The last six months have seen the start of a serious slowdown in the economy and the arrival of the ‘credit crunch'. That reality check for high-spending consumers has been mirrored by a number of large-scale redundancies which, figures from the advice line show, are being followed by similar scale losses among the work forces of many smaller businesses. Most HR professionals feel reasonably competent in identifying the main issues relating to the redundancy itself, but how do you handle the staff who continue to work on, and who may be worrying about the future of the business that they work in? How can employers and HR professionals help those employees? Be honest with the remaining staff; Keep your line managers informed; Give the staff support - look at using counsellors who can help with the increased stress; Make sure that you give employees a clear message of hope for the future. The aftermath of a redundancy exercise can be catastrophic for the remaining employees, in many cases the speed with which a business will recover depends upon the way in which the remaining staff are re-motivated. Employers will need to work hard to boost morale and maintain it through those difficult months.
FPB