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How to Survive RedundancyBy Phil Griffiths, Director of The Connect Team Ltd. It is generally accepted that the days of a job for life are a thing of the past. We are also all aware of redundancies all round us - national headlines of major plant closures and of course the chap next door who has just lost his job after 20 years with the same company. But how concerned should we be, either individually or as managers of people? Official statistics don't appear to support our worries about increasing labour turnover - the percentage of employees in same job for 20 years in 1986 is similar to that in 2000. What's more, the total number of redundancies has fallen to a rate of 5.5 per 1,000 employees for the three months ending September 2004. After peaking in November to January 1999 at 8.7 redundancies per 1,000 employees, redundancy rates have generally declined with the exceptions of a couple of small peaks in December to February 2000 and November to January 2002. (Source: Labour Force Survey, Office of National Statistics). However, putting statistics on one side, the spectre of redundancy is something that still haunts us all. Certainly the first time an individual suffers the experience it is traumatic and stressful. The uncertainty about the future, the stress of no income and simply the pressure of not working can be extremely debilitating. Most of us have been brought up with an ingrained work ethic and often the guilt associated with not working for a period of time can cause greater stress than the associated financial pressures. The graphic shows the stages of worry that afflict individuals facing forced career change:
As in most change situations, the vast majority of us manage to reach the positive right-hand side eventually - but with a range of concerns and traumas on the way. Some, of course, struggle badly; the "danger zone", a never-never land between the immediate angst of losing the job and the beginnings of discovering that "I have a future after all" is the most uncomfortable place to be. Take the case of Mike Brown*, a designer with a major petrochemical company. He was aware that there were to be job reductions in his department - but with 25 years service, and nothing but good on his performance record, he felt relatively safe. However, the announcement came, and the department was closed down - no jobs were to remain. Two weeks before Christmas, he took the news badly. How was he to tell his family? What future was there for "a fifty-something designer now on the scrap heap" (his words). Mike not only came through the experience, he prospered. Word went round the company that he was to leave, and a number of his internal customers rallied round to try to keep his skills. Mike was also taking external career advice, and worked on the opportunity to sell his skills to those parts of the business where he was still in demand. With his self-esteem now back together, and with help from advisors such as Business Link, Mike set up and is still running a small design consultancy. Mike's case and many others illustrate the importance of getting help. Support at this rather difficult time can come from a number of sources. At the minimum, employees who are forced to leave will need advice on:
In addition most people benefit from the opportunity to take stock: "Where am I now, and where do I want my career to take me?" A professional ear and appropriate advice can clarify the way forward. Some companies simply point redundant employees towards a range of free advice that can be found in websites and publications. This "look after yourself" approach saves cost, and may give the appearance of helping. For example, Monster's site includes access to a CV writing service, advice on working abroad and a salary checker; the Guardian's job site covers how to apply for jobs, letter writing and interviews. The government provides career advice through the Jobcentre network, and through the Worktrain website (Connexions for younger people). While there is value here, it relies on the self-motivation of the individual, and it is clear that this may be sadly lacking when the blow of redundancy has just landed. More enlightened companies may themselves provide a level of assistance to staff that are leaving, often with advice being given by HR staff. This can be valuable, although HR people are often under considerable pressure when redundancies occur and leavers may find the advice a little limited. Karen Jackson, HR Manager at a Berkshire based manufacturing company, was faced with providing support to a large number of production and administrative staff, and with a very limited budget. By contracting with a career consultancy to allow employees to have access to their on-line career advice modules and tools, she and her HR colleagues were able to provide a valuable service across the business at a very low cost and in a time effective way. Jackson says "We simply could not afford the time to work with all the people affected, and neither did we have the breadth of knowledge needed. This solution took the pressure of all of us in HR." Given the certainty that most organisations will have to "let people go" at some stage and that the impact of redundancy is well established, there are still a surprisingly large number of organisations that do not make any formal outplacement support available to their staff. Professional support is the key to helping those who have to leave survive the redundancy and, if a good outplacement company is used, actually benefit from the experience, find new jobs and end up with a far better understanding of their skills and aspirations - as illustrated by this note from an outplacement candidate: "My consultant has helped me accept my situation in a positive way and has advised and assisted me in the preparation of an up-to-date C.V. He has supported me and provided me with information and advice to enable me to prepare for job interviews and renewed my confidence at a time of change. I am now about to accept an offer of a job that genuinely excites me." An outplacement company should provide a whole range of benefits to an organisation that has to either make people redundant or go through any type of corporate restructuring. By providing all the elements of support we see as necessary to help individuals through their difficulties, an outplacement provider can manage the complete process from "Where am I Now?" through to "How do I settle in to my New Job?" Certainly there is a cost associated with the provision of outplacement, but an outplacement provider that uses the available innovative approaches, including delivery on-line, can make the provision of these services much more affordable. More importantly the benefits to the individuals affected (and to those who remain in the organisation - we will discuss this later) far outweigh the associated costs. Alan Bradley, HR Director of a US multinational technology company in Swindon, is a fan of outplacement. "After many years of growth we faced a fairly sudden slowdown in our markets, and the realisation that this would not go away. For the first time we knew that jobs would have to go - a tough message for a loyal workforce who had only seen good times. I realised that we need to make some support available - my HR network also confirmed that outplacers provide a good service. We took the then unusual step of making the service available to all levels of employee, not just the senior end." The result, says Bradley, was that the company's reputation was if anything improved. "The local paper would have pilloried us for the redundancies, but we were able to tell them about the decent way we were treating people" he says. At the outset, outplacement consultants have to dispel some myths. Perhaps the first is that many people when made redundant feel a failure - and they are not. Counselling is often needed to surface the wealth of knowledge and experience that most people have, but often give themselves little credit for, when grieving for their job. There is also an expectation that if someone is made redundant they must immediately look for a similar job in another organisation. This is a golden opportunity to reassess their whole career and make sure they are choosing the right path, by looking at their skills, knowledge and experiences as well as balancing this with lifestyle preferences, dreams and ambitions. Only then can they think clearly as to what job they would really like to have. This can feel like a ray of sunshine for some in an otherwise quite traumatic time of their life. "During our meetings my consultant quickly understood my situation and gave me clear advice, such that I felt confident to apply for jobs much sooner than I had planned. I had the chance to think about how the next job would fit with my home life, something I hadn't worked out before. I felt the process was excellent - it certainly worked for me." Avi Patel*, I.T. specialist. An innovative, modern outplacement company will provide a comprehensive website offering on-line tools, exercises and advice to help with the process of finding the job that's right for the individual. The benefit of such a service, available around the clock, is that people can work at their own pace, in their own time and from their own home, or anywhere in the world, choosing modules that are most suited to their needs. With this background support in place, time spent with an outplacement consultant can be really beneficial. They can now focus on helping the candidate write a good CV, research the job market and apply for the jobs that are of interest. With a wealth of experience, extensive contacts and a practical approach, the right outplacement consultant can make a world of difference to job seeking efforts. The consultant also acts as a reality check in the process. Many people experiencing redundancy for the first time have a very unrealistic expectation of the time it will take them to find the next job and the reality of their ability whether they undersell or oversell themselves. Underestimating this is often a major cause of loss of interest and enthusiasm half way through the search process. The consultant can help keep the momentum up during these periods of frustration, and help keep them on track. Richard Tadman, a director of Connect and consultant to a rich variety of the firm's candidates, began his career in the Purchasing & Supply function. Much of his career has been spent with the multi-national David Brown Corporation as a Main Board Director and Managing Director of two of their operating businesses. Most recently he was Vice President of Strategic Development for the USA based Textron organisation before working as a consultant with Connect, a challenge that he finds stimulating and rewarding. Tadman says that above all candidates need individual support. "The concept of a one-size-fits-all approach is seriously flawed - we have to work with each individual and understand where they are on the change curve, and how best to move them towards their next, positive career step." Tadman quotes a number of examples, among them the FTSE 100 director who valued the "sounding board" role of the consultant and was intrigued to find that his own emotions matched those experienced by so many others, at all levels; the sales executive, relieved at leaving a job that made her anxious and stressed, who was encouraged to open her mind to change and moved, happily and successfully, into teaching; and the accounts administrator whose reaction to the advice she received in a job-search workshop was: "Thank you! I am now back in work and really grateful for the encouragement you gave me." It is however a reality of life that sometimes the organisation making people redundant simply wants the leavers "off their hands" as painlessly as possible. However just 'letting them go' does have consequences - staff keep in touch with each other and if the people staying in the company know that those who left are unsupported and are struggling to find their way back into employment, their respect and loyalty to the organisation is reduced. Here we face a different question of survival: how do those who remain - the "survivors" inside the company - cope with the changes they see, and what can companies do to ensure that their people perform to their optimum in the new organisation? There is a phenomenon known as "the survivor syndrome", often discussed by HR people, sometimes researched, but too often unaddressed. A dictionary definition is: "A characteristic group of symptoms, including recurrent images of death, depression, persistent anxiety, and emotional numbness, occurring in survivors of disaster. Cf. survivor guilt. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary) Strong stuff! But how does this apply to employees? Studies in healthcare in the USA in the nineties described the corrosive nature of the effects of poorly handled redundancy programmes on employee morale and behaviour: "Survivor's syndrome starts with the destruction of a psychological contract. The contract includes the assumptions that the employee makes based on the employer's recruitment and subsequent behaviors. Assumptions include:
The contract gives nurses psychological control over their work environment, which lets them freely invest themselves in caring for patients. But downsizing reintroduces unpredictability and loss of control. Afterwards, the nurse spends work time worrying about herself and what will happen to her patients if she can't give them her full attention. The nurse feels betrayal and unfairness, which can lead to mistrust and anger. As the nurse suppresses her anger and mistrust, the feelings fester. She may experience reactions ranging from generalized stress, to demoralization and depression, to burnout." (Moore, J.: "Morale hits new low," Modern Healthcare. 25(50):52-53, December 11, 1995) A common sentiment among downsizing survivors is that it's unfair. The question "Will it be my turn next?" is on everyone's lips. Employees feel guilty that they remain while their colleagues (among them many friends) had to leave, complain that they now have more work to do, and express concern that they may not cope in the new set-up. Managers need to recognise and address these symptoms before employees begin to display a range of negative behaviours that can decrease productivity and creativity - sometimes for years. In the HR department of the subsidiary of a German company, the arrival of a new director and news of redundancies elsewhere in the company caused much concern. "We were known as "backline" staff, and we felt targetted" said one administrator. "Even though we were in HR we had little communication from senior managers, and frankly everyone was spending time re-writing their CVs." Once the decision about the reduction in jobs in HR was announced, there was initially deep gloom. "We all felt so bad about the people who had to go" was a typical comment from a "survivor", Clare Phelps*. She had been with the company for a shorter time than some of those who left, and felt guilty that her skills were needed ahead of those of past colleagues. "The best thing that happened was an 'away day' just after people had left" Clare told us. At that session, held off site, the new HR director outlined plans for the department, and put them into context with the state of the business. She asked the HR staff to work on exercises that included "what will it look like here in six months, if we have got it right?" and "what should we stop, start and continue now?". Clare's reaction? "I can now see why it had to happen. I still feel sorry for my old friends, but they have moved on to new jobs, and we're now moving on as well." So - what can a forward-looking employer do to mitigate the effects of a redundancy programme on those who remain, in order to maintain and ultimately improve organisation performance? If we look at the factors most likely to hit morale during redundancy programmes (Kettly, IES Report 291) we find
Two themes emerge. Firstly, as so often is the case, communication is vital when major changes are planned. Too many employers shy away from honest communication with their people when the news is difficult. Managers should provide employees with as much information as possible, to alleviate insecurity. Making senior management more accessible to employees plays a crucial role in the communication process. And managers need to listen at this time, possibly more than ever - employees' views on the new reality, how to eliminate useless work and how new methods can best be adopted will provide both opportunities for productivity gains and encouragement to the employees themselves. Secondly, now is the time to work with employees on the vision for the future of the business, and through that provide them with a view of their own opportunities for development. If employees can see that they are valued players in the future of the company, many of the natural concerns brought about by redundancies will be allayed. Offering employees the chance to discuss career options and personal development will strengthen commitment, an ingredient the business needs in good quantity if it is to avoid the pain so many companies suffer after a round of redundancies - a second round! There are parallels between this important employee development activity and the support provided by outplacers to those who leave - the company is helping people consider their options for the future. In one case the future lies outside the company, in the other as part of the company's future. Is it not patently obvious that, in circumstances where certain people have been chosen ahead of others to ensure the future of the business, the employer must invest in those people? And a final thought. If a company wishes to do the best for the people that have to leave the organisation, don't leave it to the final day when they are about to leave to invoke the outplacement programme. In our view the sooner support is provided to those who may be affected the better prepared they are and the faster they will move into new roles. In addition, early support and independent advice generally reduces all the internal disruption that statistics clearly show reduces productivity and profits. Well-managed outplacement can leave the company a much healthier organisation, with a workforce, both retained and redundant, feeling positive, motivated and valued.
Phil Griffiths is a Director of The Connect Team Ltd |
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