顛覆時代如何讓員工安心 Strategies to soothe disrupted staff

We are said to be living in the age of disruption. Technology is enabling start-ups to overturn traditional businesses. The likes of Uber and Airbnb are threatening the taxi business and the travel industry. Carmakers are competing with tech companies such as Google.

都說我們生活在一個顛覆的時代。科技讓初創企業能夠顛覆傳統企業。優步(Uber)與空中食宿(Airbnb)之類的企業正在威脅出租車和旅遊行業。汽車製造商正與谷歌(Google)等科技公司競爭。

For those in charge of established companies, devising strategies to stay afloat is a priority but they also need to manage employees’ anxieties. I asked veteran business leaders, consultants and a workplace researcher for tips on handling staff in such circumstances.

對於老牌企業的負責人來說，制定生存戰略是優先考慮的事情，但他們還需要解決好員工的焦慮問題。關於在這種大形勢下如何管理員工，我向資深商業領袖、顧問以及一位職場研究人士討教了一些小竅門。

John Reid

約翰裏德(John Reid)

Former CEO of Warner Music Europe

華納音樂歐洲(Warner Music Europe)前首席執行官

At Warner, Mr Reid gained first-hand experience of how the recorded music industry was the canary in the coal mine for digital disruption. The sort of structural upheaval that ravaged CD sales can prompt an “existential fear among employees”, he observes. It meant that talented people left the industry, believing that they had no future.

在華納，裏德獲得了在面對數字技術的顛覆時，唱片行業如何成了“煤礦中的金絲雀”的第一手經驗。他說，摧毀CD銷路的那種結構性劇變會引發“員工的生存焦慮”。這意味着，有才能的人會因爲覺得在這一行乾沒前途而選擇離開。

Today, he says, the recorded music industry is competing with the likes of Google for staff. “That’s a challenge. You still want bright, contemporary thinkers entering the industry.” Smaller budgets mean more work for remaining staff. But staff retention is aided by emotional attachment to the product.

他說，如今的唱片業正在與谷歌之類的公司爭搶員工。“這是一個挑戰。你仍然想要聰明、具有現代思想的人加入這一行業。”削減的預算意味着剩下的員工要承擔更多工作。但員工會因對產品的情感依戀而留下。

For some, the challenge and excitement of digital disruption in itself is compelling. Staff have to adapt, learning new technical skills, spotting new challengers and also new markets.

對一些人來說，數字顛覆本身帶來的挑戰和興奮足以激發他們的興趣。員工必須學會適應，學習新的技能，發現新的挑戰者和新的市場。

Mr Reid left the recorded music industry for live music and now leads the European operations of global concert operator, Live Nation. He admits to feeling much happier “now I’m not cutting costs and instead, growing a company”. Nonetheless, he knows he cannot afford to be complacent. “Live music is not immune to digital disruption,” particularly when it comes to ticketing.

裏德離開唱片業，進入了現場音樂行業，現在負責領導全球演唱會承辦商Live Nation的歐洲分部。他承認，現在感覺更快樂，“現在，我不是在削減成本，相反，我在發展壯大一家公司”。儘管如此，他知道自己還不能自滿。“現場音樂也無法免受數字顛覆的影響，”特別是在票務方面。

Tammy Erickson

塔米埃裏克森(Tammy Erickson)

Executive fellow at London Business School

倫敦商學院(London Business School)管理研究員(executive fellow)

Ms Erickson’s research has been on managing a changing workforce. “We tend to join a company or industry with a future in mind,” she observes. “When an industry goes through transition, employees feel the psychological contract has been broken.”

埃裏克森一直以來的研究重點是如何管理變化的員工隊伍。“我們傾向於加入一個自認爲有未來的公司或行業，”她說，“當一個行業經歷轉型時，員工們會感覺心理契約被打破。”

She looked at US utilities after the market was deregulated in the 1990s, and found that employees who had joined for a stable career were distressed when told to be entrepreneurial and take risks.

她觀察了上世紀90年代解除市場管制後的美國公用事業，發現爲了職業穩定而加入這類單位的員工當被告知他們將成爲企業員工並承擔風險時都感到了苦惱。

Ms Erickson believes it is important that management acknowledges the problem. “You have to say ‘I know you joined for this reason but things have changed.’” Managers need to be clear about what they can give in return for employees’ loyalty. “It might be thatyou offer professional development. If that is the case, you have to make it happen.” This could mean exposure to a broader range of aspects of the business or mentoring.

埃裏克森認爲，管理層承認這一問題很重要。“你不得不說‘我知道你是因爲這個原因而加入，但情況發生了變化。’”管理者需要清楚，他們能拿什麼換取員工的忠誠。“或許是提供職業發展。如果是的話，你必須實現這一點。”這可能意味着要讓員工接觸到公司業務的更多方面或得到更多指導。

The risk is that you lose valuable staff, she says. “So employers need to come up with compelling propositions, to explain why [you should] work for them rather than someone else.” Yet there is always the risk, she notes, that employers are as paralysed as employees when faced by new challengers.

風險在於你可能失去有能力的員工，她說。“所以，僱主需要提出令人信服的意見，解釋爲什麼（你應該）爲他們工作，而非爲其他人。”但他指出，有一種風險始終存在——當面對新的挑戰者時，僱主和員工一樣沒有做不出什麼反應。