Incest 0000i-xiv FM 1 - William L. White

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t h e i n c e st u o u s wo r k p lac e
power of the informal rumor network. During times of uncertainty,
every meeting with employees, no matter what its agenda, should function
as a mechanism of rumor control.
The Management of Employee Reductions. There are a number of principles
and guidelines that can make needed layoffs less painful for the
employees involved and less disruptive to an organization overall. While
some of the following suggestions may seem obvious and simplistic to a
reader from a large, complex organization, the material may be helpful
to those from small health and human services agencies who have never
had to address the issue of employee layoffs.
• Develop a layoff policy before it is needed. The key component
of such a policy, as it relates to role insecurity, is the clarity
with which the layoff decision-making process is defined. Will
layoff decisions be made by seniority or some other criterion?
Are there any policy differences between salaried and hourly
employees? If seniority is the primary criterion, how is it defined?
By work site? Department? Total employee pool? Having
such policies allows each worker to make a realistic determination
as to the level of vulnerability he or she faces in the event
of an employee reduction.
• Involve employees at early and successive stages of a financial
crisis. Workers can be either active partners with managers in
crisis resolution or passive, impotent bystanders and victims
of managerial decisions. Provide workers with the cost-cutting
goals to see whether they can identify alternatives to employee
reductions. In many organizations, workers have come up with
concrete, practical alternatives that prevented the loss of employees.
• If a layoff decision is made, avoid false or unfounded promises
about the length of the layoff. If the layoff appears to be permanent,
communicate this to the workers so they can plan for their
futures accordingly.
• When a layoff occurs, examine what supports can be extended
to the effected employees. Can a representative of the unemployment
office be deployed at the work site to facilitate
worker access to unemployment benefits? Can access to services
from an employee assistance program, such as budget
counseling, be extended to workers on layoff status? Can