It poured all day.  Over ten inches in nine hours.  The monthly average is—was—4.5 inches.

That was in Oklahoma City last week where my cousin’s pool overflowed and the rain seeped into her sun room. All morning.  We spent the morning sucking up water with the wet vac, which could not keep up with the rain, and sopping it up with towels.

When this kind of thing happens you put everything else aside so you can deal with the crisis. I remember several years ago saying I was so stressed out I couldn’t handle one more thing.

Then I got fired.

Amazing how that kind of event puts life into perspective.  Kind of like the rain that just doesn’t stop coming in.

When these little distractions occur you do what you gotta do to get through it.

That happens with companies, too.  When you work together as a team to resolve an issue it can create a bond.  Psychologically speaking, the harder you work at something the better you feel when you’re done.

What if you went to work one day and had to lay off half your workforce?  Looks pretty devastating.  On the surface.  But what would you do if you had to lay off half your workforce?

I’d venture to say the other half would step up.  And for my client where that happened, the other half did step up.  Although they’re hoping to recall all those workers in the next quarter, in the short term they’re all pitching in to lend a hand wherever a hand is needed.  No more turf wars in that plant.  They just want to get the job done without sacrificing customer satisfaction.

In the process they also have their eye on employee engagement.  Not surprisingly there is heightened anxiety in this plant and they want to be sure to keep the remaining workforce energized and engaged.  Their plan?

  1. Take advantage of the opportunity to get to know their workers on a personal level.  The Gallup Company has shown that workers who feel a personal connection at work are more engaged.
  2. Share information as needed – and as they are able – to reassure workers of the future of the facility.  With rumors of the plant closing they all want to know what’s going on.  Management knows it is to everyone’s advantage for the production workforce to know any information they share is accurate.
  3. Express appreciation and celebrate successes and accomplishments.  A “thanks for giving 110%” or “I appreciate how you pitched in with meeting that deadline” costs nothing but is worth everything.  A shift pizza party or morning donuts after meeting a goal goes pretty far, too.

This manufacturing team woke up to find water pouring in their sun room, so to speak.  But they remain focused on their goals, work together doing whatever it takes to get the job done, and keep their workforce engaged by expressing appreciation and rewarding accomplishments.

When it rains it might pour.  But sometimes those storms can still bring phenomenal results.

I’d love to hear about storms that your team has weathered—and what helped you come through it.