Handling Layoffs - Practical steps from The Sergay Group, Ltd.

Oct. 31, 2009 - PRLog -- There are so many other options to explore to position a company well with a board or to improve efficiencies or to post solid cost to revenue ratios. That is not to say that layoffs are not a viable strategic option that, at times, has to be executed.

Layoffs are sometimes the best route to take. But when they take place, there are definite challenges that have to be faced.

Should Layoffs Be Your First Choice?

Other types of cost savings can offset the gains received from downsizing. There may be opportunities that emerge to expand your market, shore up your position in your market, or move into a new market even during a downturn. In this way, the gains can be felt without the pain; because we shouldn’t kid ourselves - personnel cutbacks are painful. Studies show that it is the most stressful action that managers have to take as part of their job description.

Avoid the Need for a Layoff

Determining the dollar spend that has to be cut in the organization is the first step. A re-look at the strategy has to be the next step. Questions need to be asked, like: Have all possible future scenarios been explored? Are the strategic goals the right ones for the envisioned future? Has the budget been proportioned in alignment with the strategy? Where in the organization have results not been forthcoming, and why? Are there unexplored external opportunities to analyze and pursue? Has the current and potential customer interface been fully explored? Could there be new markets for the business?

This is also the time to challenge the processes followed in the organization. With process flows optimized, the organizational structure may have to change, with different work profiles emerging. But this does not always have to entail layoffs. It may just require people being re-skilled, multi-skilled, or reassigned. Sometimes employees would be willing to cut their hours by 10% to allow all to keep their jobs and then you have your staff well placed when the times change for the positive. Sometimes a perusal of the workforce profile may prove useful. One of our clients, the largest foreign exchange earner for a country in Africa, felt they needed to trim the size of the workforce. An action like this would have gone beyond the economic arena to have a deleterious political and social impact on the country as a whole. A simple look at the age profiles of the workers revealed that a large percentage of the required reduction in staff would occur anyway through natural attrition over the following three years as the workers retired. Factoring in losses of the workforce due to the scourge of AIDS, gave the organization their projected staff size without having to go through the added agony of a layoff. Quality improvements and waste reduction may sometimes be sufficient to stave off downsizing. I have even witnessed the formation of a special task force out of “at risk of layoff” individuals or teams, to seek out opportunities and do R&D in order to forge an economically viable place for themselves in the organization.

For the complete guide, see...http://www.sergaygroup.com/Handling-Layoffs.html

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The Sergay Group is a consulting firm that specializes in organizational development, organizational development training, leadership and employee development training and more.