Layoffs don't work.
Dave Sneddon
Transforming Life for Vulnerable Populations | COO | CEO | Building Financially Sustainable Cultures | Developing People from CNA to C-suite
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Layoffs don't work. Relevant again as we see corporate executives cutting hundreds of frontline positions with low wages while keeping the deputy assistant manager of counting facebook likes!
? Layoffs don't solve the underlying problem of a bad strategy.
? They send a negative message to employees, reducing morale and productivity
? They send a negative message to markets and reduce investment.
? Companies often find they need the people they cut and bring them back at a higher cost as consultants.
? By the time you have paid severances and theoretically see the benefit of the layoff, the conditions have often changed requiring expensive refilling of roles.
The main reason that layoffs fail:
?? The people who make the decisions about who to layoff overestimate their own importance and underestimate the importance of frontline positions that they have never done themselves.
Then all the tasks that aren't in official job descriptions but are done by the people laid off start to pile up – the company has to rehire or place a bigger burden on other lower level staff leading to burn out and expensive turnover.
When I have done layoffs we don't touch any frontline or local management until the following have been done first.
1. No executive bonuses or raises
2. Review of all senior management positions
3. Review of all senior management support positions.
4. At least 2 rounds of cuts at senior management roles and expenses.
5. Review every department expenses - is it time for some program or pet project to die? Something not getting traction or distracting and pulling resources from our core business.
领英推荐
Layoffs are brutal. For people and for companies. But they are almost always counterproductive – trading the fantasy of a short term boost on the P&L for a slow death spiral.
Certainly after a merger or acquisition there may be duplicate roles. Every company over a certain age and size will have the odd sinecure where no one knows how or why that person is still on payroll.
But if you are in a position where your company will die without cost cutting – you aren’t going to get out of that by amputating the hands (front line) who do the work.
And if it isn’t an existential question and is just about having a better bottom line this quarter – shame on you.
Layoffs are an intellectually lazy and ineffective way of improving your business. Instead of asking tough questions about our strategy we make other people pay the price.
Fix your strategy and look in the mirror before you hit the “easy button” and ruin lives for nothing.
#culture #leadership #operations #nha #seniorcare #IDD #layoff #
?? I am Dave
??Building financially sustainable cultures to care for vulnerable populations
??Developing leaders to work with seniors and people with IDD
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Cybersecurity Advisor focused on Healthcare and highly-regulated environments
4 周Technology adoption is rapidly replacing nurses: As the number of IoMT (Internet of Medical Things) devices in hospitals continues to rise, efficiency in patient care is reaching new levels. By 2025, the global IoMT market is expected to exceed $176 billion, with hospitals increasingly leveraging connected devices to monitor patients remotely, automate diagnostics, and streamline workflows. These advancements could lead to cost savings of up to $63 billion by reducing errors and improving operational efficiency. However, this surge in automation may also impact the healthcare workforce. In some hospitals, up to 20% of nursing tasks are now being automated, raising concerns about potential nurse layoffs as institutions focus on efficiency savings. While the full extent of these workforce changes remains unclear, it’s evident that IoMT is reshaping the future of healthcare. With all the cyber attacks, I think we need to really start looking at the risks with all these devices as most organizations will rush to save $$$ Follow Dark Analytics as we focus on securing these devices.
Father of 3 | Husband | Brother | Son | Senior Software Engineer and Certified ScrumMaster at Kroger Technology & Digital
1 年4. At least 2 rounds of cuts at senior management roles and expenses. Wish this was true across the board. Layoffs damage company/brand reputation and can create larger workloads (and anxiety) for those employees left after the dust clears.
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1 年Very insightful article Dave Sneddon. I've been in Executive Search for 25 years and I've witnessed companies lay off workers many times and your points here are accurate. I often question whether a company layoff is "really" necessary or just a symptom of lazy leadership especially when I consider your point about leadership overestimating their importance over the frontline workers. It's the frontline workers that run the operation, solve most of the problems, interface with suppliers and, most importantly, interface with the customers. Like you suggest if cost cutting is required then make the layoffs a last resort not the first.
Husband || Father || Grandfather ||Fortune 40 Insurance Executive || Consultant || Vice President of Operations at State Farm (retired)
1 年Agree Dave Sneddon. Very difficult for a company to downsize its way to prosperity or to a market leadership position in their respective industry.
Corporate Culinary Leader
1 年So true! This happened to my last company.