Ready for Another Recession (and Retrenchment)?

Yes, we know the reces­sion is (almost) over.  Some ana­lysts said that we are recov­er­ing but of course, not all of them are in-sync with the same sen­ti­ment.  Employ­ment and con­sumer sta­tis­tics are still hov­er­ing at pre-good time level and we may not see the “light” soon (yet).  But beyond the dis­cus­sion of mar­ket and econ­omy and the fat pay cheques the Wall Street CEOs are get­ting, will there be another reces­sion (most likely yes)?  If it does hap­pen again in your life time, will you be able to sur­vive pos­si­ble retrenchment?

Ask your­self the fol­low­ing ques­tions.  Are you com­fort­able and con­fi­dent after going through the ques­tions?  If you are then you are more likely that you are safe and ready from another recession-initiated retrench­ment.  If you are not, then it’s time to buck on your skill set before any reces­sion sets in!

1. What have you achieved till date in the organ­i­sa­tion? Are the achieve­ments sig­nif­i­cant that most senior man­age­ment knows your name?
2. Are you a key con­trib­u­tor to the organ­i­sa­tion? That is, the organ­i­sa­tion can­not do with­out you?  Are you one of the key deci­sion makers?
3. Have you been pro­duc­ing results annu­ally? Have you been deliv­er­ing what you are sup­posed to every year?  Have you been gen­er­at­ing sales for the com­pany or been delay­ing deliverables?
4. Have you always met your superior’s work tar­get?  Sim­ply put it, have you always met your imme­di­ate superior’s expectation?
5. Have you con­stantly improved your skills and com­pe­tency? Have you been sharp­en­ing your skills or are you still the same after 5 years in the organisation?
6. Are you always the under-dog of the team? You are always the last in deliv­er­ing results.  You appeared slower than your peers.
7. Are new rook­ies and co-workers been over-taking you? You are always com­pared on per­for­mance with the new guy sit­ting beside the pantry or Alex who had been trans­ferred from the other department.
8. Are you redun­dant in your organ­i­sa­tion? Are you in the mid-level man­age­ment or func­tions that can be eas­ily removed in the event of a merger or acquisition?
9. Are you on non-permanent employ­ment? That is, con­tract, part-time or free-lance?  Con­tract staff will be the first to go as there are no legal oblig­a­tions. Of course, not all part-timers and free-lancers are removed first.  It may be more effec­tive to employ part-timers and free-lancers dur­ing the bad times instead to cut cost!

Know­ing all these DOESN’T GUARANTEE that you will not be retrenched, how­ever it does give you a level of assur­ance that you will not be in the top list and reduced the like­li­hood of being short­list for being axed in the next retrench­ment exer­cise! J

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