Snowed Under...

The only thing which is predictable about the weather is that it is unpredictable – a saying which was proven to be all too true over the past few weeks. However for many there was one life saver which kept life relatively normal – the internet. It is rare for such a large number of people to depend on this one resource to keep up with their work, remain in contact with family and friends, order their groceries and check on the latest weather forecasts.

Certainly for employers, the internet enabled managers to keep up to date with staff activities, minimising the impact of lost revenue due to employee absences. Those companies which invested in communication technology over the long term mostly experienced little impact, but those who have not developed this area were left stranded while waiting for employees to be able to return to work.

This relates to a number of issues which surround employer-employee relations. Investing in the internet is one thing, what else can employers focus on? Ultimately, the most motivated, engaged, loyal and committed employees will go the extra mile to be reliable even in the most unpredictable of situations.

On the other hand, employees who are de-motivated and have little regard for their job or their employer will take advantage of challenging conditions and coast through challenging times. During the recession, these are the employees who will hamper organisational performance.

There are a number of things employers can do to address the situation, first and foremost of which is performing a holistic scan of the company through an employee survey. Effectory’s employee survey is designed to measure the impact of particular areas, such as role clarity or efficiency, to others such as engagement. Being able to pinpoint problem areas allows focused action to be taken, ultimately saving employers from the cost of redundancy and survivor syndrome.  

More: Employee survey, Engagement, Motivation, Recession, Success, Survivor Syndrome