Lifestyle: Dealing with downsizing

While the procedural and legal aspect of the redundancy process may be familiar to you, coping with the emotional stress of making colleagues redundant is often overlooked. Bridget Osicki reveals how managers can overcome the emotional impact of laying off staff.

Do you remember all those years of studying, examinations, finally qualifying, and getting the first proper job? All those long hours, those cancelled social engagements, the heavy workloads and moments of heady achievements, and finally, the satisfaction of achieving that senior position in the firm, financial security, status and acknowledgement? In all the dreams, in all the goal-orientated thinking, did you ever imagine the time when you would have to sit opposite a friend and colleague to tell them they no longer had a job?
The situation in which many people now find themselves has come suddenly. From a fairly prolonged period of casual affluence, where work was plentiful and income could be pretty much taken for granted, many firms have been pitched into a situation where work has abruptly diminished and they simply cannot afford to retain the same staff levels. In professional firms, there is often a fairly tight-knit social group, and it is particularly hard to be the person who has to take the ultimate responsibility for making decisions that will mean the loss of a job, or jobs, within that group. Even where the type of work being undertaken makes the choice fairly obvious, the people who will lose their jobs are known, including their personal circumstances. Dealing with the process will become more difficult because of the ability to project onto the situation a vivid image of the consequences to those individuals. So what are the emotional effects on the person making the redundancies, and how can you recognise and handle these?
Much has been written about the person being made redundant, but the process can also be extremely stressful for the manager, who may be reluctant to admit this, in the face of the problems being faced by their (ex) colleagues. This article will look at the process of redundancy from a management point of view, and offer suggestions for ways in which you can recognise and reduce the stress on yourself, and at the same time make your management of the redundancy situation more effective. This will entail examining some of the emotional assumptions and discussing ways in which you might change your responses. Assuming that, as legal professionals, the steps of the redundancy process will be familiar to you, this will focus on the emotional concerns or worries which accompany the application of those steps.
The first tip is never to delay the decision process. If the financial health of your organisation is threatened, then action is indicated. Because taking action implies hurting other people, there is a tendency to delay. In the UK, we have developed a way of thinking about jobs, which is now enshrined in employment law. This is basically the concept that people somehow own their job, and it is supported by a raft of protective rights, such as maternity leave and unfair dismissal legislation. However, until the early 1970s, this was not the case. A person would be unemployed quite casually, in a similar fashion to the way in which a decision to employ them in the first place would be made. In other countries, the decision to dismiss someone is still taken fairly casually and seen as a simple fact of commercial life. Which it is. Really, a redundancy situation is the opposite of a vacancy. A vacancy is the need to employ someone to complete a number of tasks, supported by the financial means to do so. Making someone redundant is the opposite – there is no longer a need for the tasks and therefore no financial support for them.
Emotionally, moving away from the cultural concept that people have a right to a job can ease the initial difficulty in dealing with a potential redundancy situation. The basic employment relationship is one of exchange, labour for money, and when the labour is no longer required, the purpose of the relationship has ceased. While the work was there, it was good that you could offer it to that individual, but there is no obligation to continue indefinitely to do so once the work ceases. Try to focus on that good thing – that work was provided, and the period of working together was good. Circumstances have changed, and that is not an emotional matter, but a business fact. So don’t delay. If things are looking financially unsustainable, then you need to move into a period of consultation.
This is also a time when you start to make decisions about how to select people for redundancy, and to analyse their comparative value to the firm. Making the first approach to staff is difficult, so be kind to yourself. Do the preparation first, so that you know the financial imperatives that are driving the potential redundancies. Have a clear idea of what you need to save and what criteria you will be applying in deciding which jobs should go in order to achieve those savings. By focusing on facts, not feelings, you will be well prepared for any questions, plus you will know absolutely that you have no choice other than to make savings. This will remove any defensiveness on your part, and give you confidence, rather than guilt: there is no choice if the firm is to survive.
The other reason not to delay is linked to the purpose of consultation, which is to allow the opportunity to explore alternatives to redundancy. Until staff are aware of the situation, they cannot share their thoughts with you. In many cases, the warning that they are under threat of redundancy does not come as a surprise, and they may have already given the matter some thought. The consultation period will allow alternatives to be explored, and it may be that options such as short-time working or unpaid leave can be introduced to avoid a redundancy situation altogether. However, if redundancy is the only option, notice has to be given, and with it a range of decisions, including whether the person should work their notice period. This can be a difficult situation, as pay in lieu of notice (PILON) is often a tax-free lump sum, so employees appreciate receiving it. However, as a struggling employer, you may wish the person to provide work during this period. A compromise is negotiable, but your main role is to act for the organisation, and not to give money away because you feel guilty and would like to help the other person out as much as possible. Be aware of this emotion, as such awareness will enable you to take it into account and make a decision which is balanced. It is also, of course, essential that employees are treated equally in terms of any enhanced redundancy payments.
It is easy to empathise with the person who is being made redundant. However, while sympathy is inevitable, it is not always an emotion that people like to be on the receiving end of! During all meetings, make sure that you retain a calm, helpful and professional demeanour - this can often be best achieved by reminding yourself that you are simply playing the role of manager. Visualise how a good manager would handle a meeting, make sure you are dressed and seated accordingly, and play it out. This does not mean being cold, but it does mean being a little removed emotionally so that you can respond to the situation in an appropriate manner. Part of the good manager role is, of course preparation, and if the other person becomes very upset, it is possible to shift the focus of the meeting to factual matters by referring to prepared papers, for example, payment calculations. This gives them time to recover and takes their focus from inside (their feelings) to outside (the facts on the papers) which is remarkably calming. It is also a good idea to be physically prepared to deal with the other person’s emotions: have tissues and a glass of water to hand.
Once again, planning will enable you to respond in the best possible manner, and minimise embarrassment and discomfort to both parties. Once a meeting has been held and the person is under notice of redundancy, you may feel relieved because you have done the difficult part. However, do not overlook possible problems. If you have had to select someone from a group to be made redundant, there may be resentments that they and not someone else has been chosen. You will have had criteria, but that does not change the fact that most employees consider their performance to be average or above average, so being selected will almost certainly be a shock. Since selection for redundancy is a cause to complain to an employment tribunal, do make sure that the criteria are clear, understood and unequivocal. There may also be other problems, such as diminishing effort during the notice period and any problems need to be dealt with by adopting the good manager role again: visualise what is required, and do it.
Don’t be tempted to ignore issues simply because the person is under notice, as the affect on other staff and clients can be serious. Also, changes in performance may be indicators of other issues, such as depression and your help may be valued. Remain alert. Also remain alert to any opportunities to mitigate the situation during the notice period, as business matters can change in two or three months. Do not underestimate the anxiety that someone can feel when under notice in the present economic climate, however normal or even cheerful they may appear. Finally, be kind to yourself. This is part of being in charge of a firm or department. You have made the correct response to a set of financial circumstances. You have not let anyone down by responding to the situation promptly as this has safeguarded other jobs and livelihoods. Use relaxation techniques, and allow yourself some small luxury or treat after you have successfully dealt with anything which you dreaded.

Bridget Osicki (BSc (Hons) MCIPD DipEdHE) is founder of www.redundancyexpert.com – a website offering advice and help to managers faced with making staff redundant and covering all stages of the redundancy process, including how to manage the interpersonal aspects and how to plan and conduct the meeting. She is a full member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, with more than 28 years of experience as a human resource manager and a senior lecturer in management and manpower. She has personal experience of handling redundancies and has also led short courses for practicing managers to advise and train them on a range of HR matters including how to handle redundancies. She has drawn on this experience to help managers faced with potential redundancy situations, and to help those managers navigate a complex procedure with as little expense and stress as possible.