Restructuring – how to keep the gold bullion and ditch the lead weights
The employment marketplace is contracting and surf industry employers have not been immune. In fact in many ways they have been most directly affected due to the global nature of the industry and the reliance on retail revenue streams (in addition to the knock-on effect felt by wholesalers when the retail sector slumps). Restructuring has become the latest buzz word to come to the fore, which often means that people will be retrenched from the business as organisations look to reduce their fixed costs appearing on the balance sheet.
But how do you know which people to retrench, and which to keep? In many sectors functional areas such as marketing, finance and HR have been the first to go. In the surf industry it has been production, design and support staff as well as finance that have felt the brunt of the change in economic landscape. In many cases there have been sweeping restructures that have cut out entire teams, and in this situation no-one survives the axe. However in other scenarios the business must make a choice – who should go and who should stay?
The easy answer in these times is that critical staff should stay and everyone else should be let go, but who is critical? Invariably it is those who have been able to demonstrate the consistent value they can add to the business. Take sales for example. The market has turned and many sales staff will be finding it difficult to meet their numbers. However if things are to improve there needs to be people on the ground to pick up every potential opportunity that comes up. Thus keeping people on, even if they are not meeting their numbers, may be appropriate if they are exhibiting the right behaviours for success through this market and, more importantly, when the market turns. Use this key checklist to work out if your staff are the shining lights or the lead weights:
- Are they highly motivated to achieve despite the current economic issues? They will need high levels of resilience and tenacity to survive in this climate.
- Do they exhibit the behaviours necessary to add significant value to the business? This will differ between functional areas, however behaviour is the driving force for high performance (more than ability or experience) and so should be reviewed by managers regularly.
- What have they done recently that is over and above what is asked of them in their job spec? High levels of initiative are present in all high performers.
- Can their output be measured? This does not have to be purely in revenue terms but could include a variety of ‘softer’ measures. For example their involvement in engaging stakeholders or driving process improvements across the business
- Are they adding overall value to the culture of the business; i.e. do they ‘fit in’? Culture is another key element in determining the value that someone can add to the organisation. Each business has its own specific culture. It is worth determining what your culture is and what the people who do well in your business ‘look’ like from a cultural perspective.
If you have an employee in your sights and they meet most of the above criteria then you should think twice before ‘restructuring’ their role. You might be losing one of your most valuable assets.
Nick Chandler is Partner at Luminary Search, Chandler Macleod’s Executive Search business. He has been providing recruitment and consulting services into the surf industry for over ten years.
