Employees need motivation to boost productivity. PHOTO | FOTOSEARCH
A recent chief executive officers, human capital managers and
brand experts gathering sought to deduce how staff would stay resilient
in times of uncertainty in the corporate space.
During
the meeting it emerged that some careers and jobs in corporate Kenya
were at stake and that had sent a chill down the spines of most
employees.
The executives attributed this to the
country’s seemingly stagnant economic performance which also trickled
down to company performance.
It is, however, not all
doom and gloom as one of the executives alluded. The corporate leaders
agreed that the economy is diversified and that has provided a soft base
to invest in different cash generating ventures.
“I
have a lot faith in Kenya’s economy, if people stop tampering with it
then it will correct itself. the diversified sectors we have given it
more reason to flourish, Kenya’s multi legged economy differentiate it
from other countries that rely on sector to flourish” Richard Mukoma,
managing partner at Brand Integrated.
So how are employees expected to maintain a level face amid the threat of job loss due to uncertain economic times?
Kenya
Women Finance Trust (KWFT) managing director Mwangi Githaiga said
employee retention is not solely a factor of the economy but a mandate
of the company’s top management to ensure appropriate strategies are
developed to mitigate against job loss. He says employees have to be
engaged, for them to be part of the bottom line growth of the company.
That is, they have to buy in to the company’s vision in the simplest of ways.
“Let
us engage our employees, be fairly simple in communicating your vision
and be genuine. Let us run the organisation as though you will run your
own family,” he says.
“It is the work environment
that we are talking about, it is not the huge salaries that keep people
in jobs.” The KWFT has for two years in a row been voted the best
company to work for in the Deloitte Best Employer Survey.
Executive
coach Ann Kabinga, however, cautions that companies need to shutter the
idea that there is an internal organisation and an external
organisation.
“We need to be responding to what our
customers what. We need to be aware and close enough to take a pulse
check of the market demands and that is how you are able to create jobs
for the future” she says.
How do you engage
employees? Oracle’s human capital team conducted a study in how people
management will look like in 2017 and the detailed report sought to be a
wakeup call.
The report placed the responsibility of employee engagement right at the door step of HR Practitioners.
“HR
have the difficult task of making the case for a more employee centric
and today’s analytics and technologies have put them in a position to
make compelling arguments based on hard data,” reads part of the report.
Mr Onserio is a business reporter with NTV Kenya.
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