Friendly Fired: A Short Guide to Setting Up and Running a
Redundancy Support Group
This article considers the idea of peer support for people
experiencing compulsory or voluntary redundancy. It includes a
case study of a successful redundancy support group.
A redundancy support group is for colleagues who have been made
redundant from an organisation at roughly the same time,
although there is some fluidity in that some people may join and
others leave over the lifespan of the group.
Many of the difficulties people face having been made redundant
are practical and emotional. Peer support helps individuals to
overcome both. The practical, in terms of supporting each other
through the change with advice or ideas, the emotional by
helping people through the loneliness, loss of confidence or
motivation and, in some cases, anger. Emotional departure does
not always happen at the same time as physical departure and the
time lag can be difficult to cope with, causing a sense of
isolation and possibly strong feelings of need for affiliation
as well as rejection. Being able to maintain the connection with
the company through other leavers can ease the transition.
Peer pressure helps individuals to move forward - it is quite
common for people to lose their desire to get things done when
there is nobody around to encourage them, or who rely on the
outcome. At work we are often motivated by our desire not to let
down colleagues or to appear unreliable. Peer support provides
for this function.
The group can be made up of people in a range of ways. It may be
open to any employees of an organisation that have been made
redundant or are facing redundancy, people from a particular
functional area within the company, or based on level of
seniority. While some of the advantages of mutual understanding
are lost if a group comprises people from different
organisations, this situation still has the potential to foster
a valuable experience for the members.
The pros and cons of each model are:
All Employees
Advantages * Few people leaving * Small, tight knit
organisation
Disadvantages * People with different needs and issues
may not be able to help each other well
Functional Group
Advantages * People know each other well * People
understand each others' needs in terms of employment aspirations
Disadvantages * May be competition for jobs therefore
some tension * May lack the creativity that cross functional
interaction brings * May be a narrow skill set so some external
help may be needed for some activities * Different levels of
employee may have little in common and senior people may be
uncomfortable being as open with junior people
Seniority Groups
Advantages * Common understanding of situation * Cross
pollination of expertise * Openness and not too likely that
there will be competition for jobs
Disadvantages * Groups of junior people would benefit
from the greater experience and contacts that may be derived
from mixing with senior people (maybe in larger set up there is
a possibility for matrix peer groups or just better to extend to
outside the group if required)
There is no limit to group size, although 6 - 10 appears to be
optimal. Any fewer and the benefits of shared tasks are reduced,
any more and it's harder for everyone to meet at the same time.
Part of the purpose of peer support is for the individuals to
feel free to talk openly about their feelings, and this may mean
expressing anger about what has happened. I call this
"bite-back". Bite-back cannot happen easily if the initiative is
seen as being started or supported by the organisation itself.
It is therefore important that support groups are formed
independently and employees join a group only if they want to.
The only intervention the company might provide is some
information about such groups as part of the overall support
programme so that people can take them up if they want to.
There is no optimum time for groups to start - it may be best to
wait until people have finished work or as soon as they have
been given notice. For some people, a break before beginning the
process is required and these people may not want to do anything
about their career transition for some time. For others,
emotional support may be required regardless of whether or not
they are ready to start the job search.
Meetings will benefit from regularity in order to foster and
maintain momentum. Once a fortnight appears to work well -
enough time for individuals to make progress between meetings,
yet not so far apart that the impetus is lost.
The meetings are a social occasion as well as for business. Make
them relaxed and keep the agenda as loose as possible. The more
"business" there is the less opportunity will there be for
personal support.
There is no model for how your group might be shaped in terms of
the topics it covers. In broad terms, there are three main
categories:
Job or career help, including Contacts for networking
Suggestions and advice about CV or letters Looking out for
possible opportunities for each other Helping each other to
identify strengths and weaknesses Suggesting creative ideas for
career change Brainstorming specific agreed topics such as "How
can we get experience of new work"
Practical support, including Tax and financial planning issues
Researching the best suppliers of equipment or supplies
Negotiating with the employer as a group
Social and emotional support, including Doing fun things
together Helping with travel / holiday arrangements Being a
comfort when under stress Instilling confidence or motivation
when either are waning
Again, there are no recommendations for best practice in terms
of the location of meetings. It comes down to what is most
practical for the majority of members. This might mean a regular
fixed venue or moving around. It could be members' homes, a
restaurant or bar, or some other public space like a hotel or
serviced office.
Case Study: the New Futures Group
The New Futures Group was originally formed in early 2005 by
seven senior managers at InterContinental Hotels in London. All
took voluntary redundancy or were made redundant as part of a
large re-organisation programme.
The group was essentially social in nature, typically meeting
over coffee or lunch. The initial value to the members was to
retain a social network, gain and share practical support and
maintain their connection with the company. The group worked
successfully because they shared values and felt trusted and
understood by each other. This fostered individual motivation
and pressure to complete the tasks that members set for
themselves. It also provided opportunities to do fun things
together such as a rather unsuccessful car boot sale!
The most obvious benefit was that rather than each person
looking after their own issues in isolation, there were six
other people thinking about them. This also meant that people
could use complementary skills for their mutual benefit.
The upshot was that each person had easy access to each other's
networks and networking activity grew very quickly for each
member as a result. They also advised each other on CV design,
application letters and interview technique. Those with IT
skills trained the others where necessary.
Other examples of ways by which members of the New Futures Group
supported each other were:
* Advice on purchasing business tools and supplies that had
previously been provided by the company such as computers and
broadband, mobile phones,cars and business cards.
* Financial matters: recommendations for IFA's, insurance,
medical cover, and sorting out pensions, tax and national
insurance details as well as state benefits.
* Dealing with the company: The group members had common issues
such as what to do about their share options and obtaining
various papers and documents. Rather than each person dealing
with the company on an individual basis, one person would take
on the responsibility to handle the matters for everyone.
* Recommending recruiters and head-hunters.
Conclusions
Peer group support is widely recognised as a valuable channel
for personal and professional development. As well as the
benefits of resource sharing, a trusting group that has no
obvious leader provides an environment that can be empowering
for the individual.
Members of the New Futures Group have been able to move through
the career transition process with greater efficiency and vigour
than many individuals would have managed alone.
While the ideal situation is for former colleagues to work
together, it is possible to form a successful peer support group
with people leaving different organisations. Much of the benefit
is still available and in the absence of former colleagues to
work with, it is recommended above working alone.
(c) Nick Gendler 2005