Point to Ponder

We all know the industry is going through a recession phase.  What are the organizations doing to counter this effect, apart from re-sizing / downsizing?

One of the obvious ones being cost cutting. Reduce the amount of overheads that the org has to bear, reduce perks of top management (this will definitely raise alot of eyebrows), reduce travel, reduce advertising spends (Millions of Rs per month) and possibly put a halt to the career path.

Most readers here will agree that the perks and emoluments of employees are related to the cadre they belong to.  So put a stop to their growth is one way of saving the future cost incurred. This might seem to be a far-fetched relation between career growth and the current recession, but I see a definite link to it.

As an organization, one of the ways to handle this situation is job rotation. You move the employee in different roles. Delegate the resource to another part of the organization and see how he / she performs there.

There are also notions that “Not everyone gets a vertical move”, “Vertical moves are only created by chance” etc. This on one end supports the argument of career growth within same organization but at the same time dispels the argument of vertical moves.

I believe there has to be a limit to this rotation. The management needs to take care of some valid concerns such as:

• What effects does it have on the profile of the person?
• Does the new role assigned to employee, complements or clashes with the existing profile?

(The post today somehow relates to my last post on same subject)

I wonder how the subject would be treated by professionals coming to Zumbeel considering the current market situation. Whether its telecom or otherwise, nearly all the industries linked to global markets have been affected by the recent financial crunch.

Yes we have heard news and rumors at the same time, of professionals loosing their livelihood. But one way or another we as individuals do give a thought to it maybe a couple of times these days.

“What will happen in the next couple of months?”

“Will my organization consider me valuable enough to retain my services?”

“What options do I have in case my organization thinks otherwise?”

I believe at this point in time, the best way is to discuss out the situation with your line managers. Senior leaders or people from management can should explain the situation in clear simple words in town-hall meetings or other informal arrangements.

This will atleast give the best possible picture to everyone concerned and let them decide on their own the best way forward.