Our responses:
 Surely handling
redundancies is now a well-practised activity in most companies
so why don't managers just get on and do it?
In spite of all the changes that have occurred in recent years,
the majority of senior people have never dismissed anyone -
certainly not in large numbers - so real experience is rarer
than might be thought. At the same time there are constant changes
in the environment in which redundancies have to be handled.
Just two examples are:
(a) changes in legislation and the financial penalties for 'getting
it wrong':
(b) significantly heightened expectations on the part of all
stakeholders (e.g. on-going staff, shareholders and customers)
that leavers will be treated in a humane and professional manner.
As a result the majority of companies seek some degree of independent
help. Sometimes this comprises a simple 'health check' on their
provisional implementation plans and sometimes it involves considerable
hands-on work ensuring that all their policies and procedures
are robust and appropriate, and that all managers likely to
be involved in the changes are properly briefed and trained.
We believe that the partners of ARA consulting have helped more
organisations through the redundancy minefield that anyone else
in the UK.
Some of our
top people are excellent technically but lack strength in their
people skills. Where can we find someone who can announce redundancies
on their behalf?
Tempting though it might be to get someone else to deliver the
difficult messages - we have been asked to do it ourselves on
some occasions - this is something that line managers simply
have to get on and do. Not only are staff entitled to hear the
news from their immediate boss but the credibility of management
in the future would be severely compromised if managers show
themselves to be incapable of handling a basically simple (if
emotive) communication. The solution is for all managers to
be properly trained for the task and be given the opportunity
to practise under controlled conditions. They can also be informed
about dealing with the many different reactions that staff will
have, enabling them to handle employees' concerns with sensitivity
and in a clear, professional manner.
Someone once told
me that you should never announce redundancies on a Friday -
does it really matter? I would have thought it might be helpful
for people to have the weekend to think about things.
We have helped hundreds of organisations plan and implement
redundancies and our experience clearly shows that there are
a number of times in the week that should definitely be avoided
if the organisation wants to complete the exercise with the
minimum of stress and disruption. It is worth bearing in mind
that a badly timed announcement can take a disproportionate
amount of management time and effort to resolve. Not only is
this hugely expensive but while it is going on other activities
(such as keeping customers happy) can be neglected. In addition,
all retained staff will be quietly deciding for themselves whether
this is the kind of business in which they want to stay.
We have considerable
experience of undertaking downsizing work. What could ARA add
to the party?
In our experience some organisations continually fail to conduct
downsizing exercises in the best way to achieve the desired
outcomes of maintaining the self esteem of those leaving; enhancing
the morale, motivation and productivity of the stayers; and
building its own reputation in the market as an employer of
choice. Providing excessive severance payments is not the solution.
ARA uses its extensive experience of what works best in practice
to help achieve the optimum balance between conflicting pressures.
As a result managers have the benefit of being better able to
focus on the ongoing business.
We have been
told that we need to go through a consultation process. What
is that all about?
If it is intended that 20 or more employees will be declared
redundant within a 90 day period, consultation is mandatory
and in the case of a transfer of undertakings (TUPE) a consultation
process is required between the organisation and representatives
of its employees, whether these are elected representatives
or trades union officials. The consultation processes in these
two scenarios have similarities but also differences. ARA can
clarify the legal requirements, put those obligations into the
context of a recommended 'good practice' plan, give guidance
on establishing the form and content of the consultation process,
and assist the organisation through implementation to a positive
outcome.
Even where consultation is not mandatory an equivalent process
is usually beneficial for all parties as, properly managed,
it will usually lead to better employee relations and staff/morale/productivity.
We have a very
easy situation in that we will just close our operations in
various European countries. Why would we need your help?
It is not possible to undertake closures in the EU without following
certain procedures. These obligations are different in each
European country, and in some countries the process is complicated,
lengthy and / or expensive. We have significant experience of
working with local lawyers to provide solutions which meet business
objectives within the prevailing laws and cultures in which
the organisation operates. The recent difficulties faced by
Marks and Spencer in France are indicative of what companies
may face.
We have evolved
a fairly complicated redundancy payments scheme. How can we
speed up all the calculations while retaining accuracy and security?
Many companies have this problem and we have also encountered
organisations whose schemes produced payments that were contrary
to intention. To assist, ARA has developed a database application
that takes payroll information, modesl the various calculations,
checks them for consistency and accuracy, and then produces
all the necessary documentation for individual employees.
The benefits of the approach are early indications of the total
cost and appropriateness of the redundancy formulae and confidence
that individuals will have received correct information.
We have had problems
in that last year's redundancies, which caused claims to the
Industrial Tribunal, are effectively still ongoing sores. How
are we going to tell our staff that we must make further changes
if we are to survive?
It appears that last year's process was not very well handled
and steps will need to be taken to restore employees' trust
in the company. We would suggest reviewing what went well last
year, and what should have be done differently. Then we could
review the current business situation and your plans for the
future. With that understanding, we can assist you to put together
a restructuring plan, including a communications component,
which will combine positive messages about how things will be
managed better in the future along with the announcements of
further restructuring.
Our lawyers offer
us assistance to cope with the fallout from organisational restructuring.
What can HR/organisational specialists contribute?
We know the value that lawyers, especially those with skills
in employment and related business practice, can offer organisations.
We can add two components which complement that advice. The
first relates to maximizing gain (as opposed to minimizing pain).
We acknowledge the need to reduce risk - a key benefit to organisations
- but in any change process there are also opportunities to
strengthen the business. We would focus on both dimensions.
Secondly, our experience has enabled us to understand how things
work in practice. We provide the links between business needs,
industrial relations pressures and legal parameters and understand
how they can be employed to mutual advantage. A further aspect
of legal input is covered in the following question.
When we talk
to our lawyers about an HR problem they tell us all the things
that we cannot do - sometimes it seems that we have no real
options at all.
We always work closely with lawyers and have high regard for
their knowledge and professionalism. However, behind your question
is something that we have encountered on a few occasions and
our solution is fairly simple. We recognise that virtually any
approach has to be a blend of message content, timing, context,
organisation culture, history and so on. We work with our clients
and take account of all these factors to come up with a creative
solution to the problem and only then do we ask the firm's lawyers
to comment. While they then add their own essential insights,
to ensure the company's position is completely protected, they
will also admit that our wide experience of what works in practice
has offered some useful solutions that strictly legal thinking
could not provide. In summary we find it best to ask lawyers
to use their in depth experience to check that our suggested
solutions are 'safe' for the client to implement. This way everyone
can be confident of a satisfactory outcome.
We are likely
to be forced to recognise a trades union. How can you help?
There are situations where the law requires an organisation
to recognise a trades union but we would show you that such
recognition need not be detrimental to your business. ARA would
explore with you the history of your organisation, particularly
regarding industrial relations, and would advise you in the
light of the information available. We would then put in place
an agreed strategy for implementing the desired plans, and would
provide any additional advice and support that you might need.
We are hoping
to acquire a company. When is the best time to involve you people?
The simple answer is as soon as possible, as almost invariably,
requests for help come too late in the process. We would agree
to focus our input on a few critical elements of the M&A
process. At other times our input may not be required full time
but we remain available to provide ad-hoc support at any time.
Whether we assist you or not we would urge you to give high
priority to people and communications issues. Research consistently
shows that 60 - 70% of M&A's fail to meet their objectives
and this failure is seldom for legal or financial reasons. Instead
failure is caused by an inability to get differing cultures
to work together, to retain the best people or to inculcate
a new shared vision of the future amongst all the staff. ARA
has developed an integrated approach to the management of aquisitions
that maximises the chances of long-term success. |
