MANAGEMENT
Mary Elston
PERSPECTIVE
Leaner workforce after layoffs?
This will help get the job done
Every month the calendar seems to serve
up a holiday or other occasion that provides a good excuse for enjoying a fantastic meal. After these adventures in caloric
overload, you begin to strategize how to compensate for them.
Diet fads are the rage. Consumers voraciously
devour the latest promise for easy weight loss
with no work or sacrifice. It’s like losing something that costs you nothing — except the
$89.95 plus shipping and handling to purchase
the magic diet pills.
Get real. You know the drill. If you want to
weigh less, you have to
work out more and eat “ 2. Be smart: The math less, and that’s where is simple: After a layoff, strategy and commitment you have the same come into play. Keep your key marketing amount of work to accom- While overeating may players in place ... Give plish with fewer people. dictate the need for a per- Hmmm … does that mean sonal diet, economic is- priority to the functions those who are left will be sues often dictate the that keep customers need for companies to go n a “people diet” in the coming in the door. form of layoffs. As a man- ager, how do you contin- ue to get the work done with a smaller workforce? Just as you do when you’re embarking on a personal diet, you need to commit to a strategy that works for your business and keeps you moving forward. Let’s look at three approaches to layoff deci- sions and how you’ll accomplish the same ” working longer hours? Will some work just fall off the table? What’s your strategy? How do you manage smarter with fewer people? You may be tempted to quickly decide what work should continue and who should shoul- der a bigger load. Before you do this, conduct a confidential planning session with your team leaders and validate work that needs to remain intact, interdependent tasks and key skills,
amount of work with fewer people. along with employees who have those skills.
Part of managing smart is performing a skills assessment before the layoff occurs. This will
help you do something else — focus.
Make it a point to focus on skills and essential tasks that can be performed by multi-talent-ed workers who can expand their loads. After
conducting a skills assessment, I’m always
amazed what skills are available across the
team but aren’t utilized.
How do you perform the skills assessment? Be
proactive. Each employee should have a work
history and résumé on file with your human resources department. This should be updated
with annual performance reviews. Input from
See Elston, next page
Do you have the answers? Not so fast.
How many of you put marketing on the “live
without” list? If you did, you’re in good company with a majority of managers, but it’s still a
bad move. Companies big and small tend to cut
marketing first and forget it’s the function that
helps drive sales and customer relationships
and keeps your business name in front of the
buying public. Don’t make this mistake. Keep
your key marketing players in place, even if the
team needs to be slimmed down. Give priority
to the functions and jobs that generate money
and keep customers coming in the door.
1. Prioritize: This sounds relatively simple,
but that’s exactly why it isn’t. If managers are
asked to prioritize the value each position contributes to company revenue, their responses
often are a mixed bag. The big-hitting salespeople are easy keepers, but what about everyone
else? This is where there has to be honest, busi-ness-based soul searching. Layoffs should be
number-driven, yes, but with strategic managerial
thinking layered on top. High-level managers
must prioritize positions to maintain product
flow, sales and service, marketing, customer
relationships and accounting practices to process money and keep an eye on costs and
cash flow.
Managers should ask themselves and their
team leaders these questions before reducing
head count: What activities must be maintained
to generate revenue and keep the business
competitive and thriving? What positions must
be in place to enable these activities? What activities and related jobs could you live without
and still keep the business healthy and viable?
Mary Elston has spent more than 20 years in
management in the transportation, consulting
and technology industries. She is a member of
the National Speakers Association and author
of “Master Your Middle Management Universe,
How to Succeed with Moga Moga Management Using 3 Easy Steps.” Contact her at
mary@masteryoursuccess.com
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