Time for humane layoffs in India Inc?

It is just January but bad news has already started trickling in for Indian employees.

Reports of Oyo Hotels and Homes shedding 20 percent of its workforce, Walmart India sacking 50 executives and ridesharing company Ola giving pink slips to 500 employees are making headlines.

While pink slips are becoming far more common in India, what is missing is the humane approach to retrenchments.

HR officials agree that while layoffs are inevitable, the process can be made made more structured.

The economic slowdown and a change in business strategy has led to a slew of companies in India letting go of people.

What has baffled a lot of staff members who have been a victim of layoffs is the way they were treated.

"A group of us were merely sent an e-mail stating the tough conditions at the workplace. We were asked to quit the same day. If business was getting tougher since the last eight months, why not inform us earlier. We could have atleast looked for another job," says Ankur Bhatnagar, a 25 year-old technology professional. He was laid-off by his startup firm where he was employed for two years.

India is still not mature when it comes to handling tough layoff situations. Employees are immediately asked to leave and not provided any assistance to look for alternate opportunities.

Here are some of the ways how HR managers can handle the 'pink-slip' situation better:

Transparency in communication

Though emerging businesses may face tough times during a slump in the economy, it is crucial that employees are stated the facts.

Ajay Shah, vice president and head-recruitment services, TeamLease Services told Moneycontrol that it is necessary that the company is transparent about the prevailing situation at the workplace.

"How we communicate the message is critical. It is also necessary that the employer deals with layoff matters in a sensitive way," he added.

Rather than a plain email informing the employee that they are terminated, a better way would be to send individual mails to each employee.

Further, as soon as a staff restructuring decision is taken employees should be informed. This would help the staff members plan their next career move accordingly.

Job-assistance

In a slowing economy, finding an alternate job is a tough proposition. Rather than simply letting go of staff, it is imperative that outplacement services are also offered.

Outplacement refers to helping the laid-off employee find a relevant job through the help of external agencies.

"The company should create a backup so that there are parallel jobs available for employees," added Shah.

Industry sources said that since outplacement services are an additional cost for the companies, only a handful of firms are opting for this facility.

Currently, large IT firms who had to let go of a few thousand people are using outplacement for the affected staff.

Restore optimum benefits

In metro cities, high real estate and living costs mean that the disposable income of salaried professionals is low. Being removed from a job would mean that getting an alternative would take a minimum of six months.

Rather than waiting for one to two months to offer the final settlement, HR managers must ensure that the balance benefits (any variable or bonus) along with the standard three months salary be released at the earliest.

This will not only help savage the company brand but also facilitate minimal damage to the living standards of an exiting employee.

While all companies have HR rulebooks, it is best to leave them aside during a crisis situation.

At a time when job cuts are slowly becoming unavoidable in India Inc, taking a few simple steps would ensure that the staff being asked to leave does not exit on a bitter note.