Efficient people management during times of crisis

During times of crisis like now where the financial outlook impacts all business decisions, managing our main capital, the people themselves has become vital for breezing through this complicated situation. During bonanzas, all our efforts focus on retaining talent, adapting our salary policies in a bullish market, defining compensation policies… However, in down times everything revolves around reorganizations, layoffs and so on. Clearly in times like these, HR policies will depend largely on the situation each company finds itself in, where it needs to find the right balance.

Yes, certainly we are looking for ways to close the circle. That is to say, improve our results, increase motivation, create a good working atmosphere, and provide exceptional customer services—and all that while reducing costs. It is vital that HR professionals play a strategic role within the organization. Not in vain are they facing the most difficult challenges of their careers. And to achieve success, they need the management team to throw themselves into this difficult mission.

From my point of view, the cornerstone for people management in times like now is commitment. What I am referring to is the commitment of all the people in the company translated into some common objectives shared by all. But how are we going to achieve this ambitious goal?

First of all, we must improve communication. We need to clearly transmit the business strategy, the reasons why we take certain decisions. And at the same time explain the successes and failures frankly and honestly, so that the entire workforce feels part of it all. I think it is essential that all people with responsibilities in the company be able to transmit these messages articulately and ensure they have reached each person forming part of their teams.

Next, we should orient our actions to motivating our workforce to the maximum, above all the key people of our organization. The ones who are most committed will “infect” the rest. And achieve that everything moves around these three core competencies: innovation, continual learning and focus on the client.

To start off with, we need to identify who is who within the organization, to pinpoint these key people. And having the right evaluation tools will be vital for moving in this direction. Afterwards we will have to identify what motivates this group to develop the right training, development, salary and compensation plans among others.

Lastly, we must not overlook the important constraints we face each day. These are mostly of a financial nature, which are affecting all companies regardless of sector and size. At this level, I recommend optimizing our salary plans. We need to increase the variable part of our pay package to align ourselves with the global objectives of the company. Without forgetting to add a new factor to this equation, prioritize the long term objectives over the short term ones.