Exactly one year ago, in July 2019, we , tried out an interesting experiment at a summit. As each conference guest arrived, we handed them an envelope. The envelope contained an official-looking letter informing them of their company’s plan to retrench them – complete with a full explanation of how the retrenchment process would work and what they could expect in terms of severance pay from their employer.
We had only just started the exercise, though. We needed our audience to understand that coping with retrenchment was not simply a financial matter. We needed them to understand why terminating someone’s employment had greater reverberations – not just for the individual, but for their families, the companies they would leave, and, most importantly, the broader economy.
In South Africa, for example, retrenchments and early retirement policies are often seen as providing an opportunity for companies to redress their transformation imperatives. Cull those employees who are the most senior or the closest to retirement and not only does this cut back on the company’s most expensive resources, but the way has now been cleared for a new generation of more representative South African leaders to move to the top.
provide them with access to aptitude, skills assessment, and reskilling resources that could help them seek out new job and career opportunities.