It is the end of the year and organizations across the nation have developed a strategy to lower costs or increase profits. As the turn of the economy has improved in some industries, the discussion of downsizing is common. The act of retaining employees can be achieved, but ending the employment of top talent is challenging.
To avoid downsizing employee’s thorough automation to scale down business operations like removing bookkeeping and accountants by doing your ‘own’ accounting, there are creative strategies to implement and retain top talent at the same time.
As an employer, your goal is to set the standard of how you decide to let go of employees. It can be as simple as training managers to show a kind gesture of how to write updated skills on a resume to help them with the transition.
Be the organization that has a vested interest in your current employees that part ways with your company with these helpful tips.
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Invest in Outplacement Services
Outplacement services offer people that are laid off with job search, resume writing, and career coaching services that are funded as a benefit by their previous employer. It can help people that are close to retirement, students, and immigrants in the workplace. The internet has a variety of career-based forums with people that share information about negative experiences at a company under an anonymous name. You can prevent harmful information from being published online by offering this service.
Show Empathy
As a business owner, it can be difficult to say goodbye to hard-working employees. You can calm the situation by walking the individual out to there car. If you keep the lines of communication open, there is a chance you may need to re-hire an ex employee in the future.
After the lay off, add the person on LinkedIn or exchange contact information to keep in touch. If you are in search of an employee benefits plan, consider the company that offers telephone counseling to individuals that exit the business. You will be surprised how this service can help a person transition mentally and emotionally after a job loss.
Discuss Unemployment Insurance
A recent Statista article stated, “In June 2017, the total monthly benefits paid to unemployed people in the United States amounted to 2.2 billion U.S. dollars.” The reality is the United States Government offers it as apart of an insurance system for workers that were laid off fault or not at responsibility for the job loss. You can open the discussion with this as an option for ex-employees by educating yourself on the benefits it offers. A list of reasons below that will disqualify a worker are:
- The employee was consistently late for work
- A high number of absences
- The employee broke a workplace rule
- Intoxicated or under the influence of drugs on the job
- Sleeping while on the job
- Falsified information on a job application or resume
- Sexual harassment
Networking Opportunities
An employee that is laid off because your company is experiencing a financial loss can be an asset to another organization. If you have a network of businesses that you do business with and are open to employee referrals, it can help your employee transition into a rewarding career.
We recommend that you confirm with your human resources team there is no record on file of inappropriate behavior that can place you in a difficult situation with the other company in the event history repeats itself. Your reputation can be on the line for referring ex-employees. However, if the working relationship is a success, it can improve your reputation in the process.
Beneficial Career Counseling
If you have a budget for employee services, the ability to offer career counselling as a means for an ex-employee to discover their next steps can be a lifesaver. It can help enhance their career development in addition to a list of networking events to empower the individual to take control of their future. The individual will be grateful when the help of an experienced professional is a phone call away. You can cut your expenses by hiring a third-party company or consider online career counseling services the individual can complete in their own time.
