News: Performance Management
Firms advised to build employee engagement during troubled times
06 May 2008
Businesses should use the current financial instability to engage with their employees and show them that they are valued, an expert has claimed.
Speaking at the Employee Engagement Summit, Katie Roberts, engagement development manager for Boots, said the credit crunch can be used by bosses to demonstrate to staff that they and the company have faith in their abilities.
Ms Roberts told Personnel Today that human resources should continue to invest in talented individuals even in times of economic uncertainty.
"It's crucial to engage with employees, particularly in difficult times. The crunch can be used to demonstrate how serious you are about your employees. Continue to hire talented people, and engage with them to help drive business performance which in turn impacts on sales and profits," she told the magazine.
Her thoughts were echoed by the senior project director at Towers Perrin-ISR, Nick Tatchell, who stressed that such behaviour will create a sense of pride for employees.
Recent research by ReThink Recruitment has shown that the number of new IT jobs created by investment banks in the final quarter of 2007 fell by 18 per cent, apparently due to the credit crisis.
