Prioritise your people, not the process, while managing redundancy
People are at the heart of any redundancy process and once the consultation period starts everyone feels the impact of the announcement, even those who aren’t directly impacted. Ensuring you’re taking care of those at risk as a priority, as well as colleagues not directly affected who may be feeling unsettled, is an important part of the consultation process. Here are some key considerations to ensure people remain the priority in the redundancy consultation process.
Open communication
Right from the announcement, transparent communication is crucial. People need to understand the message and rationale, they may not agree with it, but having plenty of information to enable them to come to terms with it will help everyone through the change curve in their own time. Communication needs to be formal to comply with the formalities of the redundancy consultation process and it’s also important to keep the informal lines of communication open. Encourage line managers to check in on their teams, ask them how they’re doing and be prepared to answer their questions. It’s a misconception that communication can only take place during formal meetings once a redundancy consultation process has started. I’ve worked with individuals who told me that once their job was put at risk the senior management team avoided speaking with them and they would look away when they passed them in the corridor, the only time they had any communication was in formal meetings.
Offer support
Support comes in lots of forms and can be as simple as checking in on someone or taking them for a coffee or a walk around the building. Redundancy is an emotional time and simple gestures like noticing if someone doesn’t seem themselves, or just checking in to see how things are going will go a long way. You could consider offering access to coaching supporting during the redundancy consultation period, something that we’ve found can be very effective. It not only takes the pressure off the HR team and line managers, but it gives people an independent safe space to talk things through. You can also encourage line managers to check in on their teams who aren’t directly impacted, they will be feeling the effect of the announcement and the possibility of losing their friends and colleagues. They’ll want to know what’s happening and how their colleagues are being treated – for example, are they being offered outplacement support and being given the best possible chance to find their next role. And they’ll be looking for reassurance that this isn’t the start of a wider restructuring project that could impact them next.
Provide access to training and development
During the consultation period it may be possible to give those at risk access to internal or external training and development to enhance their skills and their CV. Depending on the profile of those at risk, where licences or certifications are due to expire you could consider providing the facilities to get these renewed and updated, or make an arrangement with a provider for after they leave as part of their redundancy package.
Having these updated could make all the difference when looking for their next role.
Provide Outplacement Support Services
Allowing people access to outplacement support for the practical and emotional aspects of navigating redundancy is a key consideration during the consultation period. People will undoubtedly feel anxious about the future and having access to specialists either on a one to one or group basis will help to elieviate some of their anxiety.
If you’re not able to bring in a professional team of specialists, there are things you can do to support people – I’ve explained more in my guide.
Well Being Programme
You may have an internal Well-Being champion who can put together a bespoke programme to support people, or you can consider an external consultant, sometimes as part of an outplacement support package. Reminding people about your EAP details is important. Some may not realise or have forgotten the support is available to them, so including details in their redundancy consultation meeting packs is something else to add to the list.
Provide access to professional Financial Guidance
Redundancy is more than losing an income but this is what most peoples’ thoughts turn to at the prospect of losing their job and no longer being able to pay the bills. You can consider bringing in a financial expert to run a workshop or offer one-to-one consultations. Your company pension provider may deliver this service and you can direct people to the Citizens Advice Bureau for free impartial advice. Some colleagues will qualify for income support from the Department of Work and Pensions.
Financial advice is something which requires specialist training so I would recommend you provide signposts and resources and avoid being drawn into individual discussions or advice.
Be flexible
During the consultation process there may be times where you need to consider being flexible in order to best support the needs of those at risk. Redundancy consultation periods have timings for consultation, trial periods and when notice is served, but in some cases you may need to review these. For example, extending a trial period for someone to ensure they’ve had the best possible chance in a new role. You might also need to consider what you’ll do if someone finds a new role during their notice period – are you prepared to let them leave early?
Being flexible is another part of keeping the person in mind and not letting the process overtake and become more important. The legal process is there for a reason, but there will be times when after you’ve ensured you’ve complied with the legislation you then need to make a call on what impact flexibility could have for the individual.
Ensuring you provide reasonable time off work to look for jobs is another key consideration. Make sure people know how much time is reasonable, how much notice you need and how you’ll manage multiple requests with balancing day to day operations.
Never forget the individual when managing redundancy
Once someone hears those words ‘your role is at risk of redundancy’ they need the support of the HR team and their line manager more than ever before. Demonstrating you care for your employees during the redundancy consultation period in both thoughts, words and deeds will be the lasting impression they’ll carry with them long after they leave. People deserve to know they matter right up until their last day.
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