Archive for November, 2009
Don’t forget the survivors
During this current recession there is a lot of talk about redundancies and those who are made redundant. Unfortunately little is talked about that other group of victims – the survivors.
That’s right, the survivors. Most people automatically assume that the survivors are the lucky ones. After all they escaped redundancy and therefore they must be lucky. In many workplaces the opposite seems more appropriate.
There are four emotions that hit survivors in a redundancy situation.
1. Yes there is relief about still having a job. This can lead to a sense of euphoria and possibly celebration.
2. But that can quickly turn into guilt. “Should I be celebrating when poor old Ravi has gone, and what about Mary, she was in tears when she left. It was heartbreaking.”
3. Guilt can linger for some time, but then those people who are leaving or who have left tell the survivors about their redundancy package. Where the employer has been as generous as possible this can often lead to a feeling of envy. “Typical isn’t it. They walk off with a great big lump sum that they can put in the bank and we are the ones that are left to pick up the pieces.”
4. Finally the resentment sets in. Once the redundancies have taken place the work environment changes. If the cuts have been dramatic then the survivors may find themselves working in half empty offices or surrounded by empty workstations. They may also find that they are sitting at ‘Jennifer’s old desk’. Worse still, the senior management may well expect them to cover the exact same amount of work as the previously larger teams. So their workload goes up.
That is why it is so important to put in place some support for the survivors.
- Communicating what is happening to them and what the future will bring is very important
- Giving support and coaching to help them handle the new situation is also vital
- Allow survivors time to talk as small groups to share their feelings and to discuss what they think should happen next
- Get them involved in some of the decision making
- Show them that they are not next by offering some training, even if it is in-house and run by internal people.
It’s an imperfect world and it will take time for things to settle down, but the more you consider the survivors the greater your chances of getting a happy functioning workplace once more.
Using redundancy pay for training
When times get tough and that next job looks ever distant this is not the time to make rash moves.
One such move is to start spending money on expensive training courses in the hope that this will lead to the creation of a more desirable skills set. There are two problems with this approach, the first is that time spent in training is not time spent looking for a job. The second problem is that the choice of skill may do nothing to enhance your CV and hence your attractiveness to a potential recruiter.
When motivators become de-motivators
Imagine that your team has done well at something. You want to praise and thank them, so you decide to do something a little different.
One case in mind was when a manager decided to make a special effort of thanking his team by buying cream cakes to have during the Friday afternoon team meeting. He showered them with praise and the effect was obvious to see.
The next time he found an excuse to praise his team, he was so pleased with the previous experiment that he did it again. Then he decided that this was having such a positive effect that he would make the cream cake treat a regular Friday thing – “We’ve all had a good week and worked hard so let’s treat ourselves” became the message.
The team had started to get used to these Friday afternoon delicacies. They enjoyed the high spirits, the praise and now the cream cakes weren’t seen so much as a treat but as something which was to be expected.
When is training needed
One excuse that is often heard when discussing training needs is that there is no indication that the training will have any real value. It is a fair point but it could be that the the manager concerned hasn’t done their job properly.
If the recruitment process was conducted properly then you should have a very clear picture of the skills set of the new recruit. You should have compared these with the job description and ensured that you recruited someone with the closest possible match as well as the right personality to fit into your corporate culture.
Once that has been achieved there will always be some skills deficit. This is the area that is most likely to need some attention, possibly through training or possibly through coaching by the manager.
Where it gets tricky is if the job description is unclear, not sufficiently specific or changes as a result of internal organisation. The manager should be alert to all of these points and be ready to assess if new skills are needed and how best they could be provided. If the job description needs to be changed to make it more relevant then HR should be involved.
In an efficient organisation the manager will have regular one to ones with their team members and will be aware of any problems that might be occuring. During these one to ones it is important to have the discussion about the team member’s comfort zone in doing all of the tasks assigned. If there are areas that they feel they are struggling with then these should be looked at more closely.
The manager should avoid being critical or judgemental. It is always better to have a team member who feels able to admit to a problem in delivering part of their work than a frightened employee who continues to do the task badly for fear of being exposed.
The manager might want to consider if a problem area flagged up by one team member might be an issue across the whole team. Then they should decide whether the skills deficit is a localised one that is specific to their company or team, or whether it is a more commonplace skills deficit.
For example if the problem is a new piece of highly specialised equipment then the training might require a company technician to come in and explain. However, if the skills deficit is something like knowing how to respond to hostile customers then it might be better to bring in a customer services trainer to bring the whole team up to the required standard.
In the latter case the training might be required in other Departments within the company in which case the HR Department are the most appropriate people to handle the training needs.
Inevitably any good trainer should be able to point to real outcomes that can be measured. If they can’t then why not? Is it that the subject area is not one that can be measured? In which case you might consider whether there is any real value to the training.
Which brings us neatly back to where we started, except that at least there has been a process of elimination put in place before the manager simply dismisses the idea of training.
Don’t stop until you have a job
Last year I was working with a very senior person who had three interviews with a company and was convinced that he was going to get the job. Three months passed by and he had stopped looking for other opportunities.
He had even been told that he was the only remaining candidate, so the job was in the bag. Then he and his wife were invited to have dinner with the Managing Director and his wife.
The following day he was told that they had decided not to pursue his application. So he had to start all over again. He was angry – with them and with himself for stopping his job hunt. His morale went through the floor and his confidence nearly went the same way except for a lot of hard work by our team to get him re-focussed.
Bosses who stop progress
It’s a sad but often told tale. It begins with senior management when they start to believe their own rhetoric; because they made it to the top they must have what it takes and therefore clearly they are not in need of any training.
Not so the managers below them; they are sent on lots of training courses. Of course as these managers learn from the training they also realise that their bosses are not all that good after all.
Nevertheless, these managers bring back to the workplace the training they have had and start to put it into practice. However, very often they are blocked by their senior managers as they try to make changes. Morale drops, middle managers become embittered and cynical and the organisation slips back into all the old bad habits.
The ultimate losers are the shareholders who have put their faith in the senior managers. All for the want of a little humility and recognition that sometimes you get to the top despite some of your shortcomings not because you are perfect.
If you are a frustrated middle manager why not send the link for this blog to your boss; and if you are the boss why not start by asking what your managers have been learning on those expensive training courses you have been sending them on.
Managing volunteers
Have you ever tried managing volunteers? It is the toughest task in the world and one that I would recommend to any new manager who wants to sharpen up their people management skills. Why?
First of all you didn’t hire them. You arrive on the scene and there they are, doing what they have always done in an unconstructed way.
You can’t fire them. They are volunteers after all so you can’t say you are sacked. You have to live with them and make the very best of their talents.
You can’t discipline them. They could very easily walk away and tell you to get someone else to do it.