systematicHR

Coping with the loss of friends and associates (the guilty survivor)

One of the worst things for both management and the retained organization is deciding and coping with the people who will be losing their jobs. As mentioned in the first part of the series, sometimes there just isn’t a spot for great people. Old school HR practitioners are famous for being too nurturing and caring about their staffs. This however is also true for great leaders. The difference is that great leaders know the line between fighting for their staff, and impeding the forward movement towards the goal. Being a great leader doesn’t diminish the pain of letting people go though.

So you’ve been retained and some great co-workers haven’t. There’s some consolation in this. First, they’ve been given a nice severance. This isn’t a consolation prize, but they do have a grace period to find a new job comfortably. Second, the company is hopefully providing some sort of outplacement assistance. This might come in the form of setting them up with other recruiting agencies, providing positive references, or providing skills training to help them continue their careers elsewhere. The third, in my experience, is that they honestly don’t feel as bitter as you feel guilty. This obviously isn’t true in all cases, but it is in most.

What is critical for the retained organization is to mourn quickly, and then move on. Think of it this way: How many recruiting directors have actually managed an RPO? How many payroll directors have managed a fully outsourced payroll (not the traditional outsourcing that comes with ADP or Ceridian)? We’ll talk about what you’ll be doing tomorrow, but if the retained organization can implement the necessary improvements and provide the organization with better metrics and understanding of what process and data means, they (the retained org) is now part of a very small and select group of people in the world who have that experience.

Losing people “sucks.” Don’t get so caught up in the loss of people that you lose sight of the opportunity you have. In 5 years, people who have successfully implemented and transitioned their organizations to a successful HRO relationship will be a dime a dozen (ok – maybe a bit more than a dime). But for now, make every minute count.