When the going gets tough, the tough look after employees

Tough economic times, a buyer's market as layoffs increase, and an opportunity to push through unpopular restructuring plans impossible to achieve a year ago. Right? Well, not if you take anything longer than the shortest view, and not if you hope to survive the sharpest economic downturn in decades.

Because survival for any organisation will require a response that balances the needs of not only its shareholders and customers, but also those of its employees. "It's never been more important to manage and monitor employee engagement levels" according to John Robertson, managing director of 'JRA Best Workplaces survey' and founder of JRA (NZ) Ltd.

Building a great workplace that engenders high engagement makes good business sense anytime, but when the market turns bad it may well be the best line of defence against external forces it simply cannot influence.

"Look after your people, because our research over the past 10 years has confirmed what everyone knows intuitively - that engaged employees work more efficiently, deliver a higher level of service, and stay longer."

And as they strive to manage costs while maintaining service standards to a shrinking and more discriminating customer pool, what firm wouldn't like a return on assets twice as high and sales per employee 40 per cent above competitors' margins JRA's research has shown exists between an engaged and a disengaged workforce?

But what about the organisation forced to downsize? Surely talk of 'engagement' and 'best workplaces' is at best a distraction, at worse a failure to face reality? Not at all, according to Robertson: "Nobody's saying great workplaces won't be forced to make hard decisions. The difference is, the culture they have created makes these organisations better able to implement and adapt to change without destroying hard-earned levels of trust and engagement.

"The 'bad employer' may achieve its short-term retrenchment goals but will face a huge backlash from the impact a disengaged workforce will have on customer relationships and internal efficiencies and costs."

This year is a time of unprecedented uncertainty for many, and the impact on engagement levels can be substantial. It is also a time when regular monitoring of workplace attitudes and engagement levels can provide critical insight into current and emerging issues, enabling more informed decision making. And it will show employees that their views are valued, and indeed critical to the sustained performance of the organisation.

Take part in the Best Workforces survey 2009

The JRA Best Workplaces '09 survey is run in association with The New Zealand Herald