Have you been affected by downsizing in your organisation during the economic downturn?

The after-effects of downsizing in a company can last for years, as you try to encourage the people who stay to commit their loyalty to the future benefit of the business.

But we’ve found in our research that many companies spend a disproportionate time on helping the people laid off and less real-time on the people who will be left, and that may store up difficulties for the future.

When you manage downsizing ineffectively, there’s a danger that a downward spiral will be set up, which can be damaging to the morale and performance of the whole company.

So you need to take action when downsizing occurs, rather than leave it until problems arise. How can you proactively take action with renewal strategies that will help you look forward rather than back when this situation arises?

1. You must be proactive in your management stance, especially in the time period just after the change has occurred. Your action or otherwise at this point will create either an atmosphere of hope or one of despair. This should be a time when you offer your skills and communication to the long-term future of the business, by clarifying expectations, supporting team members and rebuilding trust. You need to communicate direction, vision, mission, strategies, priorities, commitment, objectives and goals for the future. Without these, the people who stay with you after the downsizing will still be fearful of the risks ahead.

2. Your prime attention should be on supporting the people who stay. If you are using outside help to assist in the downsizing operation, most attention, quite rightly, will be on the staff whose jobs have disappeared. However, enlist the help of the agencies you are using to create firm foundations for growth in the people who will be staying with you.

3. Think of the future now with a long-term perspective. One-off meetings to reassure staff, or one-hit training courses, will not offer the necessary support that people need for long-term safety and security. Put yourself in your staff’s shoes…what reassurance would you need to confirm that your future job is safe and that your role is more important than ever to the company’s successful future?

Remember that the business may have been on a downward trend for some time, and it may take a long time to get confidence back after a cut-back. Positive, proactive action on your part will play an important role in re-establishing trust in the company and its future. You may need, with your management team, to re-assess the strategies that your business uses to go to market in the future.

Ideally, the time taken to reassess your future operational needs should be as short as possible, so you have the continued support of your team members and colleagues to take the company forward during the difficult rebuilding time.

By spending time thinking about the needs of the people working with you in the future, and how to manage performance, you give yourself a good chance of rebuilding towards a successful outcome.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

When you are training new employees it is important to keep your organisations specialisation (or division) of labour in mind. Specialisation of labour refers to the way organisational jobs are divided and subdivided to ensure that they are properly completed. As a manager you may be responsible for breaking a task down into parts and then assigning each part to a different individual.

Specialisation of labour has its benefits and drawbacks. On the one hand you will have a highly specialised workforce in which each person, responsible for only one task, can contribute his very best work. Because employees are allowed to specialise they are more likely to work efficiently and get more done.

On the other hand, you can’t overuse the idea of specialisation. If an employee is only allowed to do one repeatedly he will easily become tired – both physically and mentally. When fatigue sets in he will suddenly become more likely to make mistakes. He’ll also become bored with his job and will begin to start calling out more frequently.

If you want to ensure that individuals have specialised tasks than you need to build those tasks into a complete job description. In order to remain productive and safe you’ll need to stay away from specialising simple tasks alone!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Now that we’ve established how important it is to recognize organizational control, let’s take a closer look at the types of control that occur within the workplace.

To start, there are four main categories that control falls into:

• Physical control – the amount of inventory you have on hand, your quality control guidelines, and how well your equipment and facilities are maintained;
• Human control – including human resource functions such as placement, training, benefits, and appraisals;
• Information control – considers how well you can analyze sales trends, your ability to track the economy, and public relations; and
• Financial resource control – which involves avoiding debt, managing cash reserves, and paying bills,

These categories aren’t presented in any specific order, but perhaps it’s important to note that without proper financial control you won’t be able to organise any of the other areas on the list. Financial control is the foundation for any successful business.

Some organisations break their levels of control down a little bit differently, but they still cover the main categories. In some cases you may see them listed as operations control, financial control, structural control, and strategic control. In short, we’re attempting to achieve the same high level of functionality.

As a manager you will have responsibilities that reach into each category, but you likely won’t be responsible for any in their entirety. For example, as a team leader you’ll have to hire and manage your employees (human control); balance your department’s individual budget (financial control); make sure your equipment is in working order and that projects are completed on time (physical control); and communicate your results to other people within the organisation, your clients, or to the public (information control).

Juggling these responsibilities will take advanced communication skills on your part, but I think that once you understand how your tasks fit into the overall picture you’ll have an easier time accepting how important your role is to your organisation!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

While at times it may seem like allowing employees free reign over their tasks is best, it’s important to remember that organisations have established methods of control for a variety of reasons. Control methods are often put in place to make sure deadlines are met, to control the number of errors that are made, and to ensure overall success.

There are four main things control does for an organisation:

• It helps everyone within the group adapt to environmental changes;
• Reduce the instance of error;
• Manage complexity within the organisation; and
• Minimize operating costs.

Each of these factors is incredibly important, especially in today’s turbulent economy. No one can afford to make mistakes that cause us to lose clients or waste money on unnecessary expenses.

For example, a few years ago the beautiful fountain in front of the Travelers Insurance corporate headquarters in the US broke down. It would have cost $60,000 to repair the fountain. Would you spend $60,000 on something like that today? Of course, it would look terribly unprofessional to have a broken fountain outside the building, so the CEO instead authorized the company spend only $20,000. They used that money to fill the fountain with dirt and plant a tree. In the end, they’ll save thousands of dollars because the tree will require very little maintenance.

In this New Year we’re going to take a close look at how well you control your organisation. You’ll soon see how your communication, influential, management, and leadership skills must all come together in order for you to keep a tight grip on the reigns!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”