Today is a sad day.
Today, an employee of one of my clients “position was eliminated.” It happens all the time, for many
reasons, but today I felt it rather keenly. Imagine finding out a friend just moved to another city and
you found out today…that’s how it felt.
I understand the business mentality and many times I am part
of it a lot of times. I get the
need to make tough decisions in a “tough economy” in order to maximize
profits…I do it all the time. In
fact, I was part of a similar process about three months ago. We had two employees, one of their
positions was eliminated, the other was reassigned to another location. Honestly, I was the primary driving
factor in eliminating one of the positions…so I get it.
What worries and saddens me is the lack of overall
accountability in this picture. I
know, decision-makers can’t meet face-to-face with every “decision” they make
and convey the news (that might have happened here, I don’t know all the
details). Oftentimes the people
that make the decisions to lay people off, eliminate positions, and automate
equipment are not the ones who feel the sting.
What we need is more accountability. When I eliminated that position I did
not feel the sting appropriately.
I justified…acknowledged…and framed things how I saw them, but in the
end I feel the sting. I miss that
employee, and I think that’s what we need! The people making the decisions should understand that
“cutting costs” by eliminating positions must understand that “cutting costs”
has costs.
The cuts cost society jobs, employees, income, and people in
the workforce (even if temporarily).
The cuts cost effectiveness of the employees in the environment. We’ve all asked to be more with less,
but the reality is that something is cut, something “unimportant…” perhaps
something that our business was built on.
Finally, the cuts cost loyalty of the employees, after all, if someone
is gone today I might be gone tomorrow.
We need to measure, assess, and weigh the costs of “cost-cutting”
before making the decision. The
cuts might be necessary and best for the business, or they might not be…only
time will tell. Remember: consider
long-term costs to short-term decisions.