Down times, tough times, trying times can do some good. They can offer opportunities to apply what your "employee engagement savvy." These times can provide Windows of Opportunity (or Optimism).

Here are the final 5 of this week's baker's dozen of tips to keep your people engaged when times are not good. You'll see the C.O.R.E. concepts at work.

Talk about engagement.
You can command your employees to "Get engaged!" until you are blue in the face. You don't need to do that for those who are prone to engagement. That ranting and raving may do good for those sitting on the engagement fence. It falls on the deaf ears of those committed to doing the bare minimum.
However, in times like these, it cannot hurt to remind everyone the good that employee engagement provides:

• Employee retention
• Customer loyalty
• Company growth
• Employee satisfaction
• Quality improvement

It also will not hurt to remind everyone those goods may make an even greater difference in times like these.

Offer and promote learning opportunities.
I've said before that now is not the time to cut your training budget. Employees see that as an early sign that things are looking bad. And when you take away your commitment to their development, their improved ability to perform and to perform better, they are likely to see it as lack of caring. Every employee satisfaction and employee engagement survey I've seen has emphasized the direct correlation between level of perceived caring by management and level of employee engagement. Consider specific training relevant to the current economic situation and that will benefit employees and your company now, especially.

Book 'em.
Give everyone a book. I've listed quite a few in the box to the left. Gifting the book demonstrates that you still believe in them and in what they can do for the company. And it's probably a minimum expense related to the engagement ROI it will produce.

Create your personal commitment; then demonstrate your engagement to fulfill it.
Very specifically define what you are going to engage in to help your people, your department, your company, and yourself.

Again, be specific: hold a daily 5-minute head's up meeting? bring in a motivational speaker? get out of your office and among your staff twice as often as normal? 4 times as often?
Then let everyone know about your commitment so that they can later see (and appreciate) how fully engaged you are to fulfill that commitment.

Get spirited about engagement.
I say "spirited" and I may mean "spiritual." I won't go so far as to recommend daily prayer services at your company, unless that's already part of your culture. I am suggesting now may be the perfect time to allow energy, spirit, spirituality into your workplace. If it provides your employees firmer footing, greater calm, better ability to stay focused, it's plenty worth it. And if it sticks around when good times return?

All the better, I'll wager.

Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10085373@N08/

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Tags: Employee Engagement, Management, Opportunity, recession, tough times