When it comes to employee engagement, companies are following the ?wait and watch? approach instead of retrenching employees immediately, revealed the findings of a Deloitte report titled ?Employee engagement in recessionary times? announced on Wednesday.
Deloitte, which provides audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management, and tax services to selected clients, conducted the survey across 41 companies spread across Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
Companies are trying to balance both employee and operational costs, the report stated.
P Thiruvengadam, senior director of Deloitte, said, ?As the market dynamics and customer preferences change, companies are beginning to focus on finding innovative practices related to talent management and, at the same time, driving measures to cut overall operational costs. Companies appreciate that to remain viable and competitive both in short term and long term, they must focus on and improve their ability to attract, develop and retain top talent.?
The report suggests that employee communication has taken on a greater importance, especially to counter low employee morale. More than 90% of companies surveyed stated that there have been regular communication to employees about the company?s performance and future plans.
Also, companies are keeping a close watch on training spend and are more focussed on multi-skilling existing employees. Nearly 78% of companies surveyed stated that the compensation structures and reward philosophies have remained relatively unchanged in the current economic slowdown. Employee rewards have been tied up with specific initiatives where employee efforts are clearly identifiable and have an immediate positive impact on business.
The real challenge, according to Deloitte?s findings, lies in motivating and providing opportunities for growth and development of those workforces that are retained.