These tips will help your company thrive following layoffs and downsizing activities.
Introduce Efforts to Increase Your Organization’s Competitiveness Following Layoffs and Downsizing
Layoffs and downsizing are never the only answer. In fact, if employees see you immediately begin to address other aspects of uncompetitive practices, they will rally from the downsizing in record time. This is your opportunity to look at all business processes and eliminate possible waste. (If you are a manufacturing company, you may already think of this as lean manufacturing. If you are not a manufacturing company, you will want to read Lean Thinking, to understand how to build a lean enterprise throughout the value chain. See sidebar.)
With fewer employees, consider eliminating unproductive meetings, initiatives that don’t put you closer to your customer, and employee requirements that don’t add value to your product or your service. Process map your key work processes to eliminate non-value added steps.
Look especially to eliminate steps that are redundant, repetitive, time adding or permission requiring. Additionally, use a systematic problem solving process to tackle consistent, irritating problems. Create measures of success, and provide constant feedback, so people know how they are doing within the new organization.
If you have downsized across the board - almost never recommended, if you have a choice - eliminating management positions as well as professional, clerical and technical positions, you have a powerful opportunity to consider empowerment and involvement initiatives. Since you have fewer people, you will want to develop more engaged, thinking, caring employees, who are involved in decision making at a higher level such as the join leadership style.
More Steps to Take During Downsizing and Layoffs
Take these additional steps, as an organization, to rally your survivors after layoffs and downsizing experiences.
- Reinforce daily, in a positive, mind and heart-stirring way, the vision, mission, and excitement of moving forward with the organization.
- Emphasize the positive goals that you can accomplish this year together. Make certain that the goals cascade through the organization so people feel strategically connected to the overall strategy and direction. Review the goals publicly, on an established schedule, so people feel part of something bigger than their work unit. Review the goals and progress within work units as well. This helps people focus on progress and the future rather than on the layoffs, the downsizing and the past.
- Provide rewards and recognition wherever you feel you can legitimately do so. Be creative and have fun with these.
- Continue to hold expected events, sponsorships, and programs that people have come to count on from the company before the layoffs. Keep the familiar meeting structures unless the group decides to change them. Do not cancel expected forums because everyone is too busy or you feel there is a lack of interest.
They become even more important during times of change. One client cancelled their summer company picnic because it was too close to the downsizing. I would have recommended moving the picnic a few weeks, but holding the picnic was important. Having some things not change can provide stability in the midst of a downsizing. It also sends the message that life at work does move on.
