Human Resource Knowledge

Retaining your job

Even though most people need to be prepared for a possible layoff in the current economic scenario, there are ways to ensure that you are not the next target for your company. Here are some ways that can help you avoid being laid off:

If your track record has been poor, you have a few more months to set it right. Now is the time to try out all those bright ideas that somehow slipped out of your mind. If the performance or your output is directly linked to the number of hours you put in, the number of customers you meet, the number of sales calls you make, the number of inbound calls you take, etc, then now is the time to put in those extra hours and make up for the days when you fell short. Perform well.

It is possible that you may have generated conflict or got pulled into conflict for no fault of yours. Whatever the reason, now is the right time to mend your fences. Let bygones be bygones and just ensure that nobody has anything negative to say about you. Mend your fences internally.

Sit down and think of all those interactions you have had with your boss in the last one year. Were there occasions where you came across as lazy, impatient, tardy? If you have not sought feedback, do it now. Your boss is important.

Is your super boss or boss’ boss likely to oversee your appraisal? If you have not interacted with him or made an impact, do so now. Seek opportunities when you can to catch his/her attention and make an attempt to contribute in a way that you end up impressing your super boss. Your boss’s boss is important too.

In the last few months, you have had an argument with the HR over mistakes on your pay slip, delays in increment letters, errors in your leave balance, etc., be sure they do not have a score to settle with you now. HR is certain to be on any appraisal panel and will also be part of decisions on lay-offs. So make sure you have your network and friendships in place. Be on the right side of HR.

You may have thought sales is for dummies, but if that is the crying need of the hour in your company, express your willingness to contribute in some way or the other. If the company is looking for people who can multitask, express your willingness to be trained in a different area as well. Seek opportunities to multi-skill.

CEOs are always looking at ways to increase collections, improve sales, retain key clients and get more business from them. If you tell your boss that you don’t mind volunteering even after office hours and can contribute to any of these key metrics, you need not worry about your job. Make a difference to the bottom line.

Despite all your above efforts if you still lose your job then perhaps better opportunity awaits you.

Even those who are still employed are spending sleepless nights in fear of being sacked, or their employer turning out to be a fraud. All have one common query in their mails: Are there better job opportunities out there?

Our reply is a confident yes, thanks to constant enquiries from various firms, asking for people who can be recruited.

There are jobs even in these troubled times, possibly better ones at that. Whenever involved in any recruitment process, the advise to the top management is “Leader should make new men well-versed in knowledge of his ministers”.

So the first quality recruiters should look for in a candidate for employability is knowledge and a ready-to-learn attitude.

Labels: General

posted by Paresh @ 11:50 AM