One thing you can guarantee with the world of business is that it’s constantly changing. Whether 
it’s mergers and acquisitions, downsizing, rationalisation, selling part or whole business units – big business is always changing, in all sectors. Redundancy is fairly common these days and recruiters like me don’t really bat an eyelid at redundancy when we see it on a CV anymore.
I worked in HR & development for 15 years and nearly all my HR roles involved managing change of some description. As a seasoned HR professional, supporting and delivering the people elements of large scale organisational change was the norm for me (from store closures, to TUPE transfers, redundancy programs, restructures – I’ve pretty much done it all). In South Wales the recent announcement of job 1700 losses in 2020 at the Ford plant in Bridgend will have I’m sure caused employees real concern and perhaps the big 2016 announcement that Home Retail Group were to sell Homebase to Wesfarmers, and that Sainsbury’s were reportedly interested in Argos would equally be making people in those businesses nervous, even if Wesfarmers were keen to retain the talented people in the business – when change comes around, people naturally wonder what will the impact be on me? – communication is key – the quicker people are given clarity and an understanding the better – they can start to get their heads around it and start to look beyond it.
Change is a personal thing …
At the heart of business change are people and change is experienced as a very personal thing. Periods of change can create uncertainty and for some people they’re not great when certainty or clarity are lacking. Some people feel scared by the lack of control they may perceive they have. There are a host of very understandable emotions that people experience (from disbelief, to surprise, to anger, to worry ….on the other hand some people see it as a great opportunity, exciting and with some funds from their employer to go off to do something they’ve always wanted to do) – it’s all about your mindset, your approach to what’s in front of you …
Redundancy is a transitional period – and that can be full of opportunity (especially if you live in Wales) …
So, when you get told you are at risk of redundancy, or there is an organisational structure change coming over the hill towards you – the first thing to do is recognise you’re not going to be unemployed tomorrow – my phrase for this stage is ‘… and breath’ – refrain from jumping to conclusions. In a redundancy situation, a consultation period is where your employer is telling you that there are some changes coming, that could lead to you possibly being made redundant (if it happens, you’ll get your notice period and if you’ve got the qualifying service, a redundancy payment).
For me, this phase is an exciting transition period – a period of time you can use to reconsider what you want and what’s next for you – most people overlook this possibility and take the first job they find that’s as close as possible to what they’ve historically done. Take some time to consider what you want to do next … if you could do anything you wanted, what would you do? – now could be your chance to do just that, if you really want to … Instead of doing what many people do (automatically thinking of short term timeframes and panic) get a blank piece of paper and start jotting down ideas about what you might want to do next (however crazy) and then sit back and look at what you’ve got, consider each (pros and cons) – look at what skills you have (many of which will be transferable) – if you’re struggling with this, ask someone to help you (or a coach could help to think this through). Think longer term – what would you like to be doing in 2 years time? 5 years time? – having a clear goal in mind helps -and it doesn’t take long to do. The great thing about redundancy in wales is the access we have to ReAct funding – which I’ve used and benefited from a number of times in order to help me secure my next role. Some people use redundancy as an opportunity to set up their own business too and there is help for this too (in this case you are creating your own job) – the opportunities are endless ….
Emotions: we all experience them in redundancy …
I guess as an HR professional I knew the redundancy process well and that helps when you’re on the receiving end – but regardless, you and everyone else will be experiencing emotions – some helpful and some less so. Emotions (our feelings) are a result of our thoughts – we can change our thoughts, therefore we change how we feel – if we change our thinking, we also our results.
Be mindful of your own emotions and consider if they’re helping you or wasting your precious energy. In NLP we know how to manage our state – our feelings (particularly through a process called Anchoring) – and can easily change the way we feel when we want to – try this as a quick exercise: close your eyes, remember a time a specific time when you were {insert emotion you want to feel – like calm, confidence, certainty, or even excitement, fun etc}. Recall this time and what was going on – where were you, who were you with, what were you doing – remember it as if you were there now – what did you see, hear, feel, smell, taste etc. Really re-absorb yourself in that experience – that’ll have changed how you feel, right?
My second tip with emotions: be mindful of the emotions you are surrounded by – look at the 5 people you spend the most time with – are their emotions helping or dragging you down. Spend time with people that are optimistic, who see possibility, who want to take control of what they can, who want to be pro-active and are looking forward at the possibility of what could be (even if you’re feeling pretty down in the dumps, those people will be there if you look for them).
For me …
Every time I was redundant I went onto better jobs, then eventually my own business. I took all the support offered (such as outplacement). For me, it’s all about choosing your mindset – and seeing this as the start of something awesome – believe this and you are over half way there!
Are you currently at risk of redundancy or recently been made redundant? – then check out ReAct Funding
If you answered yes to either of these questions, you live in Wales and want access to a £1,500 training grant, then check out our ReAct web page to find out more about the ReAct fund. We’re delighted to advise you that we take ReAct funding as payment for any of our courses – so make sure you check out our web page for more details ….
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Laura is passionate about helping people realise their potential, and achieve the results they deserve. She believes, if you change your thinking, you can change your results. Our NLP Diploma course or NLP Business Diploma course are great to help you get the right mindset. You can link up with us via our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter or link up with Laura via LinkedIn. If you have any questions, email us at info@unleashyourpotential.org.uk.
We offer 1-2-1 transition coaching for people affected by change, and offer employers change management consultancy or can provide tailored employability courses for staff such as skills audits, CV writing, successful job searching, interview skills (including our tips that make the difference to getting the job you want) etc.
