CourageousHR | handling the Redundancy Process at the Workplace

Most people choose human resources as a profession because they like to interact with people, understand their issues and work towards solving them. HR professionals help the organizations to flourish by keeping their human resources happy and satisfied. However, facing the situation of redundancy in the workplace is everything HR employees want to avoid, including the HR people.

Asking people to put down their papers and look for a job somewhere else is tough not just for the people who have been asked to leave, but also for those who are supposed to break the news. However, this shouldn’t discourage you from opting for a career in Human Resources. It is still a great field that offers lucrative career opportunities. Just know that there is always some or the other aspect of work that professionals would rather avoid regardless of their fields. Redundancy is one of those aspects for the HR professionals. Simultaneously, understanding that redundancies are a fact of the business life and are inescapable is also important.

To help you handle redundancies at the workplace and avoid making mistakes, here are a few tips to the rescue:

1. Communicate Right:

Redundancy simply means that a position has been identified as no longer viable for the business. It doesn’t mean that an employee has been identified as no longer required by the company. Of course, some employees will be asked to leave due to limited roles available within the organization to absorb them. However, being clear on this will help you explain the situation to the employees in a better manner. It is also a more emphatic way of breaking the tough news.

Since such news travel quickly; make sure to inform the people whose positions are being made redundant before they hear about it from someone else. Also, practice your speech and go through your script again and again before delivering it to the employees. This will prepare you to handle the different reactions and questions the employees may throw at you.

2. Listen Intently:

It is tough to deliver the bad news, but its impact is much harder on the ones receiving it. Most employees try their best to stay calm while receiving the news. They try to not act unprofessionally or speak rudely. In their efforts to do, they tend to listen less and speak more. It is one of the ways to get the negativity out of their systems so that they can focus on the ‘What next?’ aspect. If you react negatively during their discourse, it might instigate them to use a rude tone with you. Calmly listen to all that they have to say. Once they are done state the reason behind such a decision and the next step in the process.

3. Show Compassion:

Sure HR professionals are required to act professionally at all times. However, compassion is absolutely necessary during the times of redundancy. Just put yourself in the other person’s shoes and you will understand how difficult it must be for them. Your compassion will reflect in your actions as well as in the way you communicate with your employees and they will be sure that their dignity is intact. They will appreciate you motivating them to focus on ‘What can be done next?’ instead of focusing on ‘Why me?’

4. Provide Support:

Most HR professionals try to shy away from the situation after breaking the news about redundancy. Rather step out of your comfort zone and face the situation head on. You may have limited resources to help your employees, but the least you can do is to be visible to them during the tough times. Make yourself available to the employees whenever they have any questions to ask or grievances to share. It is quite possible that you may not have the answers/solution to all questions/grievances of the employees. However, saying that you will get back to them with a solution/answer/update is much better than making yourself completely unapproachable to them.

Although your employees won’t like it if their roles are made redundant, but will act reasonably if they are informed in a timely manner, treated fairly, and are asked to leave without hampering their dignity. The way you ask your employees to leave will determine whether they will still say good things about the company or not.

Author bio:-
Megha Raizada is a professional writer working with the premium job portal Naukrigulf.com. She has a keen interest in the global job market but also loves to keep a track of everything interesting happening around the globe. You can reach her at Twitter and Google+.