal - filled with the loss of over a
million jobs, the worst stock market in decades, terrorism
and threats of war, the dot.com revolution coming to a
grinding halt, and insecurity and fear that have somehow
touched everyone. As
you look to 2003, how will businesses adjust people
strategies to cope with downturns in revenues and
reductions in headcounts juxtaposed against a desperate
need to maintain an image as a great place to work?
What transformations can you expect in your
organization’s priorities if they have to do everything
with fewer people? How
will companies benchmark their performance against their
competitors so they can better calculate the return on
investments in human capital programs?
These are the questions keeping CEOs and their
human resources executives up at night, struggling to
align their people strategies with business goals and
objectives not only for the survival of their
organizations but for their professional survival as well.
While
organizations may face little choice when it comes to
downsizing and layoffs, the challenge becomes how to cut
costs without hampering the company’s reputation, the
loyalty of customers, and employees’ morale and
productivity. Stress
levels have been increasing and employees have great
personal concerns about their futures.
They are overwhelmed
by their jobs compounded by too little time for
leisure and families, and talk of war and layoffs.
With heads being cut at all levels,
employees are still being asked to do more work
with less support and to maintain high levels of customer
service and productivity.
While
tightening of fiscal belts and getting back to basics is
the current mode, smart companies are thinking twice
before wielding the head-cutting ax.
Often those very people whose jobs are eliminated
are the ones whose skills we will need most once we again
reeve up corporate engines. Instead of immediately falling
into the same old patterns for expense reduction,
organizations are trying to develop cultures of
cost-consciousness. They
are encouraging employees to find new ways to do things
better and come up with solutions for delivering savings.
Instead of asking for raises, most employees are just glad
to keep their jobs. In addition, programs to retrain
existing staff for the skills that will be needed in the
future are being utilized to minimize the number of
individuals who are actually forced to leave their
companies. All of these conditions inevitability lead to a
risk adverse environment.
Any idea that even vaguely hints at innovativeness
is put on the back burner.
This stands in the way of companies achieving the
new products and systems that will differentiate them in
an already dismal purchasing environment.
Another
huge issue that has left its mark during this past year
has been the impact of corporate scandal, pushing trust
levels within companies to new lows.
From this has emerged a mandate for real
leadership. Leadership
development programs are an actionable priority now for
CEOs and Boards of Directors,
as identified in a recent Conference Board Study.
Furthermore, ethics is an integral part of all
these programs. Creating
senior leaders with moral strength and integrity will be
the priority for the foreseeable future. It will be these
new leaders who will relight the fire and passion in their
people after the toll that 2002 events have taken on
everyone’s spirits.
Factoring
in all this, what must the 2003 agenda be if businesses
are to have a chance of getting back on track?
We need to
-
Reenergize
and rebuild the spirit of the workers.
They cannot feel helpless, hopeless and
demoralized if they are to have the energy and passion
needed to overcome the hurdles they face.
-
Weed
out those who no longer have that passion and
commitment to your vision and are merely keeping their
heads down and going through the motions.
-
Emphasize
the value and uniqueness of your brand, products and
services so work becomes meaningful.
-
Make
learning continuous, informal, and widely available to
all levels of the employee population.
-
Clarify
what high performance means and make people
accountable for it.
-
Share
information and knowledge through technology, coaching
and mentoring.
-
Share
the financial fruits of superior performance so each
individual feels valuable and valued.
-
Help
employees internalize corporate goals and align them
with personal goals.
-
Recognize
that employees have a life outside of work and be
flexible about how and where work gets done.
As we
head into the new year, companies need to stand up, brush
themselves off and start anew.
The bottom line for successful employers in 2003 is
the same as it has always been.
Organizations that recognize the value of human
capital will create an environment that fosters and
retains the best and brightest. A culture of high
achievement can be an extremely powerful force to harness
because it tends to feed off itself.
The imperatives that make good human capital
management truly important continue to be critical to the
business in 2003. Organizations need reliable ways to get,
retain and motivate the right people.
These are as serious considerations for the
business as they have always been.
The result will be a competitive advantage that
translates into superior organizational performance.
Commitment and engagement will jumpstart the cycle
that returns companies to profitability, and once again,
makes work fun.
Bramson
Advisors
provides practical solutions to the people problems that
keep CEOs and CFOs up at night.
Ruth Bramson, the President,
is a senior management executive with 20 years of
leadership in human resources at some of New England’s
best companies. Clients
range from $25m to $2billion organizations experiencing
change as the result of new leadership, acquisition, growth,
consolidation, or globalization of their business.
Examination, evaluation and execution guide the
strategies that provide their clients with successful
transitions and improved bottomline results.
Bramsonadvisors@attbi.com
|
