2 ways to protect yourself from a layoff

The layoff is painful but it is inevitable in the private sector. We have to consciously plan our career which is layoff-proof. Before I share my views, I would like you to read the below story which I received via WhatsApp. This is the typical story of a failed startup.

Whom to layoff – Story of a hard-working Ant

जंगल मे टाइगर ने एक फैक्ट्री डाली🐅 उसमे एकमात्र वर्कर एक चींटी थी जो समय से आती जाती थी और फैक्ट्री का सारा काम अकेले करती थी🐜 टाइगर का बिजनेस बहुत ही व्यवस्थित ढंग से चल रहा था।

एक दिन टाइगर ने सोचा ये अकेली चींटी इतना सुंदर काम कर रही है अगर इसको किसी एक्सपर्ट के अंडर में रख दूँ तो और बेहतर काम कर सकती है। ये खयाल मन मे आते ही टाइगर ने एक मधुमक्खी को प्रोडक्शन मैनेजर अपॉइंट कर दिया।🐝 मधुमक्खी को कार्य का बहुत अनुभव था और वह रिपोर्ट्स लिखने में भी बहुत होशियार थी। मधुमक्खी ने टाइगर से कहा कि सबसे पहले हमें चींटी का वर्क शेड्यूल बनाना है फिर उसका सारा रिकार्ड प्रोपरली रखने के लिए मुझे एक सेक्रेटरी चाहिए होगा। टाइगर ने खरगोश को सेक्रेटरी के रूप में अपॉइंट कर दिया।🐇

टाइगर को मधुमक्खी का कार्य पसंद आया उसने कहा कि चींटी के अब तक कंप्लीट हुए सारे कार्य की रिपोर्ट दो और जो प्रोग्रेस हुई है उसको ग्राफ से शो करो। मधुमक्खी ने कहा ठीक है मगर मुझे इसके लिए कंप्यूटर,लेज़र प्रिंटर और प्रोजेक्टर चाहिए होगा🖥📽🖨 इस सबके लिए टाइगर ने एक कंप्यूटर डिपार्टमेंट बना दिया और बिल्ली को वहां का हेड अपॉइंट कर दिया🐱 अब चींटी बजाय काम के रिपोर्ट पर फोकस करने लगी,जिससे उसका काम पिछड़ता गया अंततः प्रोडक्शन कम हो गया।

टाइगर ने सोचा एक टेक्निकल एक्सपर्ट रखा जाय जो मधुमक्खी की सलाहों पर ओपिनियन दे सके ऐसा सोंचकर उसने बंदर को टेक्निकल इंस्ट्रक्टर अपॉइंट कर दिय🐒 अब चींटी जो भी काम दिया जाता वह उसको पूरी सामर्थ्य से करती मगर काम कभी पूरा ही नहीं होता तो वह विवश होकर उसको अपूर्ण छोड़कर घर आ जाती। टाइगर को नुकसान होने लगा तो वह अधीर हो उठा उसने उल्लू को नुकसान का कारण पता लगाने के लिए अपॉइंट कर दिया🦉 तीन महीने बाद उल्लू ने टाइगर को रिपोर्ट सौंप दी जिसमे उसने बताया कि फैक्ट्री में वर्कर की संख्या ज्यादा है छंटनी करनी होगी।

अब आप सोचिए किसको निकाला जाएगा….? Tricky question. I don’t know who would be fired but someone who has generated maximum VALUE for the company and has created the maximum DEPENDENCY on himself would be retained.

Why companies layoff people?

There are majorly three reasons for layoffs

• Un-satisfactory individual or team performance: This is a common reason for layoff in normal circumstances. It happens to people who fall short of achieving the target set by their bosses. Also, in some companies, during the appraisal, there is a bottom slicing off 25% staff which also leads to mass layoffs. 

• Company-specific reasons like the company may be short of cash and they want to increase runway. Some company may be forced to pivot to new business and hence some of the existing resources become redundant. Other reasons like extra focus on cost-cutting, consolidation of the verticals etc also lead to layoffs.

• Micro/Macroeconomic situations like an economic downturn and pandemic. During such an extraordinary situation, market dynamics change that lead certain part of the business unviable and hence a company may dismiss the entire team.

How does the company decide whom to layoff?

In general, the layoff is decided based on just parameters 

• The Business Value that person is bringing on the table
• The Dependency of the business on that person

Low Value and Low Dependency (LV-LD)

Majority of the workforce of most of the organisation lies in this quadrant. They consist of people working on the ground closure to the end customer. They are the hardest working guys in the company. As a group, they are very critical for the company as they are responsible for bringing bread and butter for everyone. However, on the individual level, they have comparatively less leverage as they are low on skillset and are replaceable. That’s why, no matter where is the turbulence, if layoffs are decided, they would be the first lot to go. If you fall under this category, you need to be careful. Start working on improving your skillset.

High Value and Low Dependency (HV-LD)

They mainly consist of high performing individual contributors. They generally work on long term projects or new initiatives. They are MUST to have in the team under normal situation but not GOOD to have under distress. If management is following up the layoff exercise, then they may fire some of the people from this quadrant with heavy hearts.

Low Value and High Dependency (LV-HD)

They are the people who mostly work on the non-core side of the business. They also consist of smart guys and management look up to them for fast-tracking peripheral work. This quadrant also consists of a few political type people who may have CREATED the dependency of the company on themselves by unfair means. They are also safe in most of the layoffs exercise as they hoard a lot of information.

High Value and High Dependency (HV-HD)

They are the safest lot in the organisation. In other words, they are layoff-immune. Most likely this quadrant would consist of high performing and motivated employees. They generally know the organisation inside out and have good networks inside the company.

How to get an idea if you are a valuable resource for the company?

Answer to this question will vary based on the company, but if I have to suggest, I will go for these two parameters

• Core Business
• Management attention

If your department is one of the core department of the company then you are adding direct value to the company’s success and hence you are a valuable resource. Second, if your department remains in the purview of highest management most of the time, then also it indicates that administrators feel, your department is valuable and hence you are valuable.

How to create dependency?

Now the question is, I can not increase the value of my output for the company but can I can increase dependency? Yes, that is possible, if we follow some of the below suggestions. There can be many more though.

Have an understanding of inside out of your vertical

It means you have a maximum understanding of the certain part of the system, say: Wallet System. Anyone on the floor needs any help in that part, they look up to you. In that case, you will be the last person to be fired from the wallet team. Or if your understanding is too good, you might be shifted to another related department if the wallet is shutting down. More details here. 

Become an expert in one or two domains

if you have very deep knowledge of some area, say Content Marketing, then also you can create dependency. Anyone including the higher management needs to brainstorm in that domain, they will call you. If the layoff is around, you may be safe because during tough time company needs really smart folks like you, to be around to sail them through the crisis.

Become a star performer

If you think you are a not a gifted soul and can’t become expert of either any vertical or domain, then work hard and become a hard-working performer. Your consistent output will be visible to the management and they can save you during layoffs. This is a risky route though. India is full of hard-working performers and is difficult to keep this leverage for long. You may become like the Ant in the story. 

By hoarding information

If you stay in the organisation for long, a lot of un-written information start lying with you. People on the floor request you for that information. Slowly you understand the power of this information and would never write it down anywhere. I hate such people who create dependency like this. However, life is not fair and if you are in a culture where people create dependency like this then you should also either create dependency like this or better leave the organisation. 

If someone thinks like he/she will be able to create dependency by resorting to political gimmicks, licking boots et. al. my suggestions would be, not to do so as you would be exposed in due course. Also if management has decided to fire, you may find yourself in the first list itself. Personal sympathy goes for the toss when professional commitment becomes important. More details here

But are these two measures sufficient to avoid layoff?

Yes, to the extent, if you are in core vertical and have created dependency, you are pretty much safe, unless you are very unlucky. Please also keep in mind that in case of a situation like the pandemic, core business of the company may itself change. In that case, you may become vulnerable if dependency is not strong. 

What if someone is in low-value low dependency quadrant (LV-LD)? I agree, they are the most susceptible lot. Even in the current Covid-19 situation majority of the casualties came from this quadrant. The problem here is that they can’t create dependency on the individual capacity because of the sheer nature of the job. If they want to increase the leverage, then they will have to enhance their skill-set, so that graduate to any other quadrant. 

Conclusion 

Keep in mind the words of the 19th-century British novelist, George Eliot, “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” With adversity can come opportunity, so be ready for your next step.

Source

A layoff is painful but it is inevitable in the private sector. We have to consciously plan to protect ourself from the layoff. Equipping ourselves with a broader understanding of the ecosystem and leveraging them will help us in the distress time. Following these two prescriptions i.e creating high dependency and increasing the value, layoffs can be delayed but not eliminated.

So we should consciously work on increasing our skillset to improve our value in the organisation. If we are unfortunate to be fired, we would land into another equally good job, as our basics are correct. 

Looking forward to your thoughts. Will keep adding them here. ?