Steven Rothberg | business management consultant | MANAGE YOURSELF Your | Steve Koss

Tap remaining employees for suggestions about putting the organization on a more prosperous path, says business management consultant Steve Koss: "It is amazing how few companies do this." A fast way to build team spirit - and to foster a sense that you're all in this together - is to solicit this employee feedback. Get employees talking, suggesting, thinking, and their optimism will be that much higher.

Conceive the future
Kick up employee enthusiasm another notch with an exciting vision of the streamlined company. "They need to be shown that the new workplace will be better than the old," says Steven Rothberg, president and founder of CollegeRecruiter.com, a jobs site that has had to downsize in leaner times. If employees believe that the downsized organization is just a skinnier, weaker version of what had gone before, he says, the very workers needed to create a new prosperity will seek new employment. Fight that, says Rothberg, by turning on employees to the new corporate direction.

Don't stint on back-patting
"Demonstrate appreciation," says Kaylor. "In the post-downsizing weeks, look for opportunities to recognize teamwork, initiative, and commitment." Employees will be watching to see if their efforts are genuinely valued by management. Show that you care and - guess what? - employees probably will reciprocate by putting in the long, hard hours needed to propel the organization into renewed prosperity.
JOB SURVIVOR, MANAGE YOURSELF
Your organization has downsized, but your employer is doing nothing to help you cope with the new realities. That may be the everyday norm - too many companies still drop this ball - but smart employees are finding do-it-yourself cures. Such as: