How Employers Can Manage Job Cuts Better During Covid-19
With the economic repercussions of COVID-19 intensifying, many companies are preparing to take on the undesirable task of restructuring in order to survive. Amongst others, are industry giants Qantas and Deloitte Australia who recently announced plans to cut 6000 and 700 jobs respectively. As the initially proposed end date of the JobKeeper scheme on the 27th of September approaches (and even if the scheme continues in a different form), it is likely that many other companies, both large and small, will be slashing jobs.
While the choice to keep employees in permanent positions has, in many cases, been taken out of the hands of executive decision makers, employers should nonetheless continue to handle the situation in the most fair, decent and respectful way possible.
This may sound obvious, but before finalising terminations stop for a moment and reconsider other alternatives.
How can you follow your brand values and make these extremely difficult circumstances slightly easier on your workforce?
Be transparent and honest. Make employees aware why change is required; how the pandemic has impacted the company’s bottom line, strategic direction and your staffing needs.
Be creative and work on some ideas together.
Consult with your employees whose roles may have changed over the past few months, as you may find that they are more open to options that they may not have considered before.
For example, if a number of employees have similar skill sets and experience, the option of job sharing should be considered. This may result in more employees keeping their jobs if they are willing to accept reduced hours on an ongoing basis.
If following consultation with employees, this option is desirable for them then not only will you be reducing payroll costs, you will also be retaining talented, trained and experienced employees. Plus, when business does pick up you won’t have to go through the costly and time-consuming process of recruiting, selecting and training new employees.
What if job sharing or reducing working hours isn’t an option and your department which has a headcount of three competent, hard-working, experienced employees, now only requires one full-time employee?
In this situation, it is not uncommon to formally ask current employees to reapply for a job. This gives all current employees an opportunity to apply, precludes discrimination issues and enables the company to keep the most suitable employees.
The most common reaction from employees to this will be anger, frustration, or disbelief. Incumbents are unlikely to feel happy about re-applying for a job they see as being much the same as they have been doing for some time, and will feel insecure and stressed.
To avoid this reaction and prevent a decrease in what already may be low employee morale, it is essential that you have open, two-way communication in place regarding the reason and the process involved; have a clear job description for the role and explain the process for reapplying, dates decisions will be made and the next steps for those who are unsuccessful.
Where jobs cannot be saved, you still need to ensure employees depart on the most positive terms possible.
If a redundancy is the only solution, then ensure that the communication and process is handled in the most professional way. Have your facts and figures ready to discuss with your employee when you advise them of their situation. Be clear on end dates, handover of work, payments and entitlements due and any counselling that may be available to them. Follow up with a letter confirming all details.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to do exit interviews with departing employees. Exit interviews are invaluable in providing employees with the chance to ask any last questions and to give unfiltered feedback about the company’s culture, processes, structure and strategy which will potentially enable you to improve business performance in the period ahead.
It will also give you one last formal opportunity to acknowledge and thank the employee and end the working relationship on good terms, thereby leaving the door open for future contact.
Don’t forget about your remaining workforce.
Remember to keep communicating like never before. Don’t underestimate the impact change has on employees even if they weren’t part of the restructure this time. They may very well be wondering if they’re next? Keep your employee experience top of mind (just as you do with your customers!)
“If employees don't feel supported or informed, their performance, engagement and wellbeing are on the line -- which puts bottom-line outcomes at risk too.”
Gallup
Most importantly, take into account the impact of how restructuring is managed on your company brand. How your business acts and reacts to dealing with COVID-19 will define it in the future.
Dovetail Brand Engagement specialises in assisting companies with the implementation of best practice initiatives, aligned to your brand and culture and can work with you to adapt a flexible workplace to ensure ongoing employee engagement and retention. More >