So here’s the bad news: Economists are warning that the UK economy could face a recession and a flood of job losses if interest rates hit the 6% level financial markets believe is on the cards.
The good news is, there are ways that business leaders can help their organisations to not just survive, but thrive as global economic conditions become unpredictable. How? It’s all about nurturing your company culture.
Employee experience impacts the bottom line
A recent report by A Great Place to Work has shown that the employee experience directly correlates with a company’s ability to thrive in a recession. In fact, companies whose employees reported having ‘very positive experiences’ during turbulent times actually gained 14.4% in stock value.
Let’s take a minute to let that sink in: During a recession, these companies actually improved their performance. From 3rd January to 1st January 2014, these thriving companies saw their stock performance increase by 35%, while the S&P 500 had just a 9% gain.
Creating a winning culture
At the heart of these thriving companies is a winning company culture, and the report highlights five key groups of people and five key experiences that were shared by all.
At these high-growth companies, the following five key employee groups were having positive, high-trust experiences around inclusivity, innovation, fairness and integrity.
These key groups are:
- Women
- Front-line workers
- Hourly male workers
- Long-tenured employees
- People of colour (referring to people who identify as African American or Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Hispanic Latinx, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, or identify with two or more races)
It is the daily experiences of people in these groups that predicted how well organisations fared during the recession.
The report identified five critical experiences for these key employee groups, which were linked to how successful a company navigated a recession. These include:
- Being treated as a full member of the organisation
- Innovation by all – a sense that everyone in the organisation is invited to generate new and better ways of doing things
- Management following through and delivering on promises
- Fair promotions
- Feeling welcomed when joining new teams
The formula for success
So in a nutshell, the formula for success when it comes to thriving in a recession is:
5 key employee groups X 5 critical experiences = Thriving during a recession
Looks pretty easy written down like that doesn’t it? Let’s break those experiences down a bit more.
- Make sure everyone is treated as a full member of the organisation
When every employee feels that they are valued, you build trust, retain talent and increase engagement. Recognise the work your incredible people are doing during this tough time – be willing to pivot and flex.
- Practise ‘innovation by all’
You need everyone in the organisation looking for ways to improve productivity, reduce costs, or deliver superior value to the customer, especially during turbulent times.
Ask key employee groups to take action – whether those are ideas for cutting costs, improving customer service retention or new ways to generate revenue.
- Ensure management delivers on promises
In uncertain times, we need as much stability as possible. When you’re a predictable and steady leader, your employees can focus on their work and their lives, not on second guessing or managing you.
Level with your people. The old warning about not over-promising and under-delivering applies now more than ever. Be careful about the commitments you make and carry them out. Provide whatever hope you can while also trusting your team to manage any complexity.
- Make sure promotions are fair
Fair promotions signal to employees that promotions are based on performance and capability in an even-handed way (not just for those who play the game or have an ‘in’ with the managers). You’ll inspire everyone to give their all when they see people like them can advance.
Review your promotion and hiring process for any bias or inconsistency and double down on transparency. Make your criteria for advancement crystal clear and celebrate promotions explaining the qualities and achievements of those who earned a larger role.
- Ensure new team members are welcomed warmly
Teams are often volatile in a recession. Their make-up and process can change rapidly as strategies and company structures pivot. Whether hiring new people or shifting existing employees on to new teams, the tone is set early on. An inviting team climate cultivates engagement and best efforts. A cold greeting fosters indifference, or worse.
Many companies are onboarding employees and moving existing staffers to new teams remotely. Take the same, or more, care and intentionality around connecting people to each other and to the business as you would in person.
The news on will we go into a recession or won’t we is changing every day, and let’s hope it never comes to pass – but if you can double down on your company culture and provide the most inclusive, high-trust environment for all of your staff, the data tells us you’re more likely to thrive rather than flatline during periods of economic uncertainty.
How we can help
At AQORD Wellness, we’re on a mission to make sure that all employers, whatever their company size, can provide their employees with corporate-level health and wellbeing benefits at a cost that’s in line with their budget.
These benefits can have a real impact on your company culture and help you to create a deeper connection with your staff by showing them that you genuinely care about them on a personal level.
For the price of buying each employee lunch once a month, employers who offer our benefits see:
- Fewer sick days
- Increased productivity
- Higher employee retention rates
- An increase in overall workplace wellbeing
Meanwhile, employees – and everyone in their household – benefit from:
- Quick and easy access to GP services
- Mental health counselling
- Hundreds of discounts across their favourite brands
Want to find out more? Check out our Premium plan for a full list of benefits.
