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What is RIF? HR’s Guide to Reduction in Force (2024)

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Although dismissal and downsizing are never the first choice, they are among the methods that should be applied in accordance with the company’s strategy from time to time. Even if the social effects of the pandemic have completely disappeared, its economic effects are still a problem for many businesses. The professional execution of any dismissal process and downsizing is important for maintaining the reputation of the company and maintaining good relations with former employees. The Reduction in Force process must be managed together with the human resources unit. Companies can get through this process in the best possible way together with HR.

Determine the Right Method for Successful Company Downsizing

Before making a decision on mass layoffs, discover that there are different methods for company downsizing. As with every step of business processes, the right technique must be found at this stage and adapted to the corporate culture. If you have examined your business strategy in detail and are sure that downsizing is necessary, evaluate different alternatives first instead of the collective dismissal option. Review the possibility of offsetting business expenses by using collective leave for a while. At the same time, by providing benefits such as severance pay, motivate employees to leave voluntarily if they want to do so. For employees who plan to change jobs but abstain for reasons such as compensation, such practices will provide effective results. Instead of employee removal practices, options such as voluntary unpaid leave with a certain period of time will help the workforce not to worry and think of themselves as part of the process. When managing this process, Layoffs vs. furloughs should also be taken into account. By being granted unpaid leave, some employees may be suspended from work.

Workforce reduction strategies

Human resources management functions and departments, which have come a long way towards becoming a strategic partner of enterprises today, undoubtedly need to take part in every stage of the organizational downsizing process. Research has shown that the importance given to human resources management during the process has a positive effect on the success of downsizing. Therefore, while organizational downsizing plans are being created, effective management of human resources is gaining importance. In addition, during the downsizing process, human resources departments should ensure regular communication, try to minimize the negative effects associated with various rumors, and communicate real information to employees.

Reducing costs is not only by buying cheap raw materials, or using cheap labor, or using cheap machines. The most effective way to reduce costs is to increase efficiency. Methods of reducing personnel costs are to increase the existing knowledge and skills of the participants in this direction and to ensure that the organizations are individuals who can effectively manage the employee cost.

The purpose of this process is to introduce the methods of calculating the costs and information of the employee and, accordingly, equipment, energy, raw materials and material inputs from the point of view of the company management, and thus to transfer the techniques of determining the processes and inputs that will be magnified and improved.

Benefits of Predictive Analytics in Human Resource Management:

Objectivity in Choice Making: A data-driven approach empowers HR experts to create objective choices more and data-driven. In reality, analytics performed on authentic execution information and work application forms can offer assistance recognize candidates with the potential for future victory.

Move forward Ability Administration: HR experts can recognize which ability is vital to the organization utilizing prescient analytics and make custom fitted advancement programs.

Key Arranging and Future Estimating: Prescient analytics can offer assistance HR managers way better arrange for long term and create methodologies custom-made to their organization’s needs. Examinations performed on representative fulfillment can be supportive in recognizing turnover patterns and expanding representative dependability. It can direct HR offices in deciding future workforce needs and taking fitting activity in case essential.

Spare Time and Costs: With great analytics, enlistment costs can be diminished, representative turnover can be diminished, and representative efficiency can be expanded, making a difference the organization spare cash, time, and assets.

HR downsizing

Unprofessional dismissals damage the reputation of the company, as well as payments. Dismissing an employee is the last option that should be preferred ethically, except for poor performance and necessity. If the company still wants to dismiss the employee, it is the duty of the HR department to collect some information and do its research first. The research that the HR department should do about the employee before dismissal are as follows:

  • Does the employee behave in accordance with the corporate culture and working hours and perform adequately?
  • If there is a lack of performance, the reason is incompatibility with the manager, mobbing, temporary reasons (illness, death, etc.) or non-compliance with the department?
  • Poor performance is caused by some methods (training, department change, talking to the manager, adaptation training, etc.) can it be fixed?
  • Do employees who have problems due to manager disputes often happen, and is the fault in employees in this case?
  • Are there employee problems due to mobbing caused by colleagues and managers?
  • Adaptation training in the employee recruitment process (company policy, vision, mission and values, etc.), has technical training (if necessary) been provided?
  • Is it appropriate for the employee to continue working from different points of view, such as internal peace, security and efficiency?

 

After all these questions are asked to the employee’s colleagues, superiors and subordinates, the research should be completed in a fair and objective manner. At the end of the research, when a final decision is made to terminate the employee’s employment contract, certain strategies and legal framework should be followed. Before dismissing the employee, he is notified that such a decision has been made by official notification and the process is initiated. Different researches and calculations should be made in a sequential manner before the notification process.

How is the Employee Dismissed from Work?

When a research is conducted on the employee and a final dismissal decision is made, the budget should be determined by calculating severance pay, notice compensation, the remaining leave balance, performance bonus and gentleman’s agreement compensation (if any) before notification is made. The company must have sufficient resources to pay the payments in full, in full and on the day.

The notification of dismissal must be prepared in writing by the human resources department, with the support of the legal department or a lawyer. The prepared letter can be delivered to the employee in the morning or in the afternoon. In cases where the process will take a long time, notification should be sent in the morning in order to be able to make dismissal on the same day and prevent loss of rights. The employee has the right to service on the day of dismissal. For this reason, a time zone close to the time of departure from work can be selected for employees whose home is far away.

The area where the employee will be notified of the dismissal should be well chosen. Communication should not be made in front of other colleagues or in transparent rooms that can be seen from the outside. In order to protect the employee’s privacy by considering the employee’s psychology, the interview should be conducted together with people such as manager, HR and boss in a confidential and invisible area.