4. Where should HR focus ?
• Supporting Leadership to take the right calls
• Championing the communication strategy
• Engaging the employees in the solution space
• Not lose sight of strategic imperatives
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5. Supporting leadership
• Ensuring in-depth awareness of the context
• Sufficiently robust contingency planning
• Standing up for your beliefs / convictions
• Ensuring commitment/capability
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6. Communication
• Do not attempt to shield people from reality
• Send a singular communication across the organisation
(preferably from CEO)
• Honestly share the likely direction of the crisis
• Keep forums open for continuous two way
communication
• Openly discuss the rumours and clarify the facts.
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7. Engaging the employees
• State the milestones to cross in our revival
journey
• Invite employee participation in idea generation
to reach milestones
• Keep them informed of decisions and progress
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8. Strategically Aligned
• Purpose - Going concern concept
• In sync with our values / philosophy
• Residual impact of action - internal
• Organisational character / reputation
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9. Main Employee concerns
• Negative impact on business
• Insecurity – Jobs / Career
• Cash flow issues – Bonus/incentives/salary
• High stress levels – personally and amongst team
members
• What next ?
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10. Responses to current crisis
Opportunities
Productivity improvements
Leadership Development
Cost rationalisation
Strategic Hiring
Traditional
Novel
Employment Engagement
Hiring freeze
Leveraging talent for CSR
Layoffs
Threats
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11. Decision points
• Cost rationalisation – Symbolic vs. Impactful
• Salary cuts – Differential vs. Uniform
• Job losses – Image vs. Reality
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12. Coming to terms ….
• In the interest of Larger Good
• There are emotions too
• Softening the blow
• Commitment to their future
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13. Lessons for Good times
• Avoid Fasting or Feasting approach
• Check for Long term - Commercial sense
• Build flexibility in line with business model
• Trust and Credibility are not built in a day but can be
lost in one.
• Appreciation gap wrt to concepts
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15. Developmental Building Blocks
• Understand the business model/environment ?
• Awareness - Geo/Pol/Eco/Soc changes
• Learn from past experiences
• Understand the why and not just the what
• Strong commercial orientation
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16. Professional postures?
• Team player : Do what I am told or stand up for
what I believe in ?
• Management : Focus on Shareholder or Employee ?
• Effectiveness : Focus on the Means or the End ?
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17. Who ever said living your
convictions was easy ?
THANK YOU
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