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Lately it seems like I’m hearing a lot in the news about cutbacks and perceived takeaways within many companies.  Increases to the cost of benefits.  Cutbacks to training programs.  Salary freezes.  Layoffs.  You name it, the headlines are a cornucopia of bad news.  And the facts seem to back it up – specifically on the issue of training, a survey of 177 companies late last year by Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc. found that 23% of respondent had recently cut training programs and another 18% planned to so over the course of this year.  Ouch.

And now come the commentators that, if they are to be believed, claim as soon as the economy turns around and the job market opens up that countless of your employees will immediately run from you into the arms of another employer.  If this is true, you may be facing quite the predicament if your people are one of your biggest assets.

So what on earth do you do?

I say it’s time to think creatively about what you can do with the resources at-hand and to challenge your teams to think about meaningful yet inexpensive ways to show your employees you’re still invested in them.

Training is a good start – it’s often an area where employers invest a great deal of money, but when times are tough, I think there are some frugal solutions that not only help educate your employees, but also empower them.

I first began thinking about this a few weeks ago when I had my team in my office and we participated in an all-Insidedge training session led by one of our own people.  That very same week I was having discussions with a client about using their thought leaders to bridge the training gap in response to cuts in their more formalized training budget.  Look around – who do you have in your organization that has valuable knowledge to share?  This approach has two benefits.  The first is obvious – it gives you a way to continue to provide training without hiring external experts or investing in travel. But it’s also great way to highlight the skills of your employees and give them some recognition for their expertise – which makes them feel valued and trusted.

Beyond training, I think it’s essential for employers to look at small ways they can support and recognize their employees. After layoffs and hiring freezes, we’re left with fewer employees doing more with less.  If you can’t hire more people or give raises or promotions, what’s left to signal to your teams that you appreciate what they’re doing? 

It’s about thinking smaller – sometimes it’s true that it’s the thought that counts. Let me give you an example.  At our organization we just got handed a win-win for everyone in the form of Fresh Direct’s new vending machine meals. This service stocks a vending machine fresh daily with meals created by many of the famous chefs and restaurants from throughout Manhattan.  These little babies are easy to get, quick to heat, tasty and healthy.  We pay nothing for the service, and the benefits are great.  Healthy meals.  A quick go-to on those late nights in the office or when you’re clearly not getting out for lunch.  It’s nice.  And the buzz among my coworkers is significant.  Try putting out some fresh fruit.  Or, as timely as it is, what’s the ROI to offering flu shots to your employees?  At least in the consulting business this could be seen as one of the wisest people investments to come along.

So in the end, even in facing one of the worst economic situations in the history of the U.S., there are options.  We just have to get a little bit more creative than we have in the past.  At least for now.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 6:51 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.