Redundancy: Is there a positive future?

Some employers are quick to turn to redundancies when times get tough. The business case often used is: 1. We need to cut costs. 2. People are a big cost. 3. Let's get rid of some people.

Making people redundant is viewed as a risk but that risk is believed to be overshadowed by the need for business survival. In other words, without the cost saving of redundancies the business will fail.

There are undoubtedly circumstances where this is true but also true is the underestimation of the risk that redundancies pose to the business. Alongside this underestimation of risk on the part of the employer is an over-experiencing of difficulty by the individuals being made redundant.

Today's Times Online article - The day I was made redundant - is a good example. It describes the difficulties of the redundancy experience from an individual's point of view as well as the hit-and-miss nature of the organisational support on offer. So how could the experience be different on both sides?

Employers can identify the faults in their traditional responses and act with targeted solutions in mind. Employees can be offered support that helps them embrace and manage the opportunities that changing circumstances create for them. Risk and opportunity on both sides can be managed more effectively. Agreements can be made that address priorities within the context of success as seen from all sides.

For sure, redundancy will never be a perfect experience but it could be given a future more positive than its negative history might suggest.

KEEP Consulting: The value of career conversations between employers and employees

Traditionally, employers & employees do not discuss careers. Discussions that focus on an employee’s future regularly take place but exploring the independent direction and development of an individual’s career is a rare thing indeed.

This poses an interesting question: Is there an opportunity that both sides are missing?

A career conversation between employer and employee can become a powerful statement of partnership. Even if an employee leaves there are investment returns that both parties continue to benefit from. Through a strategic career dialogue employers can positively impact the future of their former employees beyond their time within the business.

So, what do employers get out of this? First, a positive investment by their brand that former employees carry with them throughout their future careers. Second, significant benefit if the employee decides to remain within the business.

This is where things start to get exciting. An employee leaving is actually the worst case scenario  but even this can have its positives, as seen above.

Before an employee leaves the company, a career conversation has even more to offer. A strategic career dialogue establishes clear priorities for the future. It also connects employees to their development with a greater influence on motivation. There is also evidence proving that both employer and employee gain a unified perspective on how to achieve mutual reward and results.

In short, a valuable connection (or re-connection) is made between the individual and the organisation through a strategic career dialogue. Through our successfully delivered client work to organisations & individuals alike, we [KEEP Consulting] have proven the ability of career dialogue to offer unique, long-term advantages for both sides. Particularly in situations where performance, business strategy, investment and resources are under pressure or review.

The career conversation is a subject employees and employers have the opportunity to rethink and benefit from in a variety of ways in the future. If you are an employee or an employer and you have an opinion or a situation that might be relevant, we invite you to contact us and begin a new dialogue!

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This article is an excerpt from a white paper by KEEP Consulting Ltd.

Visit http://www.keepconsulting.net for more information.