Managing people through the downturn, Executive Education at London Business School

Managing people through the downturn

Programme overview

People are at the heart of organisations and drive performance, however a recession can erode the skills and culture that contribute to success.

In context of the current downturn, this programme provides insights into the people challenges that exist, identifies how to strengthen employee engagement and equips participants with an immediately implementable action plan to increase the resilience of their people strategy.

This programme is ideally suited for anyone tasked with managing people or driving people strategies through this complex and difficult time.

Watch the Managing people in a downturn video

Programme outline

Day 1: the impact and implications
Day one examines the impact of the downturn on people strategy and outlines techniques to maintain employee engagement. We will:

Assess the impact of previous recessions and the implications for people strategy.
Introduce new techniques including the 'recession proofing learning tool' to diagnose opportunities and challenges for a company.
Determine how to engage a workforce, including ways to maintain motivation and strategies to retain talent.

Day 2: the path to success
Day two considers the processes that drive success and suggests techniques to make the most of a recession. We will:

Explore how to identify 'signature' processes including what to preserve and what to abandon.
Discuss how a recession stimulates change, opportunities it presents and how innovations in management practice can drive efficiency.
Create an action plan which can be immediately implemented to help an organisation emerge from the downturn as more purposeful and resilient.

How you'll benefit

On completing the programme, participants will understand:

The impact of previous recessions, the opportunities and challenges today and the benefits of innovating management practices.
How to identify an organisation's signature practices and ways these can be preserved.
Techniques to motivate a workforce and maintain high engagement so that when opportunities arise they can be easily grasped.
Strategies to develop an action plan that meets resource constraints and increases the strength of their people strategy.

Faculty profile

Lynda Gratton is Professor of Management Practice at London Business School. She is considered one of the world's premier management thinkers and actively advises companies across the world on human resource strategy.

In 2006 she was appointed the Director of the Lehman Centre Women in Business.

Lynda is extensively published and her latest book Glow - How You Can Radiate Energy, Innovation and Success (April 2009) identifies the guiding principles and actions that enable you to become indispensable to your organisation and have a more robust, exciting and fulfilling career.