Going forward after layoffs

In today’s uncertain economy, companies have slashed jobs and restructured to cut costs and keep their businesses afloat. So if the extreme measures were meant to be life-saving, why does it feel like the ship is still floundering?

Two words: survival syndrome. Unless leaders take appropriate efforts to rally the crew, surviving workers may be feeling too sad, confused, anxious and scared to focus on their jobs.

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Leita Cowart / AJC Special

‘Layoffs and restructuring bring two questions to the forefront of workers’ minds: ‘Why did this happen’ and ‘Am I next?” says Brandon Smith, senior lecturer at Emory’s Goizueta Business School.

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“Layoffs and restructuring bring two questions to the forefront of workers’ minds. ‘Why did this happen?’ and ‘Am I next?’ ” said Brandon Smith, senior lecturer of practice management communication at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and founding principal of Core Growth Partners, an Atlanta leadership development coaching firm. Lack of answers leads to decreased motivation. Employees may start networking and looking for other employment.

“Leaders often don’t know what to say under these circumstances. They feel like their staff expects them to have all the answers, so they send out the internal press release and go back to their office and close the door,” Smith said. It’s not the way to create a productive work force.

“When there’s silence, people always assume the worst,” Smith said. They’ll think more cutbacks are coming and that they are next; that management doesn’t trust them; or that the company is closing and no one wants to tell them.

“Workers don’t expect leaders to have all the answers. They do expect them to help make sense of what is happening.” Leaders re-engage their employees and re-energize their company by taking the following steps, Smith said.

• Attend to the obvious. Explain what’s going on in your market, what’s been happening to your customers, and why you made the decisions you did. “Contrary to conventional wisdom, employees want to know about the pressures the organization is under and the forces impacting the life of the business,” Smith said. Smart companies will remind employees that some cuts were necessary to save everyone else’s job. They’ll also recognize the grief of lost working relationships and encourage workers to reach out and help their former colleagues in their job search.

• Address the immediate future. Leaders should talk about what they foresee for the organization in the short term and long term. Will there be further layoffs? Salary cuts? Knowing what to expect will help them prepare to meet the challenges ahead.

• Re-establish the mission. “This is the time to remind employees what the company stands for, why it exists and what needs it fills. When you do that you’re putting the focus back on the core essence of the organization,” Smith said. “This reminder of what it means to be ‘us’ in uncertain times re-engages workers and taps into their desire to have purpose and meaning in their work.”

• Call for all-hands on deck. With a clearer idea of the challenges and a reminder of the company’s mission, it’s time to present a game plan and ask for specific action. “Remind employees that their customers are also suffering from the economy and may need them now more than ever. This could be an opportunity to do things differently and better,” Smith said. “When all hands are on deck innovation happens. People begin thinking about how to solve problems over the weekend and come in with fresh approaches. That’s a very different company culture than one operating out of fear and desperation.”

Consulting with a residential building company a year ago, Smith saw these practices work. “The market had already slowed and the company was feeling the effects,” Smith said. “The CEO called everyone in and said, ‘Here’s what’s going on and where we are.’ ”

He showed them how the company had planned for the slowdown by decreasing inventory.

He also told them that the market was going to get worse, that employees should brace themselves for a rocky 2009, but that by 2010 the market and company should pull out of the recession. “You could feel the varying emotions in the room,” Smith said.

“At first there was high anxiety, but as he explained the challenges there was calm and an attitude of ‘I can prepare for that,’ followed by a commitment to doing what they needed to do.”

The company did become leaner, but it continued to innovate and is still around.