General Management

Redundancy

Redundancy. You never think that it may happen to you, and when it does, what do you do? There are so many questions, thoughts, fears, and explanations to make. Positions being made redundant are more common than most people think. And certainly the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector is not immune. Jobs are not for life, and business needs change, sometimes dramatically so.

Changing business needs sometimes necessitates the employer restructuring the organisation. A position then becomes redundant if the business no longer requires the duties of that position to be performed. The position may also be redundant when it needs to be broken up into several roles and the duties distributed to other positions, when the duties are substantially and fundamentally changed; or there is a major move in the location of the position.

When the redundancy comes it will be a shock. Even if you have been expecting it for some time, the realisation will hit the first morning that you don’t go to work. You are suddenly at the cross-roads of your career. In which direction will you go? It is important not to act hastily. Consider the situation carefully and analyse your options. This is the opportunity to do the job that you always wanted – you don’t have to only consider similar roles that you have just been made redundant from. Think carefully through the aspects of a role that you enjoyed, and those aspects you didn’t. This will help in deciding what areas to focus on when job hunting. Although redundancy is a life changing event many people later claim that it was an enlightening experience – it got them out of a rut and propelled their career to the next level. This is an opportunity to plan the next 5-20 years of your working career.

There is usually a lot of emotion associated with the redundancy. “What did I do wrong? Why me? Am I inadequate? I worked hard? All my work has been wasted effort? My life is going nowhere? The redundancy was not your fault, it was a business necessity and not personal. But it will still be tough – so seek guidance from others to bring clarity to the emotions. Talk it through and you will start to feel comfortable and be able to discuss it easily. The worst scenario would be if you bottled up the emotion, and it all came out when a future employer was probing for reasons.

Going through a redundancy should also be a time for reflection. If you had your time again would your performance or attitude have been different? You should review how your technical skills compare to others; how effectively do you build relationships with other people; how could you improve your effectiveness. There are a number of life coaches, colleagues, mentors, friends, who could offer a realistic opinion on how you may be coming across in the workplace. Seek out ways to improve your effectiveness after receiving the feedback.

Redundancy can be traumatic so look after yourself. Make sure that you do something special for yourself every day for the first few weeks.  For example, go shopping, visit the art gallery, go to Tasmania – all those things that you were previously too busy to do. Take time out for yourself and get control back over your life. Remember that a large amount of control has been taken from you – you have lost your job – now it is time to regain control. You will always get another job – timing is the only issue.

Work on the message that needs to be communicated. Your friends, family, neighbours, shopkeepers will suddenly see you around during the day and will be asking why. A well thought out, factual response, without sounding apologetic or angry is all that is required. And then move on in the conversation. People will feel uncomfortable hearing the news and will not be sure how to respond. They want to see you happy, energized and upbeat.

The message also needs to be communicated clearly and honestly with recruiters and prospective employers. Explain the reasons for the redundancy, answer the questions and move on concentrating on your accomplishments and potential contributions.  If you caused difficulties in the workplace then be upfront with what happened. It is better for this information to come out at this stage, than during reference checking. There are a number of reasons for workplace conflicts and incompatibility with others and the recruiter and employer need a clear understanding of what happened in order to work effectively with you.

It is important to fully understand the terms of your redundancy with your past employer and to clarify what they will be saying during future reference checks. The hardest part of a severance is to reconnect with your previous line manager and HR contact. However it will be beneficial when you want to connect with them later or ask them to be referees.

It is important not to panic and take the first role that is offered, nor take a scatter-gun approach and apply for any job. A well thought out and orchestrated job search has many benefits. You can control the messages and you therefore don’t look desperate.

When you are rewriting your CV reflect on the skills that you have developed over the last few years, highlight them and provide good examples. This will help prospective employers to identify your transferable skills and potential fit with a vacant or potential role.

Redundancy is also a time to re-examine the skills that need developing. For instance do you need to brush up on your computer skills; interviewing technique; technical knowledge, business skills; or interpersonal style.

As you may not have been interviewed for some years it is necessary to practise these skills. A recruitment consultant is well placed to provide feedback on how you interview and will advise you accordingly. There are a number of techniques to improve your perception at interview (including how you dress and speak), however the most important is the detail that you give when you answer questions. Candidates are advised to prepare examples of work-place initiatives that demonstrate their skills. During the interview these examples can be used as ‘templates’ on which to elaborate. Employers want to fully understand what candidates have done on the basis of “if you’ve done it before, you can do it again”. Therefore giving vague answers, without much detail, will not create a favourable impression.

When answering interview questions it is important to treat the interview as a conversation. During normal conversations you wouldn’t repeat questions, nor should you during interviews. There’s nothing more annoying than hearing the question that you just asked repeated back, just so that the candidate can have more time to think about the answer. The response should be considered, to the point, giving clear examples, and not rambling or off on a tangent. It can be infuriating to hear a long-winded rambling response that includes no relationship to the original question. When conveying detailed information focus on ‘chunking’ the information into understandable ‘bites’. Rather than talking non-stop for 5 minutes to explain a project, break the message down in ‘chunks’. Therefore your answer may involve reference to the beginning, middle and end of the project; or People, Costs, Results. Conveying information in this manner makes it much easier to understand and creates a much more valuable impression.

As part of your ‘redundancy package’ you may have been offered ‘outplacement services’. While these companies provide services in CV writing and interview skills, they do not always have a full appreciation of the subtleties of the pharmaceutical and healthcare market. Their advice needs to be ‘reality-checked’ with people within the industry. For instance, one candidate that we saw recently was told to “go out and quickly network with everyone you know…someone will know someone with a job”. This is appropriate advice for a broad market, but within a niche market, like healthcare, it is often best to have a coordinated strategy that targets key decision makers.

The money side of redundancy is important. The amount that is paid is governed by a variety of guidelines including the private employment contracts, Federal or State awards, enterprise agreements, workplace agreements and State and Federal industrial relations legislation. The contract of employment should stipulate the redundancy terms and if it doesn’t, then the employer’s contractual obligation is to provide the employee with an appropriate notice of termination. Awards and enterprise agreements generally detail the obligations of employers with regards to redundancy. However for non-award employees, unless it is specified in the contract, there is no entitlement to any extra payments beyond the ‘period of notice’ obligations. Companies will often provide an amount to ease the burden of the redundancy. However employees should always seek independent advice and consult with financial advisers. You have mortgage/rent commitments, and living expenses and will need a budget.

While still working it is necessary to prepare for a possible redundancy and ensure that you are constantly developing your skills and that these skills are transferable to different positions. During your working role it is important to regularly attend training sessions (and not to forgo training because you are too busy); to stay up to date with developments in the field (by going to conferences and reading industry relevant material); up-skilling in other areas of the organisation (eg working with cross functional teams and learning more about other areas.); and embracing all types of new technology.

For employers, redundancy can be an equally traumatic time. You are losing a long standing, hardworking employee who is about to receive some of the most significant news of their corporate career.

Firstly review the reason for the redundancy. Has the business requirements really changed or is it simply another way to terminate what you see as a troublesome employee? If you are seeking to gain business efficiencies, is redundancy the best option? Are there alternatives? And have you consulted the employee – they are the closest to the role and could suggest alternatives.

Consider the impact that you are making on the employee’s life. A generous separation package, although there may be no legal requirement to do so, will certainly ease the financial burden that the employee is about to experience.

On receiving the news the employee will respond with a range of emotions from quiet acceptance to anger and aggression. Be prepared and seek advice and assistance.

Consider the impact on your remaining employees, suppliers, customers and other business partners. The ex-employee will still have extensive networks and could be a very valuable ambassador for your business – if treated properly. Being recognised as a fair employer will help attract future talent. Meet with the remaining employees and explain the decision. If there are to be no more redundancies say so. The team needs stability. You want to lessen the impact on the rest of your business.

Making employees redundant is never easy. There are loyalties and friendships that have been built up over the years, just to be severed. Consider the emotions of the people involved and do whatever you can to help them rebuild their careers.

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