Ways to retain professionals in the company

Is the crisis really as dangerous as many people say about it? Of course, the very existence of the company may be at risk, but with a clear strategy, you can not only stay afloat, but also prepare for future triumph. This is the opinion of the participants of the round table “Personnel marketing as a resource for increasing labor efficiency in a crisis situation”, which took place in early December at the Higher School of Economics (HSE). Details were clarified by Anna Komissarova

Experts urge to treat the crisis calmly and even gratefully. According to Tatyana Komissarova, dean of the Higher School of Marketing and Business Development of the State University - Higher School of Economics, scientific director of the Market Management laboratory, the crisis situation is an excellent reason to put things in order in the company. Moreover, the crisis is a short-term phenomenon, it will not last forever. Panic within companies is associated, as a rule, only with the inability to formulate specific tasks and develop the right strategy. And those who do not pass the hardening of the 1998 crisis usually panic. It is the “newcomers to the crisis” who need to understand where to direct the main efforts in the current situation. According to Elena Kovalenko, an independent expert in human resource management, the main combat operations that should be carried out within the firm are structuring costs, reallocating functions, and optimizing the cost monitoring and reporting system. The result of all these actions directly depends on the efficiency and teamwork of the staff. Therefore, the heads of firms, first of all, need to assemble a team of the necessary qualified employees and create a favorable atmosphere for their work.

Captain, pull yourself up!

An express study conducted by the Higher School of Economics in November 2008 and involving more than 500 people: specialists (over 60% of respondents), middle managers (34%), managers and technical staff, showed that today the internal atmosphere the companies are quite nervous and stressful. The efforts of company management aimed at increasing motivation are perceived by the staff as insignificant, since in 35% of companies management did not contact the staff at all and did not explain their actions in a crisis situation. And this does not at all mobilize people, but, on the contrary, spreads panic and fear of dismissal. For example, to the question “What are the remembered keywords of managers when referring to staff”, the following answers were popular: “There is no other job in the market, so let's work better”, “You must be effective and work without disciplinary violations”, “All of you under threat of reduction, therefore, must be effective. " Only a few cited more positive phrases: “Let's keep the team, together we are strength” or “It will be hard, but we must remain the best!”. Nevertheless, such formulations just contribute to the emergence of a fighting team spirit and really encourage people to work better, because they feel insured against dismissal. The curator of the study, Tatyana Komissarova, added that in times of crisis, leaders are actually the most difficult, since they are captains of the ship, and it is the mood of the psychological health of the whole team that depends on them. “Employees should feel that their captain knows where to sail,” Komissarova says. At the very least, the manager should pretend that the situation is under control. In no case should you sow doubt into the consciousness of the staff.

Employee: friend of your company or enemy?

The question arises: what then to sow? Experts noted that the effectiveness of personnel depends on the accuracy of the task formulated before them, the availability of resources for its implementation, the necessary qualifications of the employees, and their desire to complete the task. The last point is especially important - it immediately translates the conversation on the topic of employee loyalty to the company.

How often do managers think about why a person works in this company? Many people do not take into account the fact that employee loyalty can be forced when it is built on fears. For example, if an employee is driven by fear of being left without work and, accordingly, without money. Such an attitude can hardly be called loyalty in the true sense of the word. It is the same as using the same mobile phone number for many years without changing the tariff. He already does not suit you, but you do not change the number for the reason that when you change him you will not be able to find many friends, and you simply are too lazy to notify fifty contacts from the phone book.

Really loyal employees are those whose personal interests are related to the interests of the company. They are your support and support. These people are walking brand brand ads. They strive for the maximum satisfaction of her needs and can really prepare the company for the post-crisis jump.

To increase efficiency, experts advise managers to focus on organizing control over the execution of tasks. Control should be strictly periodic, have clear criteria and provide feedback. For example, when it comes to sales, it is necessary to establish how much goods should be sold and in what time frame. Deviations from the given plan should be recorded, analyzed and, having drawn conclusions, work out measures to optimize the sales process.

Know employees in person

Despite the fact that all participants in the round table agreed that cadres decide everything, the question of how to stimulate cadres has become a subject of discussion. The participants were primarily interested in ways to retain professionals in the company.

Evgenia Gromova, president of WorkLine group, brought her own theory on this subject, according to which different types of people correspond to different kinds of motivations. Gromova divides people into 6 types: spiritualized traditionalists, normative materialists, independent innovators, hedonists, purposeful pragmatists and imitators.

Knowing these types, it is possible to form the optimal team structure, since what is an undeniable incentive for one is not an incentive for the other. Spiritualized materialists, or intellectuals, constantly strive for harmony through self-improvement. They are characterized by freedom of thought, but not freedom of expression. Usually they make good analytics. They are annoyed by a deliberate reminder of their duties, because their actions are often subject to an innate sense of duty. People of this type are often not inclined to change jobs.

Retention measures in the workplace must be applied to innovators. These are independent individuals. The decisive factor of motivation for them is the freedom of decision-making in their area of ​​responsibility. In other words, the level of authority granted to manage the situation. Restrictions in this area lead to the decision to leave the company.

Hedonists are also very strong and, according to Gromova, a rare psychotype in Russia. These are, as a rule, the owners of large companies, capable of achieving what they want. The value field of the living space of the hedonists is built around the concept of "love." They literally cannot live unless they feel love for the world around them. For them, work with a high level of responsibility should be comfortable - both emotionally and physically. In a crisis period, emotional comfort is associated with two questions: is there trust in the team and how transparent are the development prospects. This is achieved by closer interaction at special meetings, including outside the office, and as much as possible informing the team, which increases confidence and allows more effective decision-making in situations of uncertainty.

For the layman, the most common type in society, the most important thing is material reward. They value stability and comfort. They are encouraged by the bonus of specific results and deferred bonuses as a retention program.

Careerists more than others are aimed at achieving a certain social status through career growth. For representatives of this psychotype, power and recognition are a measure of success. The success of the company depends on their competence and effectiveness, therefore, performance evaluation should be regular and closely related to remuneration. Especially during a period of intense change.

Imitators greatly value the communication and support of both friends and family. They completely depend on the opinion of the representatives of the reference group and on their help. In its most striking manifestation, these are party-goers who, deep down, dream of glory. The status expressed in individual socially oriented programs reflecting the lifestyle and corresponding to the level of needs is necessary to maintain a high level of motivation. This may be what is needed at the moment most of all, something that for some reason a person cannot afford.

The author of this theory believes that the highest results during the crisis will be shown at the company by independent innovators who will offer creative and breakthrough solutions, intellectuals whose sense of duty will ensure conscientious achievement of the result, and ordinary people who aim at timely material rewards for the clear performance of their duties .

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Nothing personal, just a business

Each vegetable has its own place in the soup. Therefore, experts focus on the fact that, despite the Russian principle of hiring employees “If only a person was good”, the desired search result can be achieved only through attention to the professional competence of applicants. The principle of accepting people by resume does not work either. After all, you can make an enchanting track record, but in fact it turns out that all the skills and experience have remained on paper.

A thorough and multi-stage personnel selection system is required, which would allow to determine the level of competence. There are three levels: negative - the level of competency at which the achievement of the goal on the position is impossible or not possible; necessary, that is, a sufficient minimum of knowledge and experience for the performance of official duties; and potential is the level of professionalism at which the employee can move to a new level.

And it is better to spend more time searching for an employee of the required competence than on the subsequent parting.

According to the calculations of Elena Panteleeva, managing director of Profimarket, the time spent on legal dismissal of an incompetent employee, finding a new one and applying for a staff will cost the company an average of 176 thousand rubles, provided that one working hour is estimated at 300 rubles. In times of crisis, when it is necessary to minimize costs as much as possible, this amount of profit lost by the company makes you think and approach the issue of hiring more responsibly.

In conclusion, I want to say that the crisis is good in that it contributes to the reformation of forces in the market. It’s like a clock malfunction, after which it needs to be re-configured. People’s needs are changing, trends are changing. The 1998 crisis of the year proved that flying ideas, only brewing ideas can be guessed. The future, as always, depends only on us.

Key points

Personnel - a resource that requires conscious and operational management. Fear of losing a job reduces loyalty to the company and, as a result, reduces labor efficiency

Every employee - an individuality that consciously perceives reality and expects explanations from its leader about what is happening. The appeal of managers to the staff should be constructive and form specific goals and objectives

The staff (for the most part) is ready to discuss new conditions and restrictions that the situation dictates if it is a question that the new conditions concern the majority of employees. Appeal to the employee as a member of the team forms cohesion and increases the level of loyalty to the company

Loyal staff is a difficult to replenish resource that requires financial investments from the company and time. The priority task of personnel management in a crisis situation is to ensure the presence of an effective team with a high degree of loyalty to the company