Warning on pink slip regret

November 26, 2008 from the Financial Post – “Weathering a prolonged economic downturn will be a challenge for many organizations, human resource experts warn.

A shrinking labour pool means this time around, workplaces are going to have to think twice about laying off staff and instead preserve their bench strength for the future…”

180 View (written by Lawrence Young) – Remember the famous words in the opening sentence of Charles Dickens’ classic novel ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ – “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”?

Well, it’s getting harder and harder to find something good, let alone best, about these times. And the $64,000 question that’s undoubtedly on every one’s mind these days, manager and employee alike, is: ‘IS MY JOB SECURE?’

This article by Daryl-Lynn Carlson gives some valuable food for thought on how to deal with what some people perceive is the ‘perfect storm coming at us’, and how companies need to understand what their workforce requirements and realities are before implementing what otherwise seems to be ‘the obvious’ course of action - organizational restructuring, layoffs, hiring freezes and a slowing rate of salary increases.

The author quotes one expert who advises employers to develop a business plan to address cost reductions that includes an assessment of competitors, the market and regional demographics. "Now, more than ever, organizations need to look at what they're trying to do internally, but also what's happening externally. They may make choices today in order to hit cost reduction targets, but that could have a negative impact on the future because of the job shortage, as those people may not be available in the future."

Finding the balance between short-term cost cutting and long-term positioning is never an easy balancing act. But in these unprecedented times, caution is well advised before one acts on what appears to be ‘the obvious’. In some respects, the difficult time ahead may be amongst the ‘best of times’ to get the corporate house in order.

If your employees will have free time during the economic downturn that is upon us and not going away any time soon, then consider capitalizing on this rare opportunity to upgrade the skills of your workforce, retool the enterprise with new software and re-engineer your business processes. Doing so will equip your company to both weather the current storm and to seize the opportunities that await those that will be ready when the current storm subsides and is replaced once again by calm seas under a sunny sky.