KLCI falls to below 1,540 as global stocks retreat
Tan Chong to see better 2H, says ED
MPHB proposes demerger of gaming, non-gaming units
HSL 1Q net profit up 10.86% to RM19.69m
TSH projects capex up to RM1b over next 5 years
Rafidah tells unions not to block efficiency measures
World wheat bounty at risk
Categories
| Parting company, and staying on good terms |
| Management | |||
| Written by Emily Tan | |||
| Monday, 27 April 2009 00:00 | |||
|
Although primarily an urban legend, often attributed to a company in Singapore, the story does have its roots in an actual incident. Two years ago, in Northumberland, UK, the 189-year-old department store Robbs set off its fire alarm, assembled the workforce in the car park, and then read out a short statement informing them that the store was closing down and they were all made redundant. The BBC reported that the store’s administrators had deemed the method “efficient” and “practical”, but Peter Atkinson, the local Tory member of Parliament, told the Daily Mail that the action was “brutal”. In these days of job cuts, how are companies conveying the bad news? Singaporean David Ang was called into his director’s office 10 minutes after arriving at work on March 9, and asked to leave within the hour. In its April 20 issue, Management@Work, the management pullout of The Edge Singapore, quoted a blog post by Ang saying, “I have worked hard and long for my company for years... with a family to feed, losing my job at the age of 40 is no joke!” Lim (she did not want to reveal her full name), a 25-year-old employed by an event management company in Kuala Lumpur, experienced a gentler approach. Although such news is never welcome, she says she understood the company’s financial troubles were to blame, and not her performance. “I was actually a top performer, and the chief operating officer, who did the firing, told me that I was released under the ‘last to come, first to go’ policy,” explains Lim. However, she found the company’s notice and compensation of one month each inadequate, and says although they offered to help her find employment, no one contacted her after she was given notice. “They are quite business-minded, once you’re terminated they no longer care,” says Lim. With almost 24,000 Malaysian workers retrenched by 780 companies since October last year and a further 10,000 temporarily laid off, retrenchment is a reality that has to be faced by employers and employees alike. Hew Thin Chay, CEO of The Nomad, a serviced office suites company, says retrenchment should be the last resort for companies. “It is the last option after cost-cutting, retraining, redeployment, and pay and hiring freezes,” he says. But if worse comes to worst, an employer has duties and responsibilities to the staff he is laying off, he adds. “If it has to be done, it must be done with respect and sympathy. The message must be clear, you can’t delegate something like this. If the reason is that times are bad, make sure the employee understands. Try to help place him out, use your network of contacts to find a new job for the employee — as an employer, my conscience must be clear,” he says. Some employers like Puan Sri Thamayanthi Devi Ampikaipakan, managing partner of Skill Builders, a professional-image consulting company, go to great lengths to help retrenched employees. “I was forced to give an employee a month’s notice, but I offered to pay her salary until she found a job. In three months, she called to tell me she had found a position and I could stop the payments. It was honest and decent of her — she could have kept drawing pay. I would have paid. The important thing for me was to do the right thing,” says Ampikaipakan, who acknowledges that this method would be difficult for companies forced to retrench hundreds of workers. For those who have had the misfortune to be laid off, Ampikaipakan has some words of advice. “Don’t bad-mouth a former employer, it’s the worst you can do. It always comes back to haunt you,” she says. Instead, she adds, strive to end on a good note, especially if you really loved the job. Companies will remember you when things get better and they are looking to rehire. Until then, she says, “Don’t slide into self-pity. Use this opportunity to retrain and do something you really love.” Do you have a story to share about how your company broke the news that you were being retrenched? Or of how you kept the relationship going after you were given notice? If so, we would like to hear from you. Email the writer at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This article appeared in Manager@work, the monthly management pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 752, April 27- May 3, 2009.
|
|||
|
|