Promote a collaborative approach to problem-solving and decision-making. While we recognize that employees likely cannot (and should not) be involved in every business decision, encourage them to be involved in the ones they can.

 

Involving employees, of all levels in the organization, in problem-solving will enable your business to discover solutions to challenges that are often creative and may not otherwise have been identified. In addition, the more involvement employees have in decision-making, the more buy-in and understanding they will have when it comes time for making changes.

Provide strong leadership for employees. Open the lines of communication and ensure that employees know what the business goals and challenges are. Help them understand how their role impacts the business’ ability to achieve the goals and overcome challenges. Consider involving employees in establishing the business goals.

 

Help employees understand how their job impacts the bigger picture of the organization. For example, many hotel housekeepers do not realize the vital role they play within the success of a hotel. Hotels without clean rooms would not be in business for long, much less achieve revenue or occupancy goals.

Provide learning and development opportunities for employees. It can be challenging for small business to justify spending money to train and develop employees for fear that they will leave to pursue a more advanced position elsewhere. Consider this, what happens if you don’t properly train employees and they stay?

 

Involve employees in identifying training that they are interested and or need in order to improve their job performance. Consider partnering with another business, with similar needs, to share the costs of bringing in a training facilitator. Perhaps reimburse employees for all (or a portion of) tuition/registration fees to attend a local training program, related to their training needs. In return, ask employees make a presentation to the rest of the team to share their learning. Now only would more employees benefit from the training, the employee’s learning would be reinforced through sharing their knowledge.

While employee engagement alone will not guarantee an organization’s success, those that value employees as partners in their business and foster a culture of communication and engagement will likely be more resilient and better equipped to weather the current economic storm. They will also be better prepared for business success, when the clouds lift.

Interested in Sharing a Best-Practice?

If your business has a best-practice that you would like to share with our readers, please contact us. We will feature your best-practice(s) in our next newsletter and include a link to your business website or contact information. Thanks in advance! We look forward to hearing from you.

About the Author

Ginger Brunner is an HR Professional and founder of Dynamic HR Solutions Inc. a leading source for practical, results-oriented human resources training, solutions & tools for small-medium size businesses, specializing in the Hospitality Industry.