In his 30 years of business, Richard A. Berkowitz has seen his share of recessions. But the current downturn has outlasted them all. And the longer it drags on, the more it raises the level of tension in the office.
“This is just a terribly stressful time for people because of this economy,” says the managing director of Berkowitz Dick Pollack & Brant Certified Public Accountants & Consultants LLP. “People are afraid. They’re concerned about their future. They’re concerned about taking care of their families.”
So Berkowitz keeps his 150 employees in the know as changes transpire. He also busts stress with games and keeps their workloads steady because he wants the working environment to remain pleasant at the accounting firm, which posted fiscal 2008 revenue of $34.8 million.
“You’re trying to do everything you can do to reduce stress in the business workplace,” he says.
Smart Business spoke with Berkowitz about keeping your employees calm during stressful times.
Comfort employees with communication. I’ve heard how people are notifying people of changes in their company by e-mail, by text, by Twitter or Facebook. It is really a time when [leaders] have to make the effort to get out in front of people and reaffirm what their mission is, reaffirm what their companies are about, reaffirm that they are managing not only for the present profit but for sustainability in the future. You have to get out there all the time, and you need all the C’s. You need to be certain that the information you’re giving is consistent with what you’ve told people before, that you’re truthful, that your communication is clear and it’s constant and it is done in such a way that it’s credible.
Back in April, we had a meeting, and one of the members of the firm said, ‘Can you tell us what’s going on?’ I said, ‘Yes, I will do that on a consistent basis as time goes on so that you know what I know.’
You can say that to mollify people or to get off the hook, but I’ve been back to that. We’ve had several meetings, probably one every four to six weeks. We’re consistently communicating. We have firm meetings on a regular basis, even if we do it by video in the various offices. Last time, everybody was stuffed into four conference rooms in our three offices.
What consistent and open communication does for the business is it creates trust. If you’re out there and you’re telling people what’s going on, you’re telling them the truth and you’re consistent about it — even if the news is bad news or is news that involves change — people will appreciate the fact you’re letting them know what’s going on. If they believe that you’re going to keep telling what’s going on, then it makes them feel more comfortable. It takes a lot of the stress out of the workplace.
The way we’ve built our firm is through high communication and based on the philosophy that high communication equals high trust. If you have high trust, then people will enjoy what they’re doing more and will be more enthusiastic with their clients and with the people that they work with.