Naturally, the focus of redundancies tends to be on those who will be losing their jobs, whilst those who remain employed fall temporarily to the side-lines. For these individuals, the impact of redundancies can have a lasting effect. Morale and confidence in the business often take a swift dive as staff wonder how secure their jobs really are. During this time period, it is essential that you take action to avoid further staff choosing to leave or productivity falling. Try these three steps to ensure you handle the process smoothly.
Team Building
In the absence of those who have been made redundant, new teams will inevitably form and job roles could change. Treat these teams as if they were new starters at your business and put effort into helping them bond. Many of the teams you have in your organisation will have formed over a number of years, creating lasting relationships and relying on a library of knowledge that has been built up over time. Perhaps you fund a team lunch and provide the opportunity to build rapport or maybe you schedule a day out of the office for the new team to do some relationship building activities. Either way, ensure you don’t overlook these individuals.
A leading cause of anxiety during this period will be fear over further redundancies being made. This can be best addressed through simply communicating efficiently with those who are still employed. Address the matter rather than avoiding it. Consult with managers of affected departments and instruct them on how best to approach the topic, the facts of the situation and what will likely happen going forward, this way they can give the most rounded explanation possible and provide stability to those who may have concerns.
Leave Breathing Room
The entire redundancy process could result in emotional responses and a possible drop in productivity in a period of time when workloads are likely to increase. Respecting the likelihood of this happening will help managers to future plan the workload of the team during the process and post-redundancies. It is important to have this conversation with management long before redundancies have been made so that the entire process can be implemented and managed effectively.
About Resource Management: we provide a comprehensive range of services throughout the UK and Europe and specialise in the provision of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Managed Service Provider (MSP) programmes. We have been trading for almost 20 years, providing resourcing solutions to a range of blue chip clients from SME to FTSE 100 constituents.
