At this very difficult stage when the world is going through the COVID-19, all we hear is companies closing operations and letting staff go in the thousands.
We do not hear of organisations hanging on to employees and reducing costs by way of having executives sacrificing their pay, taking leave or even no pay leave to reduce the stress on the business. Perhaps this is going on but we are not aware of it. Its all about laying off staff and hopefully the government initiatives will take care of them. What are organisations doing by way of engaging their employees, so that when we come out of this situation, they will still want to work for you and be part of building the organisation. What comes to mind was when the company I was working for during an earlier economic crisis decided to close down and I had to retrench all the employees including myself. The way the company orchestrated this whole exercise was such that care, concern and empathy were the cornerstones of the exercise. The company chairman came on a video call to address all the employees and apologised for the situation and the initiatives put in place made sure that everyone was taken care of financially, including a study grant to all employees to skill or re-skill themselves for their future. This made sure that despite the downside of them losing their jobs, they had something to look forward to, not just some extra pocket money to buy food and pay the bills. It was an orchestrated marketing plan to assist the employees. they had a number to call on for assistance and a list of personnel who will be available for those that needed help. And every employee was spoken to privately and given explanations plus a handout with all the initiatives they have at their disposal.With COVID-19 devastating the economy and all organisations letting go employees, do companies have a marketing plan to engage, connect and communicate with the employees while they are being stood down? How willing will these employees be to get back to the same companies once their business picks up.
If you are the Head of HR of an organisation going through this and having to let staff go or stand them down temporarily, what employee marketing strategies would you put in place and how would you implement it effectively?