Career Journeys - Keeping it Real. Doing Redundancy Right.

Careers, Redundancy, and other Musings……

Whether you are an organisation looking to make redundancies, or an individual who has been affected by redundancy, this is totally for you.

I don’t plan a particular order to which topics I write about and when, but the P+O redundancies that recently took place with no prior warning, have triggered my wanting to share my experience and expertise in this newsletter.?

I have been supporting people following redundancy for over 10 years and in my experience, I find that the way in which an organisation handles the redundancy process, plays a big part in how people internally process it and come to terms with the situation.?

I have met many people, where organisations they worked for kept them fully informed, followed the rules, and gave notice of the risk of redundancy so they knew and understood why it was a redundancy situation. These folks could prepare mentally for it, could make practical preparations such as looking at their finances and getting their CV and LinkedIn up together, reaching out to their network, etc.???Some employees who were informed of their redundancy many months ahead have previously commented “it’s been a long process, too long even, but at least no surprises” which has helped massively for them to process the “what” and the “why”.?

I have also seen first-hand, really poor redundancy roll-outs and in this newsletter, I want to share an experience I will never forget whilst working for a company years ago.??I am sharing my experience of this, as I saw the far-reaching devastating effects this had on my friends, colleagues, and their families. If you have experienced anything similar then please know that the Universe has something far better planned for you.?

If you are currently in transition looking for that next opportunity, I would welcome you in my LinkedIn group , which you can access here. LinkedIn group here . Please read on to hear about my Redundancy and Career Retreat Community. It's my way right now of paying it back.

Career Journeys is about “keeping it real” - here is my story

Many years ago, I?worked as an HR, Recruitment and Training Manager for a Canadian based company, and one day, out of the blue, the senior leaders flew over from overseas and appeared in our office.

They made an announcement that redundancies were happening with immediate effect.?“If your name gets called, please come into the board room”.?

One by one, I saw my friends and colleagues called into that board room and handed their brown envelopes. They came out of that room looking totally shocked, saddened and some in floods of tears. They each went to their desk, grabbed a box that was provided, packed it, had a chat with their friends they were about to leave behind and then left. Just like that, they were gone.??Years and years’ worth of hard work, of dedication, of loyalty, over. Gosh, it was the most awful day.?

Some of the people affected asked me to support them to navigate their next steps and I went to their houses to offer support. One amazing lady, called Jo, I remember her confidence was completely shattered to pieces from the shock of her redundancy. She had worked for the organisation for many years and was at an utter loss of “what on earth can I do next”.

It was the most awful day and not just for those who were asked to leave. It was really hard for those of us left behind.?We?were totally gobsmacked and saddened to have seen people treated in that way. We went through a grieving process and people spoke about it in the office for many, many months afterwards. It’s officially known as “survivor’s guilt” and I always recommend that companies put things in place to support those remaining as well as those being made redundant from their roles.

It took a long time to build trust again with employees and it changed the culture in our office. It also left people behind who didn’t want to be there anymore and who said they would have put their hands up for voluntary redundancy had it been offered.?

When we were finally feeling more settled, the senior directors arrived again from Canada and did the same all over again with more of our friends and colleagues. More of my colleagues were issued their marching orders and the grieving process happened all over again. I could not bear to remain working for an employer that treated people that way and knew it was time for me to move on.?

The way in which P+O ferries treated their staff, letting 786 go with?no notice, with an announcement on a 3-minute pre-recorded video message, was just heartbreaking to hear. I know it’s caused outrage all over the UK and beyond, and rightly so.?

Redundancy does have legal processes to follow and here are some reminders to any organisations who may need to consider redundancy situations: -

1-???Consultations should always be provided, giving people sufficient notice and the opportunity to come up with alternative suggestions to the company’s proposal, for the roles to be made redundant.?

2-???Typically, a company will look at whether there are 'suitable alternative' roles and if there are, will present them to employees during consultation.

3-???If there is to be a reduction in roles, employees in that role and also those deemed very similar, should be pooled and a fair scoring system used to enable decision making

4-???Currently “collective consultation” rules apply if an organisation is making 20 or more employees redundant within any 90-day period at a single establishment. (20-99 redundancies minimum consultation is 30 days, 100+ proposed redundancies, 45 days minimum consultation).?

Redundancy is a process that should always be done with sensitivity and compassion. Research shows that losing a job is one of the most stressful situations people go through other than death and divorce. It has a huge impact on mental well-being and affects not just the person, but the entire family, which is why I am so proud to offer outplacement support as part of the work I do.?

Outplacement and why it is so important.?

As an outplacement specialist, I have witnessed incredible outplacement support in my career that truly makes such a difference in people’s lives. I have also witnessed utterly poor, tick box outplacement support, delivered by coaches who, I am sorry to say, are not experienced, do not keep up to date with recruitment practices, and lack compassion and sensitivity. I remember many years ago in my coach training when I was myself learning about career transition support, hearing a senior coach say to a lady who was really upset about her redundancy, which had hugely dented her confidence, “well,?if?you get another job, I am sure you will be able to …’ (I can’t remember the rest). I just remember looking at this client who had a tissue in her hand and saying, with confidence and compassion “when?you get another job, because you totally will”. She smiled, nodded, and said, “thank you, I needed that”.?

I even remember an HR Director who specifically requested me as her coach, having travelled to London to meet her designated executive coach to say he completely knocked her confidence, talked down to her, and made her feel terrible.?But quality outplacement, whether 1-2-1 coaching or group coaching can make a huge difference to individuals affected.?

If there is a positive that comes from the redundancies in the pandemic, I hope it is that more and more companies see the importance of providing quality career transition support to departing employees affected by redundancy.?I also hope that if organisations don't offer outplacement, more people think to ask for support.

I remember even in 2020, recruitment business owners asked me what outplacement was, as they had never heard or even thought about it.?

I hope that it becomes very much the “norm” as an offering and that organisations, in this ever people-centric culture we are seeing, will take more care when offboarding their employees. I also hope that if outplacement support is not initially offered, that more people know about it and if they find themselves in a redundancy situation, ask for it.?

If you are an organisation where you are facing having to make redundancies, please reach out and let's ensure you are #doingredundancyright.?Click here to go to my website dedicated to organisations.

I am currently working with several companies who have offered outplacement and it is brilliant to see my clients learning, feeling far more confident, and also, of course, landing new roles.?

If you are an organisation looking to make redundancies or are an individual affected by redundancy, please do not hesitate to reach out to see how I can support you.?I offer both 1-2-1 coaching and group workshops.

If you have been affected by redundancy and are #opentowork, please do join my LinkedIn group here for support, community, and sharing of ideas. You do not have to navigate this alone.

https://www.dhirubhai.net/groups/9158090/

Redundancy and Career Retreat Community?

The Redundancy and Career Retreat Community I currently lead, supported by my friend and coach Karen Birchmore, has been absolutely wonderful to see people coming together in community, supporting each other in a shared experience to that next chapter and not feeling alone on the journey. Career transition really is a journey and redundancy really can affect mental health, wellbeing and confidence. It has been AMAZING! seeing people land new roles, cheering them on ahead of interviews, seeing them land new roles and giving them a send off... but I have not done a good job at marketing this or shouting out loud the successes.

We have had job offers, career pivots, someone has set up as self-employed and confidence has grown which is so wonderful to see. Woohoo!??Of those who joined at the start, 100% either landed a role or paid to continue in the group because of the value and support they were getting. I feel so proud to be able to support and because I am such a believer in the power of coming together during career transition, this is exactly why, as a frazzled solo parent, homeschooling my kids whilst working full-time in lockdown, that I started a job search group in the heart of the pandemic.

The Retreat is now an incredibly small group, it’s not profit making, but this wing of the business is about purpose and because it’s business with purpose right now, with cost of living rising and world events, the Retreat has opened it's doors for complimentary live sessions. We meet Mondays at 1.15pm for togetherness, sharing, cheering each other on, to support growth across various areas including job search strategy and techniques (including working with recruiters, job search techniques, CV's, LinkedIn, Interview techniques, networking skills, personal branding, mindset, resilience).??I am a huge believer that we are stronger together and there are such benefits of coming together in community with others in the same boat during challenging times.

A few things people have said:

"I think you have created something wonderful". Jo, Risk Manager.

"Suzanne's advice and tips were outstanding. I have learnt so much about the job market and about myself and how to gain clarity on my values and goals, which in turn grew my confidence extremely. The Retreat has been a supportive community, filled with warmth and encouragement".

If you would like to join me for the live Retreat, please?join?my?LinkedIn group here ?so you can keep up to date with communications and where you will receive the Zoom link to access the calls.

If you have recently started a role, please download my free First 90 Days in your New Role Guide to support you.?Download here .

And if you are an organisation where you are facing having to make redundancies, please reach out and let's ensure you are #doingredundancyright.?Click here to go to my website dedicated to organisations.

Sending you my very best wishes.?