5 Staff Care Strategies To Remember In Times Of Redundancy
Our Director of Organisation Health ANN MURAYA shares her guidance on the unpleasant task of making team members redundant.
Restructuring is an inevitable part of running an organisation. In the midst of this, you might have the task of making some of your team redundant. It could be people you have known for years, or it could be people who joined only recently. Whoever they are, here’s five observations that could help you…
1. Breaking the news
It is important to recognise that when someone is made redundant, they experience loss of several things – job security, family status as a provider, self-confidence, being part of a community at work, etc. Whenever we experience loss, we grieve. Grieving is a process with many conflicting emotions.
Oftentimes, the tendency is to circulate an email with all the facts about the redundancy, and then call a staff meeting to share more information and answer questions. Having the news broken in face to face conversations with line managers, will soften the impact of shock.
2. Supporting staff as they receive the news
News of redundancy is received differently, depending on an individual’s level of resilience. However, notwithstanding one’s level of resilience, those leaving and those remaining will experience conflicting emotions of loss and grief.
It is therefore prudent to provide psychosocial support to address these conflicting emotions, and help the staff normalise how they are feeling and begin to come to terms with the news, so they can move on and plan next steps in a healthy manner.
3. Supporting staff transitioning out
Staff leaving the organisation can be a great asset as ambassadors of the organisation. How they transition out of the organisation therefore becomes something worth thinking through carefully. This process tends to intuitively reflect the prevailing organisational culture.
Once the initial shock of the news is over. It is important to support staff as they transition out of what has been the norm, so that they finish well. Due to the short transition timeframes, it is important that handing over of work to remaining counterparts is thought through and facilitated with face-to-face, one on one interactions with the line manager.
Where possible, engage the services of a professional to equip staff with skills in career planning, writing of their curriculum vitae, financial planning and management, so that they feel supported by the organisation as they look to their next steps.
4. Supporting staff transitioning into new structure
As staff transition out, the remaining staff need an assurance that they will be supported in their changing role in the new structure. This may look like clear conversations around the new structure, roles, responsibilities, and communication lines.
It is useful to provide coaching support for those taking on leadership roles that they have previously not held. During this time, some of the remaining staff may experience mixed emotions around their job security and may benefit from one on one counselling with a professional.
5. Rebuilding the team
The new normal involves reconstituting the team, as some leave and some stay on.
It is therefore important for the new team to unite together around the vision and values of the organisation. This is a reminder of ‘who we are’ and ‘what we stand for’ as an organisation.
This is a great opportunity to have the teams review what each team brings to the organisation, and in so doing, reinforce the sense of value in each individual and team contribution.
If you would like to explore how Thrive Worldwide can support you and your organisation going through redundancy please do get in touch.
