how can I ask more of people?

It's been a tough couple of years financially for all, with many organisations having to tighten belts and employees suffering as a result. So how can you ask for more? Read on for some advice on how to keep your staff happy and increase productivity.

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Reputation management
These are straitened times for organisations in both the public and the private sectors. A third of all organisations surveyed (REC Jobs Outlook) are still making redundancies, similar numbers are experiencing a headcount freeze and elsewhere organisations have reached a point where they say it’s simply not possible to reduce the size of their workforce any further. So it’s no surprise that the big challenges in today’s world of work are managing internal change and increasing productivity.

Retaining each valued individual
There’s no hiding from the fact that conditions are tough. The atmosphere in workplaces is reported as “tense” by half the survey. In June, nearly 70% of people said that their workload had increased during the preceding quarter, and half of those surveyed anticipate that in the coming months they simply won’t be able to cope with increasing demands.

These increased demands are affecting the amount of time off that people are able to take. Organisations need to be mindful of the implications of this for retention, since length of leave is viewed as an important differentiator between workplaces.

Utilising skills
During the recession around 10% of people have taken positions which do not fully utilise their skills. That’s a resource which can be leveraged to benefit organisations, and critically, to engage and enthuse staff. Finally, there’s also a sizeable proportion who say they’ve got more to offer their workplace either within their existing role, or in a more suitable position, but their skills have just not been identified.

“Most organisations use a mix of permanent, fixed-term contracts, interim, contract, temporary workers, outsourced service provision and consultants. Responsibility for these pools of people is often split. Few organisations view or manage this workforce holistically or realise that by doing so, they can optimise efficiency”, says Kelly Quirk, MD of Randstad Corporate & Managed Services.

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