Did You Accidentally Lay Off More People Than You Planned?
Did You Accidentally Lay Off More People Than You Planned?
It is important to check your payroll to see if you might possibly have lain off more people than you planned. How could that be?
If the layoff you did was accomplished with honoring those who had to leave, giving them the company’s full support with recommendations, strong job search assistance through outplacement experts and more, you do not have this problem.
If not, look to see how many of your people may have “checked out” even though they are still working and on your payroll. Employees who remain make judgments about the company and their position in the company based on how departing employees are treated.
So how do you know how well you did? You will be able to tell very quickly by the amount of energy and enthusiasm your people have for what comes next. If they are just working hard, heads down and delivering, but not moving toward new ideas, creative ways of doing things, offering suggestions and more than they are indeed “checked out.”
How does this happen? The answer is simple. Look at how you have handled the current economic crisis within your organization through this check list and answer yes or no to these questions.
#1 – Are you involving every employee in helping to decide how to manage this? Are you using mass collaboration through blogging and the web to stimulate thoughts on successful strategies?
#2 – Is this being done with everyone on some type of team that is charged with coming up with ideas to increase revenue or reduce expense?
#3- Have all employees been given the opportunity to report out on these ideas and get feedback if they are on the right track or need to go in another direction?
#4 – If you had any layoffs, were they done with honor, exiting people in a short amount of time but not pushed out the door, giving them a chance to get support from their colleagues, good outplacement services meetings, even held on site, and more? (See Layoffs with Heart)
#5 – Have you been communicating your numbers and challenges much more frequently, becoming more and more transparent to your team so people can work with the reality of your situation?
#6 – How many new revenue ideas have been tried since January 1st? Is it at least 3 or 4?
#7 – Did all your executives personally thank each departing employee, honoring them with your presence and your support in their next endeavor?
#8 – Is your organization planning to ride out this economic downturn only with “lean and mean” strategies?
#9 – How many Mastermind groups are currently working on your future plans? Are they in different areas of your company for diversity of thought?
#10-Do you rest easily knowing you are trying 101 different ways to reduce expense, including salary reductions and shortened work weeks?
Could a Situational Specialist help you with this?
Tags: CEO, Economic Downturn, Human Resources, Layoffs, Leadership