5 Ideas to help you manage through the recession

1. Assess Employees Better

In good times it's easier for employees to look like stars, so appraisals tend to become less rigourous. In tough times it's much easier to distinguish the true stars from the also rans. More importantly, with unemployment rising, employees are more likely to take evaluations seriously.

2. Mine employees for ideas

Potential improvements can hide in a million places, employees are more likely to know better than you are.

3. Manage for value

It more critical than ever to focus on what really matters, which is earning a return on investment. Aligning peoples goals to return on investment will ensure employees are all focused on the same thing and not a myriad of different measures.

4. Address risks

The most dangerous risks in any organisation are the ones no one wants to address. In a recession, it's much easier as employees are used to bad news.

5. End guidance to the City

Telling investors what quarterly earnings are likely to be then taking that number up down as the quarter progresses and then contriving to beat it is a big stressor for managers which may force them into short term action, which is harmful to the long term health of the organisation.

To see more ideas and post your own suggestions for managing during the downturn see our site on Slinkset.

Adapted from an article on Fortune.com