Appraising Employee Performance in a Downsized Organization
Tom Krattenmaker of the Harvard Business Blog shares management strategies to keep employees motivated. “Make the bottom line clear. Furtwengler stresses the need for managers to set expectations about raises and bonuses long before appraisal time. If a company’s financial picture has darkened, he suggests senior management get a notification out as quickly as possible, describing the potential lost raises and bonuses. Establishing this context can make all the difference in how a high-performing employee interprets a below-average raise.”

Team-Building Exercises for Tough Times
Pat Olsen details how you can conduct meaningful and productive team-building activities. “When companies are monitoring expenses so carefully and jobs are being cut faster than you can say ‘rising unemployment figures,’ can managers really justify team-building exercises? According to some experts, it’s in times like these that team-building activities are most needed. It is important, they say, to recognize what the changed economic climate means to workers who are called on to do more with fewer resources. Teams often become too internally focused even when the economy is good, suggests organizational development consultant Gayle Lantz, president of WorkMatters in Birmingham, Alabama. In turbulent periods, employees may be fearful about the future of the company and may worry that they may be the next to be laid off. Managers need to be honest, acknowledge the stress employees are feeling and validate their concerns. For many companies, team building becomes a means of regrouping staff after layoffs. When a team is learning to operate in a new, no-frills environment, group activities designed to foster collaborative problem solving can be especially productive.”

Job hunting? Use social networks to make crucial connections
Computer World’s David Ramel illustrates the power of networks by telling stories of people who went to extremes to get the job they wanted. “Carlson’s initial action consisted of sending out about 60 to 70 resume/cover letter blasts to job sites, companies, etc., around the holiday season after the Yahoo Video layoff. When nothing came out of that, he took a more organized and targeted approach and sent out 103 blasts — but this time he used LinkedIn and other tools to research target companies, trying to find people who worked at the company who had a role in the product area he was interested in, or who worked as company recruiters. Three days after the blast, he sent out follow-up messages. ‘And the response rate from those follow-ups was much higher than the original sendouts,’ he said, at 40% compared to the first response rate of only 5%. During this time he was maintaining his online profile, doing status updates on sites such as Facebook and Twitter ‘that were relevant and germane to my job search.’ The result: he started working at one of his targeted companies, Lyris Inc., on March 23, four weeks and one day after the targeted resume/cover letter blast.”

Job Seekers: How to Negotiate a Higher Offer
Demanding higher pay in these times can be tricky, but not impossible, according to AnnaMaria Andriotis of Smart Money. “With an average of five unemployed people now vying for each job opening, according to the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute, employers who are hiring can afford to be picky — and tight-fisted. Many companies are reducing compensation for their existing employees, which means they’re more likely to offer lower salaries to new hires, says Fred Crandall, a senior consultant at human resources consulting firm Watson Wyatt. In April, 21% of employers had reduced employee compensation, according to a Watson Wyatt survey, up from 7% in February. And while you may feel compelled to accept any job offer, failing to negotiate a compensation package can cost you. These days, employers who engage in such ‘lowballing’ are offering an average 10% to 15% less than what they would have offered before the recession began, says Ford Myers, president of Career Potential, a Haverford, Pa.-based career coaching and consulting firm.”

5 Tips to Strengthen Corporate Relocation Programs in a Down Economy
Pressure to keep costs down can severely affect special programs like relocation, but RIS Media has some recommendations to cope with them. “According to a 2009 survey on domestic relocation policies by Cartus, a leading provider of relocation and global workforce management services, over 75% of respondents cited an increase in employee resistance to relocate because of the economy, and 50% expect talent management challenges to increase over the next year. ‘Even though we are in a recession, specific cost-control strategies can help corporate relocation managers successfully place employees to accomplish company needs,’ said Renee Carnes-Rook, Cartus vice president of real estate services. ‘Now is a good time for relocation managers to re-examine workforce policies and strategies to increase cost savings.’

Why Corporate Images Are on Fire
Naseem Javed of Ecommerce Times puts the spotlight on negative corporate images and suggests a few ways for companies to strengthen their credibility. “Most corporate boards are extremely scared to open a debate on the name-image issue, but the global economic meltdown is pushing the name-identity crisis to the very top of the priority list. A survey of major corporations around the world revealed that 87 percent of corporate names were nearly identical to other business names, causing confusion and the loss of name-equity in the marketplace. The sooner corporate leaders address this, the better.”

How to manage staff positively in an economic downturn
Ivan Robertson lists the things troubling people at work like relationships, work overload and unfair pay, giving his insights on how to mitigate them. “A quick look at some of the more recent results (from a sample of more than 20,000 people) produces some interesting insights in the current economic context. The results show that most people view their relationships with others at work quite positively. Only 9 per cent of people report being troubled by poor relationships with colleagues at work. One possible area of concern for managers, which may be related to the economic climate, is how people feel about others pulling their weight. In fact, our results show that more than 50 per cent of people report being concerned, to some degree, that they do not receive the support from others (boss/colleagues) that they would like. As the impact of the credit crunch increases and workforces become leaner, people in many workplaces may be expected to do more – perhaps making it harder to be supportive and helpful to colleagues. Nearly 60 per cent of our most recent sample reported some concern that others are not pulling their weight, compared with closer to 50 per cent in the preceding eight months.”