Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Employment lawRedundancy

Customer Consulting stresses help for redundancy survivors

by Personnel Today 16 Mar 2009
by Personnel Today 16 Mar 2009

In the current economic climate, almost every industry seems to be contemplating or making redundancies but those people remaining after these job cuts are just as important as those who leave. Ignore that at your peril is the advice of the specialist customer and change management company Customer Consulting (CCL).

CCL’s Managing Director, Simon Rustom, commented: “Redundancies are very much in the news. Employers in all sectors of the economy are thinking about whether or not they need to make them and, if so, how to make them with the minimum cost and disruption to their operations.

“While plenty of advice is being directed towards making redundancies or being declared redundant, the people who continue to work for the organisation and deal with its customers are arguably more important – at least to their employers,” he added.

Paul Seymour, as Associate Consultant with CCL, explained: “The people who stay will continue to deal with customers – and so their employers need to ensure that these workers provide a high quality service. Yet these people will be going through the same bereavement-like emotions as their less fortunate colleagues.

“If you’re going to keep up their morale and motivate them, you must recognise this and give them attention,” he said. “Despite all the things you say, they will still feel they are next – so you must give them regular reassurance that they are safe.”

When voluntary redundancy is offered, it is the best people in the organisation who have the confidence to move on and so they tend to leave first, Seymour observed.

He added: “So it is always important to have a rigid selection process that assesses the key skills that are needed going forward; rate everyone against this matrix; be open about the process, and don’t be tempted to compromise the process just to achieve the numbers.”

In Seymour’s view, you can minimise the risk of de-motivating staff if you avoid announcing redundancies on a Friday, since it’s difficult to support staff – both those being made redundant and those who are not – over a weekend.

“Moreover,” added Seymour, “Don’t get a junior member of staff to deliver the news: it must come from a senior executive who is visible throughout the process.”

 When it comes to controlling the ‘organisational grapevine’, Seymour advocates an ‘ABC’ approach in that you should:



  • Always be available to discuss it.

  • Be quick to quash destructive rumours.

  • Communicate openly rather than ‘pull down the shutters’, making the issue a regular briefing item.

Furthermore, he recommends creating a project team with representation from across all the organisation’s functions.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This team will co-ordinate the whole procedure, determining the way in which the news is given to the workforce; by whom; where and when, and the support structures for those who are leaving and for those who will be remaining.

“Make sure there’s plenty of support available after the ‘big day’ as well,” said Seymour. “And expect productivity to drop – and account for it.”

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
Teachers strike to support colleague sacked over dress code
next post
Macmillan chooses Video Arts for online soft skills training

You may also like

Volvo to cut around 3,000 roles in restructure

27 May 2025

Fire and rehire: the relocation question

22 May 2025

Minister defends Employment Rights Bill at Acas conference

16 May 2025

CBI chair Soames accuses ministers of not listening...

16 May 2025

EHRC bows to pressure and extends gender consultation

15 May 2025

Tribunal finds need for degree in redundancy selection...

14 May 2025

Contract cleaner loses EAT race discrimination appeal

14 May 2025

Construction workers win compensation claim against defunct employer

9 May 2025

Zero-hours workers’ rights to be extended from beyond...

8 May 2025

Employment tribunal backlog up 23% in a year

7 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+