How to transform survivors into stars after a restructure
Recent company layoffs across the Gulf have unnerved many. Restructures are highly stressful events for those who leave, but they can also create a “survivor” mentality in employees left behind. People struggle with extra workloads, morale plummets and everybody is worried that they might be “next”.
However, these challenging times can turn out to be a catalyst that accelerates your team and business. Investing in your remaining employees is essential to ensure your company remains competitive in the bad times, keeping up the high work quality and productivity the market expects from you. But how do you turn survivors into stars especially when budgets are now extra tight?
First, make sure your restructuring decisions are made on the basis of the new objectives of the company and how this maps to a skills analysis of your staff. Don’t be tempted just to focus on the “superstars”. In fact, research by McKinsey after the global financial crisis in 2009 suggests that the key people to retain are the “hidden gems”. These are the people who actually make things happen in your company whether through their strong networks or critical institutional knowledge.
Once the restructure has happened, managers should refine the new job roles and responsibilities of those who have stayed. Do they possess what it takes to cover the additional responsibilities due to people leaving? Prepare an inventory or checklist of the skills they will need to develop. Use the following tips to support staff to grow into their new roles and manage their new workloads.
Mentoring and coaching
Clear communication is important during the restructuring process so that staff know what is going on and what to expect when. Here your managers have a big role to play in reassuring staff and helping them to feel confident about taking on additional or different responsibilities. This can include a program for top managers to take remaining staff under their wing and mentor them to improve any skills gaps. Coaching is also incredibly useful.
Managing bigger workloads
This is an opportunity to use both your experience and empathy by listening, coaching and helping employees to prioritise. It may be as simple as setting up regular morning triage sessions to work out where a task falls in the urgent versus important quadrant, to regularly check that tasks match business objectives and even deciding what can be eliminated or put off until later. Many companies like Google, GE and Volkswagen have also agreed on email rules such as ‘no emails on weekends’ to help staff recharge properly.
Buddying or shadowing
Identifying somebody in the company who already has a particular skill that you need to develop in remaining employees and setting up a buddying relationship can reap dividends. For example, if people are going to take on customer interaction where they may not have done that before, they can spend time with skilled staff to accelerate their learning.
Training
While you should maximise your company’s sources of development, not everything can be done internally. Traditional training or coaching through external companies is also useful, particularly if somebody needs to rapidly assume a leadership role. Firms can help with one-to-one coaching or intensive courses to develop the behavioral skills of a leader or learn how to manage people differently, e.g. if a new leader needs help becoming more assertive.