Talent engagement in tough times

Managing HR issues especially in uncertain times is crucial for both employer and employee. P.V.Sivakumar

Image is key: An employer who is considered fair and responsible can keep employees at high levels of engagement. Debashish Sengupta The slowdown has thrown up a slew of challenges for human resource managers who seem to be caught between seemingly contradictory demands. Whereas, on the one hand, issues such as workforce optimisation and cost cutting have to be addressed, on the other, the fear of losing or demotivating talent looms large. Despite this, effective HR management at this juncture could play a crucial rol e in deciding the future of any company. Whether in a recession or otherwise, talent acquisition and retention will remain a challenge. The fear that looms large for organisations in these turbulent times is that talent may drift away from the organisation. This could be a mental drift, wherein employees feel alienated or de-motivated. This mental drift could later precipitate into a physical drift. Organisations must remember that any knee-jerk reaction now could be detrimental in the long run. Hence, the focus has to be on ensuring that the mental drift of employees doesnt happen when issues such as cost reduction and lay-offs are addressed. Talent engagement The solution to such problems lies in ensuring a high level of talent engagement which essentially represents an alignment between maximum job satisfaction and maximum job contribution. It may also be defined as the degree to which talent is emotionally bonded to his/her organisation and is passionate about his or her work. But the question is how does one ensure this emotional bonding, especially in tough times like this? Has talent engagement only got to do with fat salary packets? Before we answer that question, let us accept that money remains an important determinant of organisation membership. But whether talent engagement in an organisation is solely dependent on fat salary packets remains to be ascertained. Over a period of time, this claim has been proven to be a corporate myth.

The findings of salary surveys indicate that steep salary hikes alone have not been able to retain talent; in several cases, they have contributed to an exodus. Second, salary hikes have not necessarily gone to talented employees. In other words the pressure to retain talent has bred mediocrity. This shows the purposeful engagement of talent in a recession has different tones and shades. Talent engagement dimensions Let us attempt to identify some areas of talent engagement during a recession. The image of a fair and responsible employer: An employer who has a positive image among employees can keep employees at relatively high levels of engagement. Politicking and playing favourites can have serious repercussions, especially with the rising insecurity among people. At some point, lay-offs may be inevitable, but people must believe that it was the last option available to the company. Communicating change: Recession is a time of uncertainty when the grapevine is at its busiest. Even a small piece of wrong information can trigger negative chain reactions if not properly addressed. AIT Worldwide Logistics, a company started by Steve Leturno and Dan Lisowski in 1979, has attributed its success to three people-centred features: communication, training and promotions from within. The company which started with just four employees (Steve, Dan and their wives), has in the last 30 years grown both in size and scale, but open communication has been maintained as an integral cultural fabric. Communicating without bureaucratic or hierarcial hangups is the essence of its communication mechanism. Steve and Dan remain accessible for discussions and meetings with employees. RMSI Private Ltd, a company ranked as a top employer by a recent survey, has effective communication as an integral part of its work culture. The company claims that it makes efforts to know people at the individual level. Turbulent times make effective communication even more important to keep internal customers engaged. Openness: Truly open companies have not found it difficult to keep employees fruitfully engaged because of the sense of egalitarianism in these organisations. The freedom to reach out to anybody, the empowerment to take decisions and flexibility to adapt are among the outcomes of such a culture. In Intel India, the head of the organisation sits in a cubicle similar to that of other employees. The organisation consistently tries to obtain feedback from its employees and shares their concerns and suggestions, thus involving them in decision making. Bench value: The benched staff represent potential future talent and hence involving them in value-added assignments not only helps them evolve but also paves the way for future contributions. Many IT companies are using their benched resources to automate some of their manual processes using open source tools such as eclipse and bugzilla. Open source tools are freely available on the Net and, hence, do not add to the costs of the company. TCS has put its benched employees on high-end training programmes such as ERP and BT analytics, considering it an investment for the future. Leadership at all levels: Leadership is a critical factor in deciding the degree of talent engagement in any organisation. But contrary to popular belief, this cannot be addressed at the top alone. It is

important to involve the line managers and team leaders and sensitise them to the need for information dissemination with the aim of keeping the talent engaged. Avoid overworking talent: The reward for good work is mostly more work. There is nothing wrong in it as long as you enjoy the same. But when it becomes more than one can handle, the situation can become stressful. Very often, talent in an organisation has to bear the brunt, especially at a time when there is minimal tolerance for error. But remember, this will only incite people to move away from the job and the organisation. Remember to appreciate: Organisations and employees who have stood by each other in these troubled times have to remember and appreciate each other as friends. No matter how bad the times, there is nothing to prevent a company from treating its employees with dignity. Engaging talent in a recession has new and challenging dimensions, but if done effectively can go a long way in resurrecting a companys future. (The writer is the Chairperson, Human Resources Area, Alliance Business School, Bangalore.)

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