Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review

Elevate Employees, Don't Eliminate Them

By: Ryan W. Buell
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

The last major global shock—the 2008 recession—led to what economists call a “jobless recovery” as companies found they could get by with fewer employees. But post-pandemic, the author writes, managers should focus on changing employees’ roles instead. He has five key pieces of advice: Enable employees to meaningfully connect with customers in the moments that count; help them make more such connections by shifting the boundaries of their work; find ways to allow customers to lend a hand; ensure that employees can see the impact of their work on the lives of their customers; and invest some of the new value created in increased compensation and improved scheduling—which will in turn create more value.

Keywords

Employee Relationship Management; Customer Relationship Management; Interpersonal Communication; Value Creation

Citation

Buell, Ryan W. "Elevate Employees, Don't Eliminate Them." Harvard Business Review 99, no. 5 (September–October 2021): 55–59.
  • Find it at Harvard

About The Author

Ryan W. Buell

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

More from the Author

    • 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Differentiating on Diversity: How Disclosing Workforce Diversity Improves Brand Attitudes

    By: Maya Balakrishnan, Jimin Nam and Ryan W. Buell
    • 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Multi-location Workers in Multinational Firms? Tradeoffs in Contextual Specialization of Employees and Organizational Outcomes

    By: Hise O. Gibson, Ryan W. Buell and Prithwiraj Choudhury
    • July–August 2021
    • Manufacturing & Service Operations Management

    Surfacing the Submerged State: Operational Transparency Increases Trust in and Engagement with Government

    By: Ryan W. Buell, Ethan Porter and Michael I. Norton
More from the Author
  • Differentiating on Diversity: How Disclosing Workforce Diversity Improves Brand Attitudes By: Maya Balakrishnan, Jimin Nam and Ryan W. Buell
  • Multi-location Workers in Multinational Firms? Tradeoffs in Contextual Specialization of Employees and Organizational Outcomes By: Hise O. Gibson, Ryan W. Buell and Prithwiraj Choudhury
  • Surfacing the Submerged State: Operational Transparency Increases Trust in and Engagement with Government By: Ryan W. Buell, Ethan Porter and Michael I. Norton
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College