Redundancy & Career Outplacement
Redundancy situations are difficult for all concerned. Those being made redundant are obviously most directly affected, and they should of course be treated sensitively and reasonably throughout the whole process. To do so, the requirement for the proposed redundancies has to be carefully considered. Once confirmed, it needs to be communicated just as carefully to the workforce at large. The worst possible start to any redundancy programme is for those affected to hear about the redundancies through the mass media before they are informed by their employer
Once the decision has been taken, most organisations will find themselves seeking to achieve two partly contradictory objectives; firstly to get the whole thing over with as quickly as possible in order to minimise the impact on the business, customers and the other staff; and secondly to ensure that the procedures for selecting staff to be made redundant and the processes for implementing the redundancies, are as fair and reasonable as possible. This requirement is of course one which takes significant time and resources itself and has to satisfy certain legal requirements, as minimum requirements.
Additionally, and related to the second of these objectives, employers should consider that there are two other groups of staff who, whilst not directly caught by the redundancy requirement, are likely to be affected to a significant degree.
The colleagues, of those affected, particularly those in the same department, function, or location, are likely to become anxious about their own employment security. Some, particularly top performers, may consider jumping before they’re pushed and start looking for other jobs. Others may simply become less committed to the organisation until it becomes clear whether or not they are safe; as a consequence sales or the quality of delivery may fall further – the very opposite of what’s needed at such a time. Of course some may be spurred on in an effort to ensure they are not at risk.
The third group to be affected, will be the managers charged with managing and implementing the programme. They will have to become proficient in: the application of selection criteria, consultation with staff and their representatives and most difficult of all, communicating the bad news to those staff who have been selected.
Where the in-house skills and knowledge does not exist we can support and even manage and deliver the whole process.
It is therefore a primary requisite to square the circle as effectively as possible. A redundancy programme which is over quickly and which is seen to have been implemented fairly, sensitively and reasonably is one most likely to minimise the adverse effects on the organisation as a whole. Of course the opposite is also true and should be avoided if at all possible.
In order to help people through redundancy programmes, RBA offer an unrivalled service:
Redundancy support, involving:
Design of documentation
Briefings and consultation
Managing downsizing campaigns
Re-structuring, role clarification, competency frameworks
Managing the next steps
Trade union liaison
Compliance with legal procedures
Selection criteria, design of selection matrix
Calculation of redundancy packages and final communications
Career outplacement support, involving:
One to one support
Group workshops
Open resource centres
Seminars, can include:
Looking to the future
Creating a winning CV
Marketing yourself
Interviewing skills
Financial planning
Self-employment