Hr Challenges in Managing Employee Separations, Downsizing and Outplacement
HR Challenges in Managing Employee Separations, Downsizing and outplacement
*** LAKSHMISHA.K, Vice Principal, S.V.E.I. First Grade College, Vijayanagar IV Stage, Mysore
Abstract
An organization’s effort is to hire the ‘best’ Human Resource (HR) talent available in the market. Sometime, due to sundry reasons, it becomes imperative for the organization to part with some of their employees. Employee separations, downsizing, and outplacement are some of the techniques adopted in the aforesaid endeavor. It is important to not here that the organization incurs significant costs both during the hiring and in the employee ‘separation’ processes. The paper examines the dynamics of the techniques employed to part with the employees.
It is no secret that U.S. industry, once the most productive in the world, is now lagging behind its global competitors. What is not well known is that blue-collar productivity is not necessarily the problem. Between 1978 and 1986, for example, the number of production workers declilned by six percent while real output rose 15 percent. White-collar productivity decreased six percent while the number of workers increased by twenty-one percent. Downsizing, which involves reducing the workforce, but also eliminates functions and redesigns systems and policies to contain costs, is becoming more common in U.S. companies. Despite its pervasiveness, however, downsizing has rarely been investigated by organization and management researchers. This article seeks to identify the processes used in effective downsizing as well as the consequences that result. The authors studied organizational downsizing and redesign for four years in thirty organizations in the automobile industry. Six general strategies are presented that highlight the best practices of these firms that are downsizing effectively.
Introduction
Employee Separation is one of the very important and crucial function / process of
*** LAKSHMISHA.K, Vice Principal, S.V.E.I. First Grade College, Vijayanagar IV Stage, Mysore
Abstract
An organization’s effort is to hire the ‘best’ Human Resource (HR) talent available in the market. Sometime, due to sundry reasons, it becomes imperative for the organization to part with some of their employees. Employee separations, downsizing, and outplacement are some of the techniques adopted in the aforesaid endeavor. It is important to not here that the organization incurs significant costs both during the hiring and in the employee ‘separation’ processes. The paper examines the dynamics of the techniques employed to part with the employees.
It is no secret that U.S. industry, once the most productive in the world, is now lagging behind its global competitors. What is not well known is that blue-collar productivity is not necessarily the problem. Between 1978 and 1986, for example, the number of production workers declilned by six percent while real output rose 15 percent. White-collar productivity decreased six percent while the number of workers increased by twenty-one percent. Downsizing, which involves reducing the workforce, but also eliminates functions and redesigns systems and policies to contain costs, is becoming more common in U.S. companies. Despite its pervasiveness, however, downsizing has rarely been investigated by organization and management researchers. This article seeks to identify the processes used in effective downsizing as well as the consequences that result. The authors studied organizational downsizing and redesign for four years in thirty organizations in the automobile industry. Six general strategies are presented that highlight the best practices of these firms that are downsizing effectively.
Introduction
Employee Separation is one of the very important and crucial function / process of