It is not about the cookies – retrenchment is personal

This week I am involved in a training course of people that recently took a voluntary or “forced” separation package. What will I tell them? What do you say to people that are devastated, angry, disappointed and with a feeling of despair? How do I tell them there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel? And convince them it is not the light of an oncoming train?

I clearly remember the day. I was on leave for a week and got back to work on a Monday morning. One of my sales reps awaited my arrival in the reception area. He wanted me to join him in a meeting at one of our customers that was unhappy with our service. He reported that my manager said that it would not be possible for me to attend and my rep questioned why this was the case. As I just returned from leave, I did not understand the situation. As I walked to my desk, my two peers treated me coldly. What is happening? What have I done? Did they perhaps discover the cookies I hid in my drawer and were upset that I did not share it with them? Everyone treated me like I had the plague, or bad breath. When I got summonsed to my manager’s office, I was asked to close the door and take a seat next to the HR director. Nigel, my manager, first words were “You probably know what this is about?” I realised that now was the time to confess about the cookies and beg forgiveness.

The HR director did not ask me about the cookies, but started making excuses about the economy, my product range, the bigger company and other irrelevant stuff. Bottom line – I am being retrenched. I was assured that the group will keep my CV on file and contact me as soon as something else is available. Yeah right. I have no doubt that my file was already shredded and that a line was inserted into the HR system, next to my name: “Not to be considered for future employment”.

This happened 20 years ago! My daughter was 6 months old, I moved into my house a year before, I was in my first year of MBA studies and I still had an outstanding lease on my car. So do not talk to me about bad timing. I invented the term.

Retrenchment is a great legal term meaning – let us take the opportunity to get rid of those wise-ass staff that has become irritating. Those who question everything. Those not accepting every word spoken by a manager, CEO or low and behold a director. Those understanding the customer’s situation and fighting to better it through changes in work methods. Those threatening their superior’s positions. Retrenchment IS personal, do not get fooled by big words and intellectual sounding terms.

So next time you get “offered” a retrenchment package, take it immediately. You will not have a future at the company anymore. But the great news is – you will survive, NO you will thrive by nurturing the qualities that got you in this position in the first place. Integrity, ethics, hard work, questioning everything, looking after your customers and debating the best way of doing great business.

If you have been involved in a retrenchment, please share the emotions you went through and what the outcome was, looking back at this emotional roller coaster ride.