Fight the pink-slip blues

Swati Rai

No, not surprising that someone you know or, worse still, you  yourself, have got the pink slip at work, recently. Wouldn’t bat an eye lid, even if you are the one meting out these, as an employer. Call it reorganising, restructuring, refitting — it all boils down to, someone without a job at the end of the day. It is a reality of the corporate world we inhabit and, thus ,  facing it requires compassion, courage and courtesy, from both the parties involved. 

Depending upon the industry type, automation, AI, digital pathways and just plain cutting of the overheads in slower economic times, can be one of the many reasons for such a situation. Sweat not, all is not lost. Here are things HR managers as well as employees can do to tide over bad blood, hard feelings and unprofessional scenario at work, at such moments:

Prepare and act

As an employee you need to clarify a few things from your employer the moment you get to know that you have been handed or are likely to be handed a pink slip. 

• Firstly, don’t harbour negative thoughts, start by brainstorming your options and seeking professional job hunters’ help too, as the case maybe. Start with how much time you have in the oganisation, ask details on the terms of retrenchment especially aspects such as reference letter, possible employee movement plan to another vertical or organisation and terms mentioned in the contract. 
• Facilitation with job change, if any assistance possible there, and references should be chalked out at this stage. 
• Also helpful would be to secure yourself financially as that is something you will most feel when bereft of an earning month. 
• Talk to family and have a roadmap of what lies ahead, keep them in the loop to avoid last minute announcements and breakdown.  
• Study the law of the land and strategise your next professional move, update your CV, get skills and relevant key areas of operation endorsed. 
• Build and tap on your network of previous employers and colleagues. 
• Also most importantly, don’t harbour any hard feelings for your current organisation, if it weren’t a necessity, no one would want to get their hands dirty. 
• Look for opportunities overseas, go back into reinventing your career, or a take sabbatical, pursue a professional course and get back into the game, go back to the drawing board as it were. 
• A lot will also depend on at what stage of your career has the position been made redundant. 
• Give support to each other in case of a mass retrenchment drive in an organsiation. 
• Quit playing the blame game, it is, as it is. Take it in your stride and move along plan B.   
• Good to remember that the skills, know how and attitude that you possess has not been made redundant, the position, has, there’s is a difference. Spot that and move ahead positively.

Broach it well 

There’s going to be a time to tell, break the news or drop the hammer. There is no best way to tell someone they’ve lost the job, but when one has to, it can surely be made more empathetic and the transition smoother. 

A great way of doing that would be — one, follow the company policy, always a good place to start. Usually organisations have a set pattern of operation in such scenarios. Employees are informed a month to three months in advance, there is a thorough, transparent discussion and debate that takes place and more often than not, the people going are in the know or see it coming. At the same time avoid unfair retrenchments, weigh in on employee benefits of older and newer employees and such like. Acquaint the employees with the impending restructuring, the need to do so and the timelines clearly. Also, setting up free career counselling, psychological and counselling services will help. Maintaining the dignity of the employee is one major factor in breaking the news- being upfront here will help, rather than beating about the bush. Be clear, precise and thoughtful in broaching the subject and giving clear indications to the restructuring process. Avoid negative language such as “You are redundant”; “We are giving you a fair package in lieu of your position”; “Surely you could see this coming”.  As a manager, one has to tread the fine line of professional exigency and personal understanding.