Boardroom Reports

By Cheryl Lieberman

Managers often put off the painful but necessary decision to downsize the company's work force because they simply can't face the task of selecting those who must be let go. The plain truth is, however, that workers themselves usually have a pretty good idea of the kinds of people who should be kept on, who can work through a crisis and who can give the company a fighting chance to survive.

There's a way to harness this knowledge, a technique that worked for one company to reduce its work force by 50%. Most importantly, this technique minimizes the enormous falloff in productivity that usually starts once worries about a layoff begin and everyone is waiting "for the ax to fall."

SETTING THE GOALS
Deciding that the company must cut down its work force to survive is, of course, a management decision. The next step, however, should not be the typical across-the-board slash - cutoff of support services, early retirement for older workers or blind obedience to a seniority rule. The better goal: Hold on to the company's best people and move them around to fill the jobs that remain.

The first steps for management to take after deciding that downsizing is essential are to:

• Articulate clearly where the new, smaller company will concentrate its business efforts and what it will shed.
• Make clear how much (either in dollars or in numbers of people) must be cut.
• Assure senior and middle managers and employees down the line that they'll all be considered part of a pool of talent available to fill remaining jobs.
• Make known that the company will provide job-hunting assistance to all employees who are let go.

THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST
That sets the stage for mobilizing workers' aid in defining the criteria that will be used to select the employees who will keep their jobs. Organize a task force or, in a bigger company, task forces (say, one for middle managers, one for the professional staff and one for clerical workers) to establish the criteria. Enlist workers' help in selecting members of the task force, if there's time.

Top management must make clear to the members of the task force that their recommendations will be taken seriously only if their suggestions are appropriate for the company and carefully thought out. And be prepared for astonishing frankness and usefulness in the results.

Here, for instance, is a summary of the criteria drawn up by a task force of clerical workers in three weeks. The criteria were applied and have proved so successful that the company is now healthy enough to add back workers. Furthermore, the task force's criteria have been shaped into an evaluation system that replaces the one formerly developed by management.

WHOM WORKERS WANT TO WORK WITH
The main trait the clerical workers said was necessary in employees: Dedication to the current and future success of the company, which is demonstrated by job performance. The characteristics that the workers defined as essential:

• Performance: Having the capability to complete assignments effectively.
• Experience: Possessing the skills necessary to enable the company to survive.
• Flexibility: Showing the ability to adapt to the changing needs of the company.

The clerical workers then went on to define how performance levels should be measured:

• Quantity of work produced.
• Ability of work with established deadlines.
• Wisdom in organizing work and giving the right priorities to a variety of tasks.
• Dependability - with special attention given to the record of attendance and punctuality.
• Responsibility, which could mean initiating necessary actions even if not directed to do so.

The workers didn't equate seniority with experience. In fact, they recommended that seniority be used only as a factor in a final determination - after all other criteria were taken into consideration. They ranked experience this way"

• Job knowledge - the skills and training used to perform a variety of tasks.
• Breadth and variety of skills.

The workers put great value on a coworker's flexibility, especially in the face of working under crisis conditions. They defined flexibility this way:

• Adaptability: The ability to adjust to different workloads and to learn new responsibilities and requirements on the job.
• Cooperation: The willingness to do what has to be done and to work with others to accomplish the task.

Reprinted with permission of:
Bottom Line/Business
55 Railroad Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830
Visit our very useful Web site http://www.BottomLineSecrets.com/