At a recent speaking event, Kylie Groves (Employment Law Partner at Squire Patton Boggs) and I spoke about how to manage the process of making a role redundant in a way that is legal, doesn’t destroy the individuals involved in the process AND protects your company’s brand and reputation.
Kylie spoke about what the law requires you to do, and I spoke about what you can and should do as a decent employer.
So, why bother with any of this?
- Your external brand and reputation. Think about the times where you have seen an angry union official on the nightly news ranting about the manner in which a redundancy was announced, or heard a caller to a talkback show describe (almost always negatively) what is happening in an organisation. This is particularly true if your organisation is an iconic or important one within your locality or industry.
- Your internal brand. The remaining employees (the ones you want to remain motivated and engaged) are watching what you do ..
- Quite honestly, it is a pain having to retrospectively fix mistakes. Defending claims in tribunals costs time and money (and possible damage to brand and reputation).
So – avoid the pain, maintain (or improve) your brand/reputation by considering the following:
- Understand your legal obligations.
- Properly plan for the redundancy as if it were any other change project.
- Communicate, communicate and communicate some more.
- Properly and genuinely consult with the relevant parties (employees and their representatives).
- Consider the individual(s) impacted and how best to manage/mitigate this impact. Note, this doesn’t need to be an expensive or complex process. This is one of those times when a little preparation and planning before hand will go a long way.
- Consider the manager advising the individual. Are they properly prepared? Do they need support?
- Consider those remaining employees- how are they feeling about picking up the slack? The ongoing changes?
- If it is “death by a thousand cuts” – think about how you can keep up morale and engagement whilst being realistic about the reality of the situation.
You can access the recording of our session here.
Until next week, happy leading.
