In face of emotional turbulence
How does HR maintain employee motivation in midst of economic change? Fuji Xerox maps out their strategy.
Singapore - For Fuji Xerox, making sure employees are motivated and engaged is of utmost importance during these tough economic times, says Lee Soon Kim, general manager, human organizational resource development of Singapore.
"The media sending out mixed messages and negative reports on the economy does not bode well for employee morale during this downturn," says Lee. Furthermore, she adds, Fuji Xerox has not been spared from the economic downturn as well.
Like many other companies, Fuji Xerox took "mild" cost-cutting measures. But these measures did not come at the expense of employees, she adds. For instance, the company has reduced its overseas travel budgets and moved towards utilizing web conferences instead. The company's recent solutions exhibition for clients was also held in its office premises instead of the usual hotel arena.
During these bad times, Lee says her HR focus is to ensure that employees are equipped with the right skillsets as well as continue to ensure a high level of employee engagement.
And to do that, Fuji Xerox has not let up on recognising outstanding performers within the company. It recently held its annual awards ceremony for its 680 employees to recognise those nominated by their peers and superiors for their outstanding work in areas such as service excellence, top sales performance and support. Some of the awards it gave out included the President's Award, a regional award from Japan given to two top performers of the operating company and Service Champion Award, where an outstanding frontline staff was given recognition based on compliments received from customers.
The company also launched a new award ‘Most Inspirational Player/Manager' this year, which gave tribute to employees who demonstrated the company's core values and were highly inspirational to other staff.
In addition to that, department heads were also given budgets to organise get-together and bonding sessions for their employees as well.
But with all the changes in the economy, what is HR's role in helping manage the change in employees' emotions? According to Lee, HR has to play the role of a facilitator and ensure constant communication within the organisation.
And support from senior line managers plays a large role as well, adds Lee. Earlier this month, Fuji Xerox produced a corporate video capturing the business activities of the past year, as well as interviewed staff on how they are managing with the downturn, what they hoped for from the company as well as how they can help the company to sail through this difficult period.
Furthermore, Lee adds, members from senior management constantly emphasis that employees should still focus on the company's core values - such as fighting spirit and care & concern - will be key in order to help the company get out of this dark times. To motivate and encourage the staff, Fuji Xerox's managing director also sent out an encouragement card with MD's motivational message earlier in March last month. The MD's quarterly communication meeting is also an important avenue to update staff of company performance as well as continue to encourage and motivate them.
