As Australia (and the world) goes through market and economic challenges, let’s talk about the reasons why you should keep investing in your people and technology.
If you are like me, and have been around the block a few times, or as I like to say ‘seen a few economic cycles’ – your antennae will already be tuned to the current economic talk. You will be getting yourself and your business ready to weather any potential storms.
If the economy slows down, what can you do to get ready? Answer – You need to be smart about what you do to get your organisation ready for possible turbulence ahead. Take stock of your current projects and organisational priorities. Take the time to understand them on a deeper level, and the contribution they are making. This is the time to adjust your course, if you need to, keeping in mind the bottom line, employee experience and client loyalty.
What will happen when the economy picks up again? Answer – Hopefully, you will be able to pick up the pace of your transformation and projects. You may have slowed down your activities and reprioritized them, but you didn’t stop them.
What can you do during these times while keeping your costs low(er)? In my experience, I have done the following:
- Keep progressing with transformation projects. Slow down slightly if you must, but do not cancel them or put them on hold. Your teams need to see progress and positive actions during uncertain times.
- Upskill your people. Now is the time to help people identify gaps in their skill base. Help them make a plan to address this. It gives you better skilled employees, and makes them more marketable. You will also keep them motivated for when your transformation project comes on line. Implementing an on-line learning platform with preloaded content is a cost effective way to start.
- Get your project business case in order. If you slow-down slightly, make sure you have your business case in top shape so you can definitely get those approvals. Include the benefits and cost savings – tangible and intangible. You can refine this in-house with assistance from external experts to guide you.
- Stakeholder management and engagement. Engage on a deeper level with your senior stakeholders. You will have more time and not be rushed. There is time to take them through the project and the benefits to the organisation. Particularly during more difficult times.
- Invest in mindset changes. This is a perfect time to work with your core teams and work on their mindset towards transformation.
In any downturn it’s your people that will help you get through to the other side, so by continuing to invest and giving them a great employee experience it sets you up nicely for future stability and growth.
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Thank you for reading. I write about HR, Employee Experience and the digital workplace. Connect with me to talk about what you need to know as an HR professional in the digital world, HR technology, my time in New York or dogs. Find me on email sarah@mooreatwork.com and on twitter @SaraMooreatWork or Sarah Moore on LinkedIn