With so many pressures facing manager and business owners, saying “thank you” to your team may not seem like a top priority. There are sales targets to meet, budget to balance and expenses to manage. However, saying “thank you” can actually save you time and money in the long run. It can help keep employees motivated and engaged.

At a time when we are all watching our bottom line more closely, there are still creative and inexpensive ways to recognize your team. I believe that it has never been more important to thank my team for making sacrifices and doing more with less.  They need to know their efforts do not go unnoticed.

Now is a great time to get to know your staff better. There’s very little cost to a coffee and it’s absolutely free to have a conversation, but getting to know your staff and giving them a chance to ask you questions or share their concerns is a priceless gift. 

 Sharing a meal is another easy and informal way to have a team conversation about how people are feeling, what is going on in the company and to simple have some team building time together. You can bring in muffins and donuts, or a fast food hot breakfast to the office, take your staff to a picnic on the hill at Crescent Heights or a local park, or even invite them into your home for a simple and special evening. Regardless of what kind of activity you choose, it’s worth it to take the time and make the effort to say “thanks” for a job well done and for hanging in there through these choppy waters!

It’s not easy to be an employer in today’s economy. As things have shifted dramatically in the past 12 months, employers have been faced with making tough decisions around cutbacks and layoffs. In many instances, employees are being asked to do more than ever.

As a manager, how do you keep your employees motivated to do their best work and keep a positive outlook for the future?

The website http://lifecoaching.dieterpauwels.com offers the following tips:

1) Get employees involved. Focus on open communication that engages employees, giving them a sense of connection, engagement and belonging. It can also help minimize their feelings of powerlessness.

2) Focus on personal and career development. Give your employees the chance to try new things, as well as grow and learn through personal and professional development. It will give you a more skilled and diverse workforce in the future.

3) Establish realistic expectations that will keep employees motivated and promote an atmosphere of success, which in turn, boosts morale.

4) Reward and recognize good work. It is not only creates a more positive work environment, but also can increase loyalty and productivity.

I would add to these suggestions that managers need to make every effort to keep workloads manageable. While employees may be asked to do more, realize that they still need to have the work-life balance. If you ask too much, you could face the risk of employee burnout, which will harm your corporate reputation in the long run.

Another thing that employers need to keep in mind is to stay true to your company’s mission, vision and values during good times and bad. Show how you “walk the talk”. Layoffs should be handled with dignity, kindness and respect. You want both existing and potential employees to hear and know that your company is an employer of choice all the time.

One of the hardest things about being a manager is that sometimes you have to take on the very difficult task of telling an employee they’ve lost their job.  While at this time last year, managers couldn’t hire fast enough in many industries, this year, their focus is much different.

At work, many times colleagues become friends and as a manager, you often aware of employees’ personal circumstances.  When you have no other choice but to let an employee go, it can be a very emotional experience.

In these times, more companies are electing to hire career transition specialists to help with employee layoffs. While managers need to have that first tough conversation, it often helps to then bring in a professional who can help the employee deal with “what next?”.

Career transition specialists can help guide employees through the process of updating their resumes, developing a career plan, give advice on moving forward and provide that all-important support as employees begin to think ahead.

As we know from our experience working with clients at BOWEN, the most important thing in handling layoffs is to treat employees with dignity and respect. Providing career transition support sends a message to all employees, whether current or former, that they are important and valued, and that your company will “walk the talk” in living out its values.

Layoffs and cutbacks are part of our current reality but as we know, everything is cyclical, and when the market improves, do you want your company to have a reputation as an employer of choice when it’s an employees’ market again?