Personality quiz

As the GFC (Global Financial Crisis) serves to tear strips off our industry, the services we're offering at my advertising agency are changing.

One area is Career Transition Management. This is a support service that employers pay us for - it gives their retrenched employees on-going coaching and support through the next steps of getting back to work.

The benefit to employees is obvious; the benefit to employers is that it helps retain their employer brand. Nothing hits a brand worse than being seen as a heartless, faceless, uber-corporation. People who leave can still talk positively about the organisation.

Another area is in deployment - this means finding people within a business with transferable skills, and helping transfer them to areas where their skills may be better utilised. This results in a more productive business, and reduces the need for reducing overall headcount.

But how do you measure the types of personality that may transfer from, say, marketing to sales? One really cool tool is here - try it out and see what sort of person you are.

(BTW, I am a Field Marshal, quite unsurprising).

Internal comms in a downturn - the right way

After speaking to a mate of mine that works at a bit ol' multinational employing thousands of people, my heart was brightened to learn that some employers (well, his at least) are getting it right. (Click here to hear my previous vent on this topic.)

Are they listening to their people? Tick.
Are they acting on feedback? Tick.
Are they communicating in a way that's attractive to the employee? Tick.
Are they putting visibile action plans in place? Tick.
Are changes executed by people who can make them? Tick, tick, tick.

All the initiatives my mate mentioned will no doubt help him build a more satisfied and engaged workforce. Not every irk will be actioned, but at least it's been vented. And there's no underestimating the knock-on effect of John returning from lunch and telling his mates, "Those guys really listened, and they took it all on-board."

But what's really key to good communication is that employers see the world through their employees' eyes, and every communication adopts the principle of addressing some employee need, before looking at another objective. It doesn't mean every piece of communication has to be exactly what the employee wants, or that you're not allowed to communicate bad news. But it does have to address the knock-on effects of that piece of news and address the anticipated results.

The worst mistake an employer can make is by thinking that it's all about communicating, from the top to the bottom, what the board wants everyone in the canteen to hear.

Internal communication

It seems that in these financially tumultuous times, employers are increasingly looking within in order to cut costs, streamline, and maximise revenue. Many have put in place recruitment freezes, cut non-essential hires, or cut down employee working hours.

Much talk is on managing existing talent to achieve maximum productivity.

But the feedback that I get is that these changes are not being communicated effectively. Nor are the feedback loops in place in order to ensure communication is two-way, and employees have a forum where they're comfortable to ask questions.

Any measures that are put in place are doomed to fail if they are not communicated effectively. Employees won't be engaged by structural changes unless they feel they are being told the full story. Unless they feel that changes benefit them individually and collectively - not the needs of some high-falutin', stoney-faced Board of Directors.

Every successful business needs to ensure employees feel valued; that - when times are tough - they are doing everything in their power to reduce operating costs with the least effect possible on staff numbers or morale. There needs to be postivity running like an iron rod through every necessary piece of bad news.

And when this news is communicated, it needs to be tied to the core beliefs and perceptions that caused employees to join the organisation to start with. It needs to explain why the employer brand of the organisation is still strong and visible, and that the reasons to stay engaged, motivated and productive are the same as they ever were.

An analogy: When Gerald Ratner spoke negatively about his business, it's value depreciated by 500million sterling. Lose the engagement and loyalty of your people, and the loss will be felt years after economic recovery.

Employers: Make your decisions visible and don't be afraid to use external agencies to communicate them well.