How a Crisis Can Improve Employee Engagement
Updated: Dec 2, 2020
As a business owner, going through a crisis (like the corona virus pandemic) can make you feel nervous that your employees may leave. You may think that they may leave because of fears such as:
- They are worried the business will go under.
- An employee might think they are being laid off anyway.
- They’re aren’t sure if they can handle working from home, while taking care of their kids.
However, unexpectedly a crisis can actually strengthen your employee engagement and retention. Here are a few reasons why…
1. Other job opportunities have declined. This means that there are less jobs to apply for and that they would be competing with a larger than normal pool of candidates for one position.
2. Employees may fear that if they apply for another position, they may also feel that they’d be the first person that would be laid off because of seniority or business cuts at the other company.
3. During a crisis job security becomes first on the priority list over health and childcare, so staying at your business or organization guarantees a paycheque for an employee until otherwise.
4. Employees can feel sympathetic towards the company they’re working for during a crisis and will choose to stay and support the business and its shifting goals, no matter how difficult of a time it may be.
5. Employees may also fear that they may be terminated, so they are more inclined to stay at your company and assist with the changes that come with it during a crisis.
6. Staff may also feel that if they do leave and work for another company that they may not have made a good decision. They know how your business operates and what the expectations are and they would rather stay.
To learn more, check out Marc Belaiche, CPA, CA, President of TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca, discuss this topic here.
For more entrepreneurial tips, check out our TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca YouTube Channel for more.
Click here for a list of our upcoming virtual events.