THE Jamaican economy has become the subject of discussion everywhere; in barber shops, at hair salons, over breakfast and lunch, in university lecture theatres, on the pulpit, and on the road corner. For the first time, in a long time, Jamaicans have taken keen interest in the economy of this nation and rightly so. But as we have our discussions, let us not forget some of the leading events in 2008 that have brought us to this point:

1. Crash of investment bank Bear Stearns ( March 13).

2. Fall of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (September 7).

3. Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch for $50 billion (September 14).

4. Lehman Brothers filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (15 September).

5. American International Group’s liquidity crisis. AIG’s shares lost 95 per cent of their value and the company reported a $13.2 billion loss (September 16).

6. The bailout of the US financial system (The Emergency Economic Stabilisation Act of 2008). President Bush signed the bill into law within hours of its congressional enactment on October 3, creating a $700-billion Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) to purchase failing bank assets.

7. The stock market crash began on October 6 and lasted five trading sessions. During that week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 18.1 per cent.

8. Citibank received the first of their three bailouts (November 23), Amount: $300 billion.

Wow! All of the preceding events had a profoundly negative effect on the economies of the world. We saw more job losses, increase in government deficit, more borrowing by the Government to meet its financial obligations, widening of the gap between the rich and the poor, sliding of the Jamaican dollar, four different tax packages in less than a year, and today we face an economy that is contracting at an alarming rate.

In an economic crisis like the one we face in Jamaica, usually the first causality of a struggling company is neither its infrastructure nor its technology, it’s the most important and valuable asset of the company, its employees. In an economic downturn, companies must understand that this is not the time to discard employees like cardboard, nor is it the time to use the recession as an excuse to clean house. It is the time to appreciate and reward the loyalty of your employees by doing everything in your power to preserve their jobs.

A few days ago, I went to a particular dry cleaning company for the first time to enquire about the cost of cleaning one of my suits for church. A very pleasant lady, who I was seeing for the first time, came promptly to my assistance. We talked about the price of cleaning the suit and before long we were talking about a wide range of subjects – church, the crime situation and her business history, it was at that point that she revealed to me that she was the proprietor of the business and has been at that particular location since 1975. I was bold enough to ask how the business was going and she was delighted to say to me that things were not too bad and that she has give to God thanks. However, it was the very next things that she said to me that shocked me and caused me to doubt her but subsequently shake.

She said, in spite of the crisis she has kept all nineteen of her employees. I could not help exclaiming, “Are you serious? I don’t believe you!” With a smile of satisfaction she responded, “Yes, you better believe it.” She further reported to me that it took some creativity on her part and flexibility on the employee’s part to accomplish this. “People had to learn new areas of the business, support each other, make adjustments,” she said. “I come to work every day, work with them and encourage them and that’s what motivates them,” she further noted with a smile on her face. I thought to myself what an epitome of resilience and commitment to the MVA of the business.

Companies in Jamaica must take a page of out Jane’s (not her real name) book and do everything possible to plan, preserve and protect the MVAs at their companies. It’s the best opportunity to focus on employees’ motivation and development. Demotivated and disgruntled employees will sabotage your company and bring down your already shrinking profit margin.

So, how do you as a manager keep employees motivated and excited to come to work every day?

Business Coach Hannah McNamara suggests five tips that will help you motivate your staff to keep then firing on the production line during this crisis:

1. Keep the lines of communication open

Managers please be reminded that no one likes being in the dark. Nothing stresses people out more than not knowing what’s going on. While you work hard to implement changes and develop new and more effective cost-cutting measures and other policies, remember who they will affect the most, it’s the same people you will be asking to implement them, so keep them in the know. Don’t make the mistake like Prime Minster Bruce Golding who assumed that because everyone knows what the country is going through that Jamaican will be quick to ‘ban dem belly’ and understand and accept the tax package that was announced on December 22, 2009. Mr Prime Minister, the first order of business in a crisis is to keep the lines of communication open so that the people of Jamaica what the true gravity of the crisis .

2. Be honest with them – well, as much as you can be!

Keeping the lines of communication open is good but for Heaven’s sake please be honest with your team. Let them know exactly what the situation is; however, tell them in such a way that they become part of the solution. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you divulge confidential information or discuss sensitive information inappropriately. Being honest with them means explaining the reasons why things are happening. If priorities have changed, your team needs to know about it and when they understand the reasons why, they are generally a lot more co-operative than you might give them credit for. They may not like what they’re being asked to do but if they understand why it’s important, you’ll get a much higher level of buy-in from them. Mr Audley Shaw, take note!

3. Keep a stiff upper lip

It’s your duty as a manager to act as a buffer between your team and the management tier above you. To keep your team motivated and productive you may need to shield them from any politics, panic or doom and gloom, but more than that, you must lead by example. Even when things are tough, you’ve got to hold it together, be confident and be decisive — this is not a time for dithering or procrastinating. As far as getting the job done is concerned, it’s business as usual.

4. Be more strategic

At times like these, you need to be thinking ahead. Let your team deal with the minutiae and details. If you get bogged down in these you’ll find you get buried in day-to-day activities and all inspiration or creativity will be sapped from you. When times are tough, the whole organisation is relying on its managers to spot opportunities, improve processes and find ways to get customers buying again. You simply won’t be able to do this if you’re running around like a headless chicken fire-fighting.

5. Nip gossiping in the bud

Gossip has the potential to either damage someone’s reputation or cause widespread panic around the office, particularly if people are gossiping about looming redundancies, so the moment you find out about any gossip, deal with it. The last thing you want is your best member of staff to go and find another job because they thought, incorrectly, that they might be made redundant. I’m going to be serious here now, if you know that you’re the office gossip, you need to stop. Listen, by all means to find out what’s going on, but don’t start rumours or get caught up in spreading them.

Employers must take extra special care of the people who have toiled and struggled over the years to keep them in business; the same people who stuck it out through the thick and thin over the years. The same people who built the company and made it what it is today must be treated like MVAs because they are your (MVA) Most Valuable Asset. Share with them the present status of the situation, be honest and weather the economic storm together.

Henry Lewis is an Executive Coach and the Founder and CEO of Caribbean Coaching Center, he can be contacted at henrylewis@caribbeancoachingcenter.com