Dealing with staff expectations in a downturn

Meeting the salary expectations of staff in tight economic circumstances will be a major challenge for Transnet Port Terminals in coming months, says chief operating officer Solly Letsoalo. In the good times, overtime pay was the norm – and it’s something on which some employees have come to rely. He acknowledges that meeting the expectations of staff in a downturn will be a fine balancing act. “When overtime pay falls away and they’re affected personally, it creates a lot of conflict between the employees and management. “These issues need a lot of thought and we are not as experienced as we need to be in handling these kind of situations – but we have to learn very quickly.” And transparency will be key. “We need the cooperation of every single employee in dealing with the downturn. “The bottom line is that we need to be prepared to put together a very clear communiqué that will make people understand what’s happening around the world and how it impacts on us and what we need to do together to deal with it – that will be the cornerstone of our success in dealing with this economic downturn.”