Layoffs In Distressed Times

‘Sorry, Your Offer has been Deferred indefinitely’, ‘Sorry, Your promotion discussion is pushed to the next quarter’, ‘Sorry, we have to let you go’ Whom are you going to blame? Are you going to chase the company, are you going to chase the HR executive who was in touch with you? Or are you going to blame your luck?

If you are doing any of the above, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but COVID is not the reason, you are without a job, but COVID has only made our mistakes more visible. Being a fresher, or a lateral employee has been difficult in these times, but, we as a community have also said the following 'If the culture of the company isn't right for me, I'll just switch in a few months'

Let us try and examine what mistake we have made by keeping this mindset. The very first thing that comes to my mind is the LACK OF DUE DILIGENCE.

If the Company has a specific work culture, which doesn't sit right with you, why do you want to INVEST your time in applying, interviewing, working for six months, and then Quitting?

If the company has already made it amply clear that they have a fixed salary range they can offer, then why still interview and negotiate for something higher and eventually not join them?

What I urge is, do your due diligence, at least NOW. {Linkedin is a tool that can be used for due-diligence, there should not be any reason for lack of information over the net about a company, its culture, and its deliverables.}

Here are some of the pointers that should be cleared before you apply for the company in the future.

A. In times of recession and pandemics, why do companies freeze hiring, and what can be the outcomes?

-      To go on a pause and give management time to forecast the future of the company, the management may realize that growth will be negative and they need to find new avenues for revenue. This decision may either lead to the hiring of new talent which can help build a new service (for Example - Automation in reporting)

-      To understand the excess load required to be shed. Load shedding by firing employees to pay cuts, to reducing office space by going into a virtual space.

-      To evaluate the client growth and the new trajectory [Everyone expected a 20% growth minimum and now everyone just hopes to stay afloat]

-      To Reaccess their pitfalls in the sector they are a part off

B. For anyone to survive and thrive in the job, one needs to understand the growth and need of the time in the sector they wish to work in. Here is my take on a few.

While industries of food and beverages and tourism have taken a major hit, the human need to travel and eat differently will rise again, maybe in the next 3 years, things may start to stabilize. Alternatively, we may see some exceptional growths and exponential rise in demand due to the YOLO mindset. A huge growth expected in Business continuity planning and growth modeling. Automation and Data projection analysis will be on the rise, number crunching is the need of the moment.

In my opinion, growth will be the reduced overtime for services in Accounting, taxation, financial modeling, IT extended services because companies who stayed afloat in 2020, have let a few services go or were able to live without them, so why will they re-hire an entire firm to take care of the above when they could just employ a small team of 5 to take care of the same.

Product companies have crashed as nobody wants to spend money on luxury items and non-essential things. Luxury goods and services won't be needed anymore. Why need Ray-bans or a Rolex, because you're going to be on your home desk for the next 8 hours.

Is advertising becoming redundant? It is going to be difficult to sell a product when people don’t want to buy any product? The question in interviews- Sell me this Pen becomes redundant because a person who doesn’t have an essential utility for the pen will always a close mind to buy that pen.

For all the above, there can be industry experts who can change the direction of a particular sector, we should have our research-ready every 3-4 months to know where one is headed?

If the sector is going through a downturn, it is NEVER LATE TO CHANGE A INDUSTRY! A person working in Oil sector can work in the nuclear sector regardless of their previous experience. A person in Investment banking can work in acquiring new clients for Financial services to adopt automation. It is only a matter of perseverance and taking calculated risks.

C. Are you the right fit?

If you have not asked these questions to yourself in your earlier jobs, you may want to start now!

Did you know how the company makes money to pay you? [What are the core services provided?]

Do you think it is only by selling the product you develop or the service you provide?

Did you know what is the BCP of your company? [Business Continuity Plan]

Do you know how much loss a company can take?

Do you know the number of clients vs retention rate of them?

Do you know your daily rate charged vs what is paid to you?

I know that you may think these questions are not helpful to a person who is working in Testing, or software development or in HR, but honestly, they are! The answers will help you determine whether this company will help you grow in the next 5- 10 years and will also help the company grow.

It is the circle of life, you help the company grow and it will help you grow.

• These are my views and are not directly or indirectly pointed to anyone, any company, or used to target any individual.