CONSULTING
Downsizing is disruptive and unpleasant. Yet it can be a necessary step if the firm is to grow or even survive.
In the last ten years, and especially since the recession that began in the fall of 2008, downsizings have become quite common. Few in the workforce have been untouched. However, the benefits promised from downsizing have been elusive for many companies. Not only do some firms fail to stem their losses, but in the process they undermine the workforce culture that they and their HR departments have worked so hard to develop.
DownsizingStrategy.com can help you create a downsizing strategy that addresses the threats imposed by economic conditions, the financial reality of the organization, and the interests of the workforce. We can help you through the emotional stresses of making and implementing tough decisions. Decisions that may not be pleasant to execute, but when done effectively can maintain respect for the company and will not undermine the loyalty and morale of those who survive the cuts.
Further, we can help you minimize the downsizing related stress in the workplace as well as engage employees in a collaborative effort that focuses not only on the organization’s short-term survival but on its future opportunities as well.
While this sounds good in theory, does it work in practice? The answer is definitely yes. Many companies, whose case studies are included on this website, have taken a very different approach to downsizing and at the same time have won the respect of the entire workforce. They have survived as much stronger institutions.
There is one more point worth mentioning. John P Kotter, writing in the Harvard Business Review, contends that organizational transformation initiatives are often unsuccessful because people simply resist changes. He argues, however, that successful transformations occur when organizations are thought to be in a crisis. Under those conditions, management and the workforce will listen and change.
Downsizing does indeed reflect a crisis and as such becomes an opportunity to create the kind of changes that are necessary to improve the firm’s competitive position. Downsizing, when taking this larger perspective, can then be seen as one step in a much more strategic process.
So, Downsizings may be an opportune time to do more than engage in a Reduction-In-Force, it may be an opportunity to transform the organization so that it not only meets the urgency of today’s environment but also is an investment in the future.
My experiences with many companies, and my background in engineering and computer science combined with my interest and research in the behavioral sciences may prove useful in helping you develop a strategy for addressing the difficult downsizing process.