Preparing for chance of layoff
We're hearing a lot about pink slips these days. Everyone from the executive suite to the production line is wondering: Will I be next?
The standard career advice is to assume the answer is yes and prepare accordingly. Even so, there are some signs to watch for to help you predict the future of your job -- and maybe even save it.
What do you know about your industry and the struggles faced by other companies like yours? A year ago, a broker I know felt confident her firm could stand the ravages of Wall Street, primarily because it was Canadian-owned. She kept an eye on the international and domestic scene when she made that analysis.
A few months ago, when things were still tough for brokerage firms, and war was adding to the strain, her evaluation changed. Indeed, last month the parent company announced cuts and she was out the door, despite more than a decade of work for the firm.
Could this broker have avoided the layoff? Perhaps, but not likely. Like the airlines, the financial industry has been hemorrhaging workers with little regard to performance. In the broker's case, seeing the "lay of the land" did not provide an edge for keeping her job.
Rather, it helped her prepare mentally and financially for a change she could not control.
Analyze situation
To learn more about your industry, go to a library or a meeting of others in your field and ask these kinds of questions: What are the innovations in the industry? How much impact will demographics (say, the aging of the population) have on this field? Which companies have closed lately, and why? Where is most of the growth in this industry?
Use what you learn to evaluate your company's position in the field, and strategize a path for yourself, based on your abilities and commitment to the work. If a layoff seems inevitable, make plans for the transition.
Look around your workplace. What isn't being fixed or replaced? Which positions haven't been filled? How does the building look -- cared for or rundown? Is the company reordering letterhead and business cards? Placing ads? Are workers being approved for continuing training? Is inventory being maintained?
When a company doesn't invest in its equipment, its materials or its workers, look out. It may not be on the brink of disaster yet, but someone at the top has given up.
Even if the company can limp along indefinitely, and some can, this isn't a place that will help you grow as a worker. Start making plans to move on.
On the other hand, if your firm is struggling but still trying, you might be able to influence the company's success while securing a name for yourself as a team player or innovator. If this is a risk worth taking, dig in.
Is position necessary?
Using Richter's rule, take a look at your job. Is it necessary to the company? It's human nature to believe that the work we do is important. But most often, we're viewing our jobs from the bottom up. The problem is, cuts are made by bosses who are looking at the problem from the top down.
Let's say your company makes electronic parts for biomedical equipment and your job is to meet with vendors to purchase materials. Absolutely vital, right?
Maybe, except that the job might be outsourceable to a consulting broker, or even replaceable by a computerized bidding system. Of course there would be snafus, but management might see the trade-offs as worth the risk.
So how to associate yourself with the revenue? What if you extended your purchasing duties to include a monthly or quarterly report on the vendors and how their parts are being used by competitive or complementary businesses, or how new materials used in their processes will eventually affect your company's bottom line?
This kind of analysis may be enough to secure your position, particularly if it gives your boss the competitive knowledge he or she needs to move the company forward.
And if it doesn't save your job? You're still ahead because you'll know enough about your vendors or competitors to launch a credible job search on your way out the door.
XAmy Lindgren, the owner of a career-consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn., can be reached at alindgren@pioneerpress.com.