ARE LAYOFFS LOOMING? Think Twice Before Reaching for the Axe

Over 200,000 people were left without a job last month as employers initiated over 2,000 mass layoffs. This only proves that in todays turbulent business environment, layoffs and reorganizations continue to be favorite solutions when things arent going right in a company. The question is, are layoffs really the answer?

Over 200,000 people were left without a job last month as employers initiated over 2,000 mass layoffs. This only proves that in todays turbulent business environment, layoffs and reorganizations continue to be favorite solutions when things arent going right in a company. The question is, are layoffs really the answer? According to Business Performance Expert Pamela Harper, too many executives are reaching for the axe before they even know what is causing their companys problems.

Employee cutbacks and reorganizations seldom provide more than temporary relief from problems when dysfunctional elements of a business culture are left unaddressed," she says. In fact, 'organizational surgery often comes with its own set of challenges, ranging from lower productivity to managing outsourced relationships"

Businesses have a tendency to over-rely on organizational surgery" to solve persistent financial and competitive problems. What they need to realize is that these problems are often much bigger than any one person or group of people. Trimming staff or replacing apparent trouble spots will bring about change, but not necessarily progress," Harper asserts. While the decision makers tear apart and reassemble the organization, the source of the problems can remain intact. The problems may disappear for a short while, but they will be back and will continue to persist.

While some cutbacks are justified for business reasons, many are unnecessary. If executives find themselves continuously reaching for the axe, they should ask themselves what else could be responsible for their companys problems. They need to recognize the value of each employee and his/her function within the organization. Harper says, Taking a fresh look at your organizations reality in relationship to the business challenge you are facing can lead you to new insights and help you generate new options for moving forward."

Pamela Harper is a nationally known consultant and speaker and is the founder and president of Business Advancement, Inc. Since 1991, BAI has helped leaders of entrepreneurial, middle market and Fortune 500 Companies transform their business strategies into high performance results.

You can gain more insight on how to solve your companys organizational problems in Harpers book, Preventing Strategic Gridlock®: Leading Over, Under, & Around Organizational Jams to Achieve High Performance Results (Cameo Publications, $19.95, ISBN 0-9715739-4-8). For a review copy, or to interview Pamela Harper, please contact Paula Duncan at 1-866-372-2636 or send an email to paula@cameopublications.com.