Maintaining employee morale during times of restructuring can be tricky. But when a company must maintain recruiting efforts and even continue to hire new employees during restructuring, HR professionals find themselves in a very awkward diplomatic role. They must maintain smooth relations with current employees who have said good-bye to coworkers who were laid off while watching fresh blood waltz in as new hires. At the same time, recruiters must also maintain a solid reputation among students who may be wondering about the company's stability and ethics. How can human resources professionals achieve such an understanding between two seemingly opposing camps?
As a Director of Human Resources at Bank of America, Dole Packaged Foods, and Mervyn's Department Stores, I found myself in just such a position. We had to conduct much-publicized layoffs while maintaining our university recruiting efforts. It was never easy and often unpleasant, but our senior managers were committed to doing both the layoffs and the recruiting the right way: with respect, integrity, thoughtful planning, and an eye toward the future.
Here are nine lessons I learned from handling this difficult situation.
- Communicate plans with current employees. Employees may get upset about new hires when they or their friends are losing their jobs. Help diminish the potential fear and resentment by helping them understand why you are recruiting. Without justifying or being defensive, find the best ways to communicate the following messages:
- That you plan to recruit on college campuses and why (so they hear it straight from you)
- Which specific jobs you will be recruiting for (so they don't speculate)
- The importance of bringing in new talent for the ultimate success of the company (so they can understand why)
Depending on how you typically communicate company priorities or plans, you could include an article or regular update in your company newsletter. A senior manager and champion of recruiting could discuss the issue, as one topic among others, at a company-wide meeting. You don't want to create a lot of fanfare around recruiting, but communicating your general plans will go a long way with employees. They will appreciate your honesty, and most will understand that the company requires certain talent to turn it around and make it more competitive in the long term.
- Get support from your most negative managers. Keep your ears open for feedback on how the "troops" are feeling about the restructuring and recruiting. Seek out those managers who tend to be the most negative and the most vocal, and genuinely listen to their concerns. Incorporate their input whenever you can. For example, you could solicit their suggestions for how to best integrate new hires with current staff or involve them in the new hire orientations or mentor program.
Some of the top employee concerns to anticipate, include:
- My job will be next!
- Why don't you take the money you're spending on recruiting to keep some jobs that you say you have to eliminate?
- Why can't current employees move into the jobs you are recruiting for?
- These MBAs are overpaid prima donnas. Why do we need them?
- What have you done for us (employees) lately?
- Help employees understand the need for recruiting. Explain to your employees the tangible benefits of recruiting to the company as a whole. For example, use as spokespeople current successful employees who were hired through your campus recruiting program.
Tell employees what jobs (titles and groups) you are recruiting to fill. They will see that typically these are not openings that are appropriate for current employees.
Broaden employees' mindset to help them see the big picture. Create a graphic that illustrates where the company is and where it needs to be over the next few years. Point out the current skill gaps that are critical to the company's success and competitiveness, for which you are recruiting.
Invite your employees to a welcome event for new hires. Enlist some current employees as mentors or buddies for these new recruits. Do everything you can to encourage current employees to feel involved in the recruiting process, lest they should feel subject to the arbitrary whims of management.
If your company culture includes posting photos--for example, of company outings, long-time employees, or employees recognized for outstanding performancethen add a group photo of your new hire "class." This will make a not-so-subtle statement that you value both longstanding and new employees.
- Offer career transition support. If your employees perceive you as treating their laid-off brethren poorly or unfairly, all of your efforts to soothe their fear and resentment will be ineffective. Offer career transition support through external outplacement firms or your own onsite career center. Keep all employees as informed as possible about layoffs, and communicate with the affected employees immediately and thoughtfully.
An effective career center can include modest office space, computers, telephones, administrative support for help with resumes, and an informal area where employees who have been laid off can create structure and support and network with each other.
These career centers can be small and modest, yet create enormous goodwill among employees, both those who are being laid off and those who aren't. As an added bonus, doing so can generate terrific PR about the active compassion your company is showing to affected employees during a difficult time.
- Don't create a system of haves and have-nots. If you're telling employees that you're recruiting in the midst of layoffs to fill an unmet need, then make sure you walk your talk. Create a process that will consider qualified current employees for jobs you are recruiting for.
For incoming employees, watch for compensation issues that might create a disparity between new and longstanding employees. For example, a new MBA with little experience could potentially be hired with a significantly bigger compensation package than employees who have been with the company for a long time and performed well. Bonus structures and other creative perks and intangibles can be used to soften this imbalance.
Once the new recruits come aboard, then it's performance (not which campus they came from) that counts. Ensure that you have a management structure that recognizes performance, organizational values, and results above academic or professional pedigree.
- Be honest with students. Address the media coverage, rumors, and concerns head on by using your website, recruiting communication, and recruiting events. Honesty is still the best policy because students know when they are being fed PR spin. You don't have to go into great detail or jeopardize your positive messages, but do take the time early on or as needed to address concerns students may have about the viability of your company.
- Convey your commitment to developing talent. Let your potential candidates know that recruiting while laying off or while in an overall hiring freeze demonstrates your company's belief in the importance of great talent and that keeping the "talent pipeline" strong is a necessary component of the long-term success of any company. Share some positive stories of how you are developing peoples' skills, explain your company's career development programs or initiatives, or bring alumni to the schools where you recruit to talk briefly about their worthwhile experiences with your company.
- Talk about the future. Point out how the restructuring and recruiting you're doing now will contribute to the company's growth and strengthen its future. Most students understand economic downturns, retractions in specific industries, and the need to trim staff based on economic and business needs. Mainly, students need to hear what's on the company's horizon, what goals are planned for the future, and how you intend to get there. Any plans you can sharegrowth plans, innovations, new patents, promising new executives, changes in direction, refocused prioritieswill have a positive impact on students.
- Bring candidates on site. Try not to wait for second-round interviews to bring promising candidates to your offices. If possible, host a day-on-the-job or some other event that brings students into the workplace, so they can see firsthand that it's business as usual--the offices are still there and employees are still at work and enjoying it.
By following these tips, you can avoid some of the drama that may complicate an already difficult situation. Taking steps to address the concerns of incoming, ongoing, and outgoing employees is the best and only way to keep your ship sailing smoothly during a restructuring phase.
Author Bio
Sherrie Gong Taguchi is co-author of The Ultimate Guide to Getting the Career You Want...And What to Do Once You Have It.
Gary Alpert, CEO at WetFeet, says: "If you are ready to take your career to the next level, you've found the most important book on the market today. From cover to cover, the knowledge you'll gain about managing and advancing your career is unparalleled in the book's breadth, depth, and actionability."
Sherrie is Principal of career-inspirations.com and has served as VP of Recruiting for Bank of America, Dole Packaged Foods, and Director of Career Management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
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