In many ways, managing in a recession is the same as managing any other time. The manager has to set the goals, communicate them to the team, and motivate everyone to move toward the goal. We will review below how each of these areas differs during a recession - and how they stay the same. We will also look at certain aspects of management that become more important during a recession: finances, courage, and customers.
Goals And Objectives
In a recession, setting goals and objectives is even more critical than during normal times because they are apt to change more quickly. Just be sure that as you adjust your goals to changing circumstances that you are responding to a real change and are not just bouncing from goal to goal like a feather in the wind.
Communication
In a recession, clear communication is more critical than usual. There is a lot of fear in times of stress and employees may be more distracted than usual. You need to make sure your communications are frequent, clear, and as accurate as possible whether written or oral. Stay positive, but stay real.
- What you want them to hear
- Help your employees manage fear of change
- Make your messages clear
- Provide positive feedback
Motivation
You might think that employees would be motivated to work hard just to avoid layoffs. And that is true. However, you need to make sure they are still motivated to work on the right things and that they are motivated by more than fear of losing their job.
Courage
In times like these you have to be strong. It can be difficult to be brave and courageous when every day the news seems to get worse, but you have to. Not just for your own sake, but for your employees as well. I'm sure there are days when you want to stay in bed and pull the covers over your head, but there are more days when you act like the leader you are and display emotional courage.
Finances, But People Too
At times like these, finances are important. Cash is critical and profit is paramount. Companies will be making more decisions based on financial considerations. Don't let that cause you to overlook customers (discussed in the next section) and employees. You need the intelligence, innovativeness, and dedication of your employees if you are going to survive a recession or even grow during it. And remember, this recession will end. The companies who will prosper later will be the ones who were honest with their employees during the hard times.
- Can I Keep Going Until The Economy Recovers?
- Cost Benefit Analysis
- How to Innovate in Business
- Change Or Die
Customers
During a recession, the only thing you need more than good employees is customers. This is not the time to start looking for them. You should have done that during good time and taken care of them so they would stick with you in bad times.
