UK 
United States
When downsizing occurs, you’ll want to make sure remaining employees feel valued and supported. Find out how career coaching for all can help — from assisting managers on the front line of the redundancies, to ensuring the rest of the team gains confidence and resilience in the face of change.
Periods of downsizing are never easy — particularly for the individuals being let go. That’s why most companies strive to ease the transition for affected employees as much as possible, by supporting them in finding their next opportunity and providing severance packages to reduce the financial impact. But, how many consider how redundancies can affect the rest of the team that remains?
Neglecting to address the concerns of the wider employee base can have a negative effect on an organisation already reeling from the impact of the redundancies. As downsizing activity continues to increase, with 92% of organisations expecting to take some downsizing action this year, it’s important to ensure that remaining employees are fully supported before, during and after these events.
Since restructuring will affect each employee differently, a blanket, one-size-fits-all approach to supporting them won’t fully address the needs of the team. Instead, organisations that adopt a career coaching programme, in which all employees can access a professional coach of their choosing, will be better prepared to emerge from the downsizing more successfully. With a professional coach on their side, change doesn’t have to be negative; in fact, many may soon find stretch assignments or new internal job opportunities by working with a coach.
Help managers manage the difficult conversations
Once the decision to downsize has been made, consider how it will affect the company’s managers. They’re the individuals who will likely have to deliver the bad news to the employees who are being let go — often the most difficult conversations they will have as managers. On top of that, their teams are full of people they probably hired and worked closely with, and now they have to tell them their services are no longer needed.
Providing coaching in advance of redundancies can give managers the confidence to better conduct those difficult conversations, from minimising the emotional toll to remaining direct, calm, and clear in their communications. It can also help them ensure they deliver the message with empathy and encouragement, which are essential to leaving a positive impression on affected employees and thereby maintaining the company’s reputation.
One survey found that individuals who have received coaching reported three of the most significant benefits to be: building confidence, growing their potential to be a good manager or leader, and improving communications within their team. All three of these areas are essential when having to deliver news about redundancies, and when dealing with the pressure to rebuild the organisation.
Following the redundancies, managers will have to reconfigure their teams to account for the downsizing to make sure work still gets done in the midst of enormous change. And on top of all that, they have to be supportive and encouraging to the rest of their teams, who may be disappointed and demoralised by losing their colleagues.
Of course, each manager has different strengths and areas of development that will show up in such situations. That’s why any coaching programme should be tailored to their unique needs. By offering private, personalised coaching, managers can discuss their individual concerns confidentially and learn how to deal with these new challenges the right way. It will also help them in the long-term, enabling them to build resilience to navigate future change and instil these behaviours in their teams.
Empower employees during uncertain times
Employees who remain may have difficulty adjusting to the new situation, from the initial shock of the redundancies, to the reality that they may be asked to take on more work to account for those who were let go. They also may be nervous about their own job security and fear further downsizing.
That’s why the approach to supporting them should be two-fold: helping them deal with the stress and uncertainty of the situation, while also ensuring they feel valued and that the company has their best interests at heart. If not, they might struggle to perform at the same level, or they could even see this period of uncertainty as a time to think about leaving on their own.
That’s where an organisation-wide coaching programme can benefit all employees, especially during times of downsizing when they may be at their lowest. For example, with one-on-one coaching, employees can have meaningful and private conversations with an external coach, so they can truly express their feelings, share their concerns and receive professional guidance on how to move forward.
The value of maintaining a coaching programme will continue long after the downsizing, and as such , programmes can help talent develop new skills, increase their work performance and be more motivated. Moreover, organisations that provide coaching are shown to perform better, as more than half (54%) of high-performing companies have a strong coaching culture.
Just the fact that the company is willing to invest in a coaching solution speaks volumes. Despite the need to let people go, the company is still putting resources into their employees who remain. This can be critical to increasing engagement and retention during this period of transition and ensuring top performance of the team despite the situation.
Support your team — today and tomorrow — through coaching
When downsizing occurs, it can cause a seismic shift in your organisation. While often one of the most difficult events a company can face, there are ways to minimise the negative impacts and ease how remaining employees adjust to these major changes.
Coaching can help on multiple fronts, from empowering managers to have the difficult conversations with staff who are being let go, to supporting their teams in the wake of the downsizing. It also gives employees the opportunity to address their concerns about the downsizing and receive expert guidance on how they can come out of the situation even stronger.
Most importantly, when coaching is made available to all employees, rather than just executives and high performers, the entire team can benefit greatly. Not only will it help in dealing with the immediate challenges stemming from the downsizing and show that the company supports them, it will also prepare the team for long-term success, giving them the confidence and resilience to perform at their best well into the future.
Simon Lyle is SVP EMEA at Randstad RiseSmart, the global talent development and transitions business within Randstad Enterprise. He is passionate about coaching, career transition and talent development and the impact it has on individual and organisational success.
With a blend of international general management, sales leadership and programme leadership skills, he brings significant experience gained across outplacement, career mobility, business education, and consulting industries to his work at Randstad Risesmart.
He’s known for scaling up business operations and growing customer relationships in a range of industries, including technology, lifesciences, financial services, professional services and consumer goods. Across his career he has held roles including SVP EMEA, Managing Director and Global Head of Business Development across leading human resources and education organisations.
Simon holds a bachelor's degree in International Business, and a post graduate Diploma in Coaching.
