How to Find Out if You're Getting Laid Off
Have you ever wondered how to find out if you're getting laid off? Although there are no magic formulas, there are key indicators to finding out about job layoffs. In addition, there are proactive approaches you can take with your own career to reduce the chances of you or your team becoming the victim of corporate layoffs.
Key indicators for potential job layoffs:
- Has your company recently purchased or merged with another company? One of the first things companies look at when they merge with other companies are ways to reduce overhead and operational costs. There's no need to have duplicate accounting departments, legal departments, etc.
- How well does your company perform in the marketplace, and what debt does the company carry? Keep up with your company's performance by analyzing financial statements and balance sheets. Most public companies provide this information on their websites, but you can also find this information at places like Yahoo Finance. If your company is headed for bankruptcy, there may be potential layoffs.
- Are you and/or your team providing value to the company? You provide value to the company by generating revenue or reducing costs, and reporting your documented results to management. Your value should exceed the cost of your expenses (payroll, benefits, etc.). Even if you're in a position that you don't think generates revenue or reduces cost, you must be able to show your value through indirect means. For example, if you're a human resources specialist, the value you provide might be the employee churn rate. By helping managers hire and retain top talent, you reduce the cost of hiring and training new employees. You must market and sell your value to your management chain.
- Are you a top performer? Even when companies layoff employees, they sometimes try to retain the best talent by offering relocation packages or alternative job positions. In addition, sometimes companies will reduce headcount by getting rid of the worst performing employees. Make sure you're a top performer.
- Have there been recent changes to executive management? Sometimes when companies bring in new management, they immediately begin looking at ways to reorganize and centralize different functions, often evidenced by hiring consultants to analyze the situation. Though there's not much you can do in these situations, make sure the value of what you provide the company is clearly documented and presented to executive management. If consultants are brought in to analyze the systems and processes, make sure you can show documented proof of improved results and ongoing value.
Even when you do provide value, document it, and report it to your management chain, there's no guarantee that you or your department are safe from layoffs. If rumors start floating around, you must ignore them. One sure way to hurt your chances is to start believing that you're going to get laid off before anything is official. Once you think you might get laid off, this becomes your vision, and you start working towards it. Instead of trying to do their best work, some employees who think they're getting laid off basically give up and don't perform well. Regardless of what you think may or may not happen, don't start performing poorly.
Whether or not you think you might become a victim of a corporate layoff, don't let your future lie in the hands of your employer. Take control of your own career development, create a career exit strategy, and work towards your career goals.
Kristen Hudson spent several years as a senior manager for a large corporation. She enjoys helping others find meaning and success in their careers. Visit http://www.career-development-help.com for additional career success strategies. Sign up for her free newsletter, Career Focus, devoted to career development success. By taking control of your own career development, you're well on your way to a rewarding and meaningful career...because life is too short for an unfulfilling career!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kristen_Hudson
Can HR play a strategic function?
In order to transform HR, there is a need to provide a strategy that considers redesignation of HR business processes, procedures and policies, developing new roles and accountabilities for the staff and ensuring that they have the skills to perform at their jobs. There is also a need to measure the business results and performance of the human capital. To read more on this topic, refer to an excellent report from Accenture.
The top 10 commonest angst of Singapore HR honchos
Hear what they say ...
We are a global company, but Singapore doesn't have the flexibility to decide on what training development courses we want for our local employees. Everything has to come from our overseas corporation and those courses are not even localised!
The guy from our overseas corporation just came in and decided that everything has to be streamlined with our HQ , in terms of our HR training. Everything we have done so far is now wasted even though they have benefited the existing staff.
The HR department cannot buy anything that is software related . The IT department rules and as long as it doesn't fit the IT footprint, the software would never see daylight even though it satisfies the business requirement!
Our staff are so busy , they don't even have time for remote eLearning.
My staff are mostly over 40s and they are not even familiar with the internet.
Even a low budget training programme would need top management buy-in.
We have great plans for our department, but approval on all security matters must be approved by the overseas IT department and this usually takes months.
It's not going to happen that HR would be a key business driver for our company.
Even though we are a MNC company, we don't even have our local website.
We like to explore new technology for training, but our HQ corporation thinks the traditional way is still best. That is why we have not invested thus far.
What is a hidden job market ?
Have you wondered how people find new jobs so easily ? About 30 percent of people find new jobs through the published job market - classified ads, employment agencies, recruitment-search firms, and Internet job postings. However even in this knowledge-based economy, about 60% or more are landing their jobs through a "hidden" job market, through networking and personal contact. So it's very important to learn how to network, to reach out and gather information, let people know you're there, because people can be very helpful, sharing their information.
In Search of the Perfect Boss: Workers Weigh in on the Best and Worst of Their Managers
In a response to the negative public opinion about the boss, DDI unveils an interactive Web program to give global workers a chance to build their own boss.
Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) October 16, 2006 -- Is there a perfect boss? Maybe, but ask anyone what it is, and you'll get a different answer every time.
In a recent survey conducted by Development Dimensions International (DDI), a global human resource consulting firm, and Badbossology, a bad-boss protection resource site, workers offered insights on what makes a good leader and where their current boss falls short.
So what topped the list? Of 21 potential "leadership" sins, respondents selected "being everyone's friend" as their number one choice with 'micromanagement' right behind it.
Male bosses rated high on 'arrogance' and female bosses were criticized for not delegating. And reinforcing the stereotype of men as thrill-seekers, male workers also found their bosses to be four times more risk averse than female workers.
What didn't make the list? 'Brown-noser,' 'defensive' and 'volatile' were at the bottom of the list of sins for all respondents.
This Boss's Day (Oct. 16th), DDI is giving workers around the world a chance to create a boss from scratch -- with only the characteristics they want -- and audition what they think could be the perfect boss. Build-A-Boss (www.ddiworld.com/buildaboss) is an interactive Web program that allows users to select four characteristics from a list of 25 positive and negative traits to build their current or ideal manager.
"People complain about their bosses endlessly and we're challenging them to see if they can do better," Rich Wellins Senior Vice President, DDI said. "We see the Build-A-Boss as an engaging way for employees to really get a handle on those traits they want in their ideal boss -- or to use it to profile the strengths and weaknesses of their current boss."
Build-A-Boss will let you try out a new boss by picking your favorite characteristics, honor your boss with a portrait of all their best traits or give your boss feedback on their management style in a less threatening forum. And the research showed that workers really had a lot of opinions on their inte performance.
Significant observations from the survey of more than 900 in the workplace include:
Trust is at the top of their wish list. If workers could give their boss a gift of a character trait this Boss's Day, they would wrap up "trust in employees" and "honesty and integrity" and "team building skills" as the three top choices. "Everyone wants to feel that they are trusted and valued in their jobs - these selections relate to these very fundamental human needs and how they transfer to the workplace," Wellins said.
The stereotype of the male boss prevails for some. More than three-quarters of males would prefer to work for a male boss, while female workers are split down the middle in their preference. The majority of respondents (70 percent) between the ages of 34 and 45 said their ideal boss is male, showing that the more traditional view of "boss" continues with this specific generation. "This helps to address why women are still having trouble breaking into the leadership ranks," Wellins said. "This perception needs to change because women are equally competent in leadership roles."
Older workers want to work for their peers. Workers 45 and up would prefer to work for a boss their own age, instead of an older or younger manager. However, nearly half of respondents in this group actually work for bosses younger than them. "With the expected mass retirement of the baby boomers, those older workers who want to hang around need to get used to younger bosses," Wellins said.
Smarts matter for the boss. One in seven workers says their boss is just not smart, when asked if their boss had book smarts or street smarts. But not everyone saw their boss in a dunce cap - nearly half of respondents respect their boss's intellect and think their boss has both book and street smarts.
Career development slows for older generations. While 35 percent of respondents gave a resounding 'yes' when asked about the boss advocating for career development and advancement, responses progressively decrease as employees get older and more advanced in their careers. "As workers get older and become more self-sufficient, it gives the impression that they need less development, and managers focus more on 20-something workers," Wellins said. "Some of this disparate focus makes sense, but at the same time, with a continued war for talent, we need to find ways to motivate our aging workforce."
Leadership skills were the most serious deficit. Almost one third of bosses were considered bad because of 'lack of leadership skills', and more male bosses were criticized for their poor leadership skills. Females, on the other hand, were considered bad bosses because of their lack of 'sound business judgment/acumen' with 14 percent of the votes (male bosses had 9.6 percent).
About Badbossology.com: Difficult bosses are a costly problem, and surveys indicate that approximately 40% of employees have had to deal with a bad boss. Badbossology.com is a free resource site that provides news and resources on bad boss protection strategies to help both individuals and their companies. It takes a responsible balanced approach and references material from sources such as The Chicago Tribune, CNNMoney.com, Fast Company, The Harvard Business School, and US and international government sites. Visitors can raise questions, participate in discussion forums, and save key resources along with personal notes for fast future reference using the site's secure repository. For further information, visit www.badbossology.com
About DDI: Since 1970, Development Dimensions International, a global human resources consulting firm, helps organizations close the gap between today's talent capability and future talent needs. DDI's expertise includes designing and implementing selection systems, and identifying and developing front-line to executive leadership talent. With more than 1,000 associates in 75 offices in 26 countries and headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA, the firm advises half of the Fortune 500. For more information go to http://www.ddiworld.com/aboutddi
This press release was distributed through eMediawire by Human Resources Marketer (HR Marketer: www.HRmarketer.com) on behalf of the company listed above.
Reference:http://www.ddiworld.com
Workforce Issues Top List of Executives' Strategic Priorities
A global study by Accenture of nearly 500 business leaders found that human resource issues are the top concern for companies. That study found that "changing organizational culture
and employee attitudes" is the number one business issue on the executive agenda. Also ranking near the top of the list were "reducing workforce-related costs" and "improving workforce
performance." For the detailed report, refer to http://accenture.tekgroup.com.
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Do your companies regularly measure the investments and business impact of the training and development initiatives against factors such as retention, employee satisfaction,
innovation, productivity and quality?
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Do you use information technology to give employees greater control over how and when they access the training and development programs; and ensure that their workforces
understand their customers' needs?
Leading companies do well when they consider these factors and provide guidance to others seeking to create and sustain a high-performance workforce.
