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Seven Steps to Managing Redundancy

1. Detailed planning

Initial considerations and actions should include:

Researching a redundancy policy, including enhanced redundancy terms and implement it following detailed discussion with elected employee representatives
Check you are legally compliant e.g. consider TUPE, pensions and age discrimination. If you have a significant group that will be transferring under TUPE, you may well need specialist advice
Engage in initial meetings with an outplacement specialist such as the People Development Team to discuss outplacement services and processes

2. Making the announcement

The role of communication within an effective redundancy process cannot be understated so your HR team needs to be very aware of all stakeholder groups and how they will react
Use various forms of communication to make the announcement including meetings with employee representatives and detailed written announcement notices posted around your company site(s)
People Development Team consultants will attend the consultation forum following the announcement to present outplacement services and information to attendees

3. Consultation and communication

Open, honest consultation is the best approach, so help ensure this by:

Holding weekly meetings with elected employee representatives
Try and ensure that a Director attends most of the meetings, along with the Head HR and other key department heads
Have your chosen outplacement experts available to guide people through the next difficult stages and help them to explore their options fully. The first and important stage of outplacement involves these experts building relationships and gaining buy-in from managers, union reps and employees to ensure employee engagement in the process

4. Working with a Union

If there is a union involved in your organisation, you should brief the district officer on the intended approach and redundancy package as soon as you can after the announcement is made
Your outplacement consultants will work with union representatives to communicate services and encourage employees to engage in outplacement
Positive support from your district officer, as well as having employee union representatives reporting back to members on progress will help to reassure union members

5. Selecting for redundancies

Everybody affected should have at least two individual consultation meetings with their line manager as well as a member of HR
In addition, optional sessions with outplacement experts and independent financial advisors are beneficial and ensure that employees were fully aware of their situation and options and can make the best choice for the future

6. Managing severance terms

Be very honest with people in explaining how the package had been put together as well as any constraints such as legal compliance
The majority of the terms will probably be outlined clearly from the outset in a redundancy pack although some may be adapted in response to consultation along the way

7. The role of outplacement in supporting the business and employees

Immediately after the announcement, make sure your outplacement specialists are on hand to offer support to employees. They can ensure that outplacement is successful by:

Gaining initial understanding and support from managers, union representatives and members of staff through communication and building trust at the very initial stages
Working to ensure individuals realise that their skills could be transferred is an important part of the outplacement education process
Offering support emotionally in understanding and accepting change and re-focusing to the future
If appropriate for your organisation, in addition to basic skills such as CV writing, job search and interview skills, run an extensive retraining programme and make sure that everybody leaves with a qualification
Offering pre-retirement planning, business start-up and financial planning workshops to ensure all employees receive support