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As the recession bites deeper, another ‘R’ word has come into play - redundancy - and employees are starting to feel the pressure

The battle lines are clearly drawn, and for many employees the workplace is a minefield at present, as colleagues are being taken out of the equation and forced to deal with redundancy.

Gone are the days of the ‘last-in first-out’ strategy, and your job is no longer safe just because you’ve dedicated the past 20 years of your life to a firm.

Today’s redundancy programmes are being strategically implemented by organisations that want to ensure they keep hold of the best staff. The most strategic of employers will draw up a matrix of what skills they require and then apply that matrix to the whole workforce, scoring employees against it.

Derek McKay, managing director, Adare Human Resource Management, says more organisations than ever are using specific criteria when drawing up redundancy programmes.

"Employers are looking at a number of different things; they look at the skills and knowledge of employees and try to keep those that are indispensable now and in the future. The more knowledgeable employees might have the ability to expand on their roles and even cross-train into other people’s roles," he says.

So, if your boss is currently making redundancies based on performance, how can you ensure you’re not in the firing line? McKay says you will do so by ensuring you perform to the best of your ability.

"Employers are not looking to keep an underperformer. Organisations are becoming more lean and can’t afford to keep people who won’t put in the work. They need to get the same or greater output from less numbers of employees essentially, and can’t afford to carry anyone anymore."

It’s an unfortunate fact, but increasing your hours and showing your willingness to put all hands on deck could save you your job in these shaky economic times. Likewise, helping over-worked colleagues out in their time of need should be noted.

"Employers are looking for people who have the positive can-do attitude, are solutions-focused and are willing to increase their own flexibility, where possible," says McKay.

It’s a scary time, and employees can be forgiven for wanting to run to the hills with protestations that various tasks aren’t in their job descriptions, but this is unwise if your aim is to keep your job. Your ability to upskill or cross-train will demonstrate that flexibility, and a failure to do so can be to your detriment, he notes.

If you’re spending more time stressing about what might happen than actually doing your job, a worthwhile exercise may be to approach your boss about the state of affairs. McKay advises taking the softly-softly approach, however.

"We encourage employers to be open. There should be no element of surprise in the overall business performance. Certainly, if employees have a good working relationship with their boss, they should approach them. An alternative is to ask if there is anything else you can do within your current role that would assist the organisation to become more productive."

There’s a new focus on performance management, and it’s a very significant one, he says.

"If you’re paying two employees the same amount and one employee is constantly producing more than others, then they will be the ones who stay."

Linda Daly

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