Re – engaging survivors of organisational downsizing.

Abstract

Global competition means that organisations are in a constant mode of change. Organisations are therefore constantly seeking new ways to remove costs in order to remain competitive. Downsizing and in particular headcount reduction seems to be the acceptable strategy to do this, however, the survivors of such an exercise are often left to fend for themselves as little or no support is provided for them to deal with the expectations created by the new downsized organisation. The main objective of this study was to examine practical strategic interventions that organisations like Tiger Brands Snacks & Treats (TBST) could engage in so as to re – engage its downsizing survivors to align with the new business mandate. This was to be achieved through a full understanding of what downsizing is and how survivors are impacted by it. Through the use of the quantitative research approach, this study has proven successful in determining the recommendations that can be instituted with little or no additional cost to the organisation. The objective was achieved through a sampling of the approximately 150 survivors of the last downsizing exercise in early 2011. A response rate of over 71% was achieved through using an on – line questionnaire QuestionPro. Some of the salient points found in this study are that demographics do not influence how survivors respond to downsizing. This, however, requires further study as no known literature exists to corroborate this. The study also indicated that survivors viewed the fairness of the procedures used as well as the communication provided during the last downsizing was adequate. A major finding for TBST is that although survivors indicated high levels of affective commitment, there was a high correlation with them possibly wanting to exit the organisation if acceptable opportunities became available. This must be seen as a serious concern for TBST who could lose critical skills and talented employees. However, the main recommendation of the study was to find practical strategic interventions that TBST could institute in order to re – engage survivors. Over 93% of the respondents indicated that some form of intervention or combination thereof was required. However, the list of recommendations provided for respondents to select must not be seen as the only recommendations available but employers need to engage further with employees to find more re – engagement ideas.