By the Hapkey team

The secret to keeping your employees engaged during a potential recession

Post by
Elia Mihuta
The secret to keeping your employees engaged during a potential recession
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While still recovering after the Great Resignation from 2021, organizations are now facing a new challenge. As stock markets are crashing and inflation is rising worldwide, it’s only natural that the question on everyone’s mind is this - are we heading to a new recession? 

Truth be told, specialists say that humanity already lived, back in 2020, through a recession triggered by COVID-19. However, it is considered to be the shortest downfall in history. Therefore, not many actually felt its repercussions. Yet, if the calculations are correct, economists think there’s at least a 6% chance of relieving the Great Recession. 

So it’s only natural that companies have a very hard time these days. They need to get over the fact that they lost many employees in the last 12 months while struggling to figure out a way to hire smart. But what does that mean? It means that they have to make sure that those new employees they so desperately need today will be engaged.

This being said, let’s look more in-depth at the facts. According to recent studies, 63% of the workers who quit their jobs during the last year had few promotion opportunities and a low income. Yet, for many of them, the salary was not the only trigger. As a matter of fact, 57% of the interviewed people said that they quit because they felt disrespected at work and had little or no sense of belonging. In other words, the employees who abandoned the ship were the ones who felt neglected by the people in charge. Thus, it’s no wonder that they left. I mean, how can an individual endure a low-paying job in which they are not even respected? Why should they have stayed when the market was still full of better opportunities?

Now, with all this information on the table, we want to take the time and give you, the leader in charge of your organization, a small piece of advice. As you try to fill the empty spots the Great Resignation left you with, don’t make the same mistake that brought you here in the first place. Don’t mistake your employees for robots with no feelings as they are the exact opposite. 

If you take care of your team’s requests, provide them with guidance, and understand their needs, you might just find yourself surrounded by the best allies to fight this impasse. At the end of the day, loyal and hardworking employees are exactly what an organization needs to get over hard times. 

Finally, we have only one last suggestion for you. There are multiple reasons that can turn an enthusiastic employee into one who checks the clock every hour if it’s time to leave work. And the worst approach you can take is to try and guess that reason. So, don’t waste precious time trying to read between the lines when it comes to your team members. Ask them directly how they feel and understand why they are unhappy with their role. Because learning about their problems and showing them empathy is the best way to turn any employee into a loyal and hardworking one.

Close the feedback loop with your team
Schedule a 15-minute free coaching conversation on how you can further improve your team.
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