McLean & Company says human resources (HR) teams and leadership must be intentional in times of crisis and avoid relying on layoffs whenever possible.
“Times of crisis put leadership to the test and the window for acting on redeployment is small,” they write. “Redeployment and upskilling should be a priority before turning to layoffs in a recession.”
In its new resource report, Redeploy Your Workforce During a Crisis, the firm recommends that HR professionals and leaders focus on redeployment opportunities as the primary solution when considering cost-cutting labour initiatives.
“During a crisis, many parts of an organization change frequently and rapidly, and all areas aren’t impacted in the same way. This presents an opportunity to redeploy employees to areas of need instead of laying them off, which will better position the organization to return to normal once they’re no longer in crisis mode,” says Karen Mann, vice president of HR research, learning solutions and advisory services. “It also decreases the likelihood of damaging the employer brand.”
The three steps – a redeployment roadmap – are outlined in the report. They include meeting with leadership, planning individual and department redeployment and monitoring and managing departmental effectiveness.
In the first step, leaders must create a policy outlining the steps involved in cost-cutting, investigate all cost cutting options and cost those out.
In planning, they recommend firms identify employees that need to be redeployed and whether their skills may be leveraged in other organizational areas. (The report’s recommendations include action and communication plans and skills mapping.)
Finally, they say to properly monitor departmental performance, review key metrics. “On a greater scale, organizational performance should also be reviewed regularly. This will assist HR and leadership in determining if current solutions are effective or if the response needs to evolve to accommodate the organization’s situation.”
They conclude saying the HR firm’s research shows that redeployment should be an organization’s priority solution; layoffs should be pursued as an unavoidable, final course of action.
