Dear J.T. & Dale: The firm I work for is closing a couple of its other branches, so now it is making everyone retake interviews so the company can keep the best of the bunch. This means my job is now up for grabs. What are my rights? — Mick
J.T.: What you are experiencing is a classic restructuring during a recession. Assuming you are not part of a union and are an at-will employee, it is within an employer’s rights to do this, as long as the company doesn’t use restructuring as a cover for discriminating against a protected class of employees.
Dale: Here’s the most protected of all classes of employees: the ones who are making money for their employer. That’s where you want to be, Mick, and I hope your situation will serve as a cautionary tale for everyone reading this. Employees might think that just because they’re in a thriving branch or division, they are protected. However, wise employers use the downsizing of one area of the company to upgrade the staff in other areas. Therefore, you must, more than ever, keep demonstrating your worth: Keep a file with a list of your accomplishments. Volunteer to be on companywide committees. Work to come up with ways to cut costs. Be part of the team working to improve work-flow processes. In other words, Mick, instead of trying to build a case for your rights, work on building your case as you being the last employee the company would want to lose.
J.T.: Doing so, you also build your prospects for getting hired elsewhere, should it come to that. Indeed, I’d start talking to staffing agencies, because the same job-hunting skills that you will be developing for your contingency plan will help you get rehired for your current job.
Jeanine “J.T.” Tanner O’Donnell is a professional development specialist and founder of the consulting firm jtodonnell.com. Dale Dauten’s latest book is “(Great) Employees Only: How Gifted Bosses Hire and De-Hire Their Way to Success” (John Wiley & Sons). Please visit them at jtanddale.com, where you can send questions via e-mail, or write to them in care of King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019.
© 2009 by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
