How to Deal with Pandemic Pessimist?

By: Julie East, Corp. Marketing & Recruiting

Jul 13, 2021


The pandemic has brought many hardships to businesses, from shutdowns and restrictions, to layoffs and price hikes. According to a Staffing Industry report, only 30% of adults plan to stay in their current jobs post-pandemic. Now that a bit of normalcy is around the corner, how do you guide and retain your team if they are pessimistic about the future?

 

COMMUNICATION  

Keeping your employees informed is key to keeping them calm and feeling secure in their work. It’s normal to feel uneasy in these times. Soothe your team members by reassuring them that their fears are normal, and they are being heard. Keep your regular communication with team members by letting them know of any upcoming meetings, planning sessions, new clients, etc. Make sure your team is focused on their role and long-term development with the company. When employees don’t feel engaged or useful, they tend to start the search for a new job. It is estimated that 73% of disengaged employees will want to leave the company.  Ensure your managers within the company will communicate with their teams. Empower your people, and help them empower each other. Employees want a place where they can openly discuss their uncertainties and feel they are heard.

 

FLEXIBILITY  

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that companies have to be flexible to survive. Even though businesses are beginning to see some normalcy on the horizon, it doesn’t mean that your employees will want to or be able to get back to business as usual.  Your employees have been dealing with a lot of unusual personal situations such as working from home, home-schooling children, caring for sick family members, etc. It’s important to remain flexible to those employees who may need to take a little extra time to take care of things at home.  

Remember: You probably hired your employees because you trusted in their skills and ability to work independently. That trust is especially important now. A little human understanding in the short-term will go a long way in ensuring long-term loyalty and productivity.

 

HAVE A STAFFING PLAN  

Your employees are your company’s greatest asset, and replacing one is a timely and costly feat. Even in routine times, when you factor in recruiting, hiring, and training a new team member to replace one who has left, the average cost per hire is 21% of that employee’s annual salary. The average time spent from recruiting to job offer is 22.5 days. When adding in the pandemic, unemployment benefits, and stimulus checks, however, that time and cost increase exponentially.  

A staffing firm, like Lofton Staffing Services, provides companies with a cost per hire, and offers financial guarantees to support the quality of their talent. In addition to cost per hire savings, employees contracted through a staffing firm fall under the staffing firm’s unemployment and workers’ compensation claims. This can quickly decrease costly overhead due to injuries and employee turnover. Having a staffing partner that is proactive rather than reactive in the recruiting process quickly cuts your costly downtime and additional burdens on other employees within the organization.

 

About Lofton: Founded in 1979, Lofton Services offers clients the best of all worlds. We provide the responsive, personal service and flexibility of a small local firm while having the technology, resources, and infrastructure to deliver the benefits of the biggest players in our industry. Lofton Staffing can deliver the right people, with the right skills, right when you need them. Contact us today

 


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