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Article from The Straits Times, 29th January 2002
Retrenchment
Letting them go gently
To soften the blow of retrenchment, companies can arrange for counselling and source for new jobs. But the best rule is to do as you would be done by
By Suzanne Sng
DO UNTO others as you would have them do unto you.
The golden rule of life holds true when it comes to retrenchment.
Human resource experts, employers and employees who have faced retrenchment agreed that the best way to go about the painful task was simply to be humane.
'Remember always that we are dealing with human beings here, not digits,' says Mr. Paul Heng, managing director and principal consultant of outplacement firm, NeXT Career.
The golden rule was taken to heart by the Singapore office of a multi-national creative firm when it let go 10 per cent of its total workforce last October.
The 15 employees had worked there for six to eight years. Each was given notice personally by one of the two chief executive officers of the close-knit company.
One of the CEOs, who declined to be named, says: 'People at the top must personally speak to the affected individuals. Any other way is wrong, totally unacceptable.'
By contrast, there are companies that do the deed as impersonally as possible.
Mr. Mark Tan, 30, and six of his colleagues were herded unceremoniously into a conference room last May and told that they were being laid off by the British multi-national IT company they worked for.
'They didn't bother to tell us individually. People were very emotional. The girls cried. The guys just laughed and walked off. What could we do?' he says.
While it is common practice to give 24 hours' notice, especially in industries where office security is paramount, affected employees often feel it is too abrupt, no matter how much warning they are given.
Mr. Chung Fook Mun, 38, who was the regional human resource manager at an American data storage firm, had to let more than 60 people go when the company merged with a bigger player.
As the merger took more than six months to complete, employees were given ample notice from the time they knew they were being retrenched to their actual date of departure.
'There's no need to be so harsh about it, to cut off e-mail and access,' says Mr. Chung. 'Suddenly overnight, you distrust them, after they have worked for you for so many years. That's a bit overdoing it.'
Public relations executive Tania Chong, 28, and about 70 others in the media company where they worked had the shock of being shown the door last November with only 24 hours' notice.
She says: 'The short notice was really bad as we didn't have time to pack. It's not as if we could have done anything to the company.
'It's not good for the company, either. No proper hand-over, and it is bad for the person taking over.'
Ms Laletha Nithiyanandan, group director of Business Trends in Asia, says: 'Longer notice allows staff members to say goodbye and adjust to changes. It makes other employees feel secure that the company cares.'
Last month, the axing of 435 employees by United Overseas Bank made the news when allegedly they were given only until lunchtime to pack up before the electronic door codes were changed, for security reasons.
Mr. Heng agrees that those who might be a threat in terms of security or potential loss of privileged information have to go immediately.
But human resource consultant Mary Chua from Watson Wyatt, a human resource and (HR) financial management firm, says: 'If you know they will not pose problems, you might want to give them more notice.'
COMPASSION MUST COME FIRST
EXPERTS agree that the periods just before festive occasions, such as Christmas and Chinese New Year, are bad times to be given bad news, but they also say that it sometimes cannot be helped.
Compassion sometimes does overrule business sense.
In a major homegrown organisation in the financial sector, a managing director reversed his decision to retrench an employee when she walked into his office - because she was pregnant.
She is still with the company and does not know that she was spared. The organisation, which laid off 200 employees four months ago, declined to be named.
A spokesman says: 'Due to compassionate reasons, we decided to review the list.'
Still, when a company lets the axe fall, there are ways they can help cushion the blow. Aside from ensuring that the retrenchment benefits are fair and paid as soon as possible, they can provide counselling on the day of the announcement, and hold workshops afterwards.
Ms Christine Sim, managing director of Tact Business Services, says: 'What experienced career management consultants will do is to reassure the affected employee that the layoff was a business decision and nothing personal.'
Some companies go the extra mile by engaging job placement firms and hand out letters of recommendation.
Both Mr. Tan and Ms Chong admitted that they were grateful that their ex-companies offered help.
Mr. Tan's immediate boss recommended him to his current job as an IT manager, which is comparable to his previous position. Ms Chong received a call from the HR department with a job opening in a similar position as a PR executive two weeks after she had left.
FIRING STAFF IS ALSO PAINFUL
WIELDING the axe can be almost as painful and stressful as being under it.
'It was emotionally very draining. Probably one of the worst days of my career,' says the CEO of the creative firm which laid off 15 employees.
He echoed the words of UOB chairman and CEO Wee Cho Yaw. He had the unenviable task of retrenching over 400 employees.
'The retrenchment exercise has been one of the most painful experiences of my 41 years with UOB,' he said in a published letter to NTUC assistant general secretary, Madam Halimah Yacob, who had called for employers to be more humane in conducting retrenchments.
NeXT Career's Mr. Heng says: 'Unless one is a sadist, no one likes to fire his colleagues. There is generally a sense of guilt, especially if the people you are letting go have become close to you.'
Keeping the bad news under wraps was especially difficult for Ms Josephine Chan, 26, who was the marketing manager at a business-to-business dot.com
For a month, she had to keep working with the marketing executive she would have to hand the letter to.
'We were given a briefing with tips on how to handle the situation, but when you see the person, you just freeze up,' she says.
The stress was especially bad because, after working together for a year, they had become friends in the close-knit company of about 40 employees.
She adds: 'I had to remind myself that it was not my fault that she was retrenched. It was very stressful and traumatic, and I don't think I want to go through that again.'
HE'S SEEN BOTH SIDES
MR. CHUNG FOOK MUN (left), 38, has been on both sides of the firing squad, so to speak.
As the regional human resource manager of an American date storage firm, he had to retrench more than 60 employees in the Asia-Pacific region - including himself.
''Employees came to me with their problems about retrenchment and benefits, and I tried to work out the best deal for everyone,'' he says of the long exercise to reduce headcount last year.
The company, which had its regional headquarters in Singapore, had been bought by a bigger player.
To help employees cope, on top of helping with new jobs and counselling, he bought them more than 100 copies of Who Moved My Cheese?, a self-help book based on a parable about two mice.
Those laid off had been with the company for two to 10 years, he says, adding: ''I believe we did everything with as much compassion as possible.''
The irony of it all was that, ''at the end of the day, I prepared my own letter''.
With a dry laugh, he recalls: ''I typed, 'Dear Fook Mun, we regret to inform you...' ''
Luckily, three months later, an American firm, National Starch and Chemical, hired him as its regional human resource manager.
TIPS FOR BOSSES
DO:
u Treat people as you would want to be treated.
u Reiterate that it is a business decision, not personal.
u Try to be as transparent as possible, let people know what to expect and when.
u Get support network ready - employment agencies, job consultants, potential employers, and material such as resume formats, job-search guides and reference letters.
u Allow time to pack and say goodbye.
u Plan to manage those who remain with the company.
u Coach those who are doing the retrenchment.
u Pay retrenchment benefits as soon as possible.
u Refer questions about compensation to the designated HR personnel.
DO NOT:
u Broach the subject of individual performance.
u Offer excuses or blame.
u Make promises you cannot keep.
u Give the impression that decisions can be reversed or benefits negotiated.
u Argue or lose your temper.
u Jest or use small talk.
u Gossip or speculate about the organisation's status.
u Underestimate what a seemingly nice employee can do in a moment of anger.
u Have a security guard stand over an employee's shoulder when he is packing.
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