OPINION! Michael Schuster, CEO Mühlenhoff by Randstad RiseSmart: Personnel restructuring in difficult times

Crises lead to many Companys to job cuts and mass layoffs, while there are Alternatives like the redeployment. CEO & outplacement expert Michael Schuster explains in an interview how this works.

Michael Schuster is managing director of Mühlenhoff by Randstad RiseSmart. His passion for project management and HR consulting led him into the area of ​​personnel restructuring and career development with a focus on outplacement and workforce Transformation. He has been working here for more than ten years. Randstad RiseSmart is one of the world's leading outplacement, redeployment and career development companies.

Short-time work and layoffs often determine the picture in companies in times of crisis, but innovation should be the focus now. What is the ideal response to such challenges?

In difficult times, it is crucial for companies to stay active and adapt to the new environment. While it is not possible every Crisis and foreseeing their consequences, but those who act in an agile manner have the necessary flexibility to react more quickly in critical situations. This includes creative working time models, home office regulations and internal mobility within the company. It is important to take the workforce with you and to inform them about change processes at an early stage. So are Employees encouraged to develop continuously and of their own accord.

However, short-time work and layoffs are not always avoidable. For the future viability of companies it is therefore of Significanceto deal with breakups early on. With a responsible separation and change culture, organizations show employees a valid Perspektive on. A high degree of transparency, clear and honest Communication and empathy on the part of management and the Executives are important factors. This is how organizations prove: We take the professional one Future our employees take seriously and don't just talk about Sustainability.

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Why is restructuring so often equated with downsizing? Are there no alternatives?

The fact that companies constantly have to face new challenges is nothing new - from digitization to automation and robotization. Once a restructuring is complete, the next one is often already in the offing. The demands on companies to get involved with changing markets and customer needs more and more quickly are increasing. As a result, the demands on the workforce are also changing and job descriptions are changing rapidly. We at Randstad RiseSmart found out in a global study that 60% of all job profiles will change significantly by 2030. That means there will be new ones Competencies be in demand that do not yet exist on the job market. Rather, they must be developed in-house. At the same time, the study proves that around 75% of employees in companies are willing to undergo significant further or requalification. In principle, these are the best prerequisites for being able to shape this change yourself and to develop alternatives to downsizing.

In any case, it makes little sense to separate restructuring into separations and new hires. It is better to link the currently still often isolated concepts for career development, internal mobility and qualification as well as creative separation concepts. That means creating transparency about the development of new business areas, pointing out new career opportunities, providing information at an early stage about closures or exits from business areas and establishing concepts for internal mobility and further qualification. In this way, the workforce can be kept on the move and internal flexibility can be created, which benefits companies at two ends. First, they must fight for qualified employees clear accept less expensive and lengthy recruitment processes. Secondly, there are significantly fewer restructuring costs due to continuous and early changes. This is sustainable and strengthens employee loyalty.

What exactly does successful staff restructuring look like in a company and how can this be achieved?

An efficient and successful Strategy for a staff restructuring must bring together the interests of employees and employers. This is what modern concepts of internal mobility and redeployment aim for. In the first step, companies have to identify important future fields. This makes it clear which one qualifications and characteristics employees must have in this area. At the same time, it is important to keep employees up to date and to enable them to participate in and benefit from this change.

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This is achieved, for example, through intelligent platform technologies for career development that work together with development and CoachingConcepts for the desired internal mobility. For companies, this also means encouraging their employees to take responsibility for their own careers. They create the right conditions for this by using the internal job search and Application facilitate. Companies take their workforce with them when changes occur and promote a culture of internal mobility.

To what extent do companies benefit when they enable and encourage employees to change internally?

Anyone who creates space for internal changes not only takes care of the individual with respect, but also has a positive influence on the entire corporate culture. Companies should actively support their employees in their professional development. In this way, both sides can adapt to changing requirements in the Working world prepare. This strengthens cohesion and ensures everyone’s future viability. Other aspects are increased Motivation and a lower turnover. All this goes hand in hand with financial advantages for the company. Those who structure their workforce flexibly are under less recruiting pressure in the event of changes. The external personnel requirement decreases and the Costs for restructuring are lower.

How do employees benefit from an internal change?

The traditional career path has long since become obsolete. Both the fields of activity and the very individual career ideas have changed. Employees don't have to, can't or don't want to stay in the same job for the rest of their lives Job remain. An offer to move internally usually means a new professional opportunity. This gives employees the opportunity to position themselves for the future and ensure their employability.

This step often opens up new and exciting options. By changing jobs, employees broaden their horizons of experience and develop their own skills. This internal change works particularly well for employees because they can develop further in their familiar environment. At the same time, they can contribute their previous experience, which is also valuable for the company Background and know-how are preserved.

What are the long-term benefits for companies from redeployment?

Redeployment is never a “quick fix”, i.e. not a short-term one Solution. Rather, it is part of a strategy for sustainable personnel management with which companies can position themselves and their staff flexibly and make them fit for the future. With this progressive thinking, companies retain talent and attract new ones. Because investments in the workforce strengthen the employer brand. This gives organizations a decisive advantage, especially in times of a shortage of skilled workers. In addition, redeployment helps prevent overcapacities in certain areas from arising in the first place. In the long run, costs for downsizing and restructuring are saved.

What challenges do HR managers in particular have to face in difficult times?

Times of crisis often mean change. Many People see something threatening in it. And I'm not just talking about employees. Managers and executives also experience changes as a burden - especially when it comes to personnel decisions.

I often experience that those responsible fear this process, also because they lack experience with situations like these. It is therefore wise to rely on the support of external experts. The best example of this is the downsizing. The separations are not only a deep cut for those directly affected. It is affecting the entire workforce fast to insecurity. The challenge is to maintain a positive working atmosphere in the company, especially in moments like these, and separations as Measures to understand and shape, which affect the entire company. This requires a sustainable and clever Concept, around change to be positive and implemented fairly. This requires far-reaching Ask to be clarified: Which Set should be achieved? With which instruments and measures can the change be implemented and at what speed? How are these best communicated? What support do managers need?

External experts can be an essential Success factor when it comes to ensuring that all these individual aspects flow into a holistic and target-oriented project plan.

What does a positive separation culture look like and how can companies optimally support their employees in the event of layoffs?

Separations are particularly drastic for employees who do not leave the company voluntarily. For them, it is often not just about their economic existence, but also about their own identity and the confirmation and fulfillment in their job. If companies deal with this situation consciously, they create an appreciative and respectful cooperation in the separation process. Part of this can be offering outplacement advice. An important task of an outplacement consultancy is to ensure employee safety and security confidence to give in this situation. With advice on professional reorientation, companies support their employees in turning a separation into a new start for their career.

At Mühlenhoff by Randstad RiseSmart, we rely on Touch & Tech - i.e. individual support for employees and the use of modern Technology. Basically, the course of the consultation follows an established concept: We intervene Team back from three experts. These consultants accompany the employees from the very beginning. They support you with the initial assessment of where you are, the professional preparation of the documents for the application, the job search on the open and hidden job market and the preparation for job interviews. Our cloud-based technology platform, which facilitates an exact and efficient job search, is used particularly when looking for a job. The contract negotiations and a successful onboarding in the new job then form the conclusion. If the company initiates this outplacement process at an early stage, it strengthens the employer brand. This not only has a positive effect on the working atmosphere, but also on the reputation and employer brand of the company in the long term.

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