Cover Story
Searching for the bottom
Smart Business St. Louis | June 2009
Page 2 of 4
Be clear and decisive
Speculation is one of the biggest drivers of anxiety at a company where business is hurting. Employees worry about whether their job might be affected or if their plant might be shut down.
Huttig shut down 11 locations in 2007 and reduced its head count by 30 percent in response to the continued decline of the housing market.
Vrabely says there is no easy way to tell people they are being let go, especially during a recession when their ability to find a new job may be difficult.
But when it became clear what moves needed to be made, he did not waste much time.
“If you’ve already made the decision that an individual or location is not part of the go-forward plan, you have to be willing to pull the trigger earlier than later,” Vrabely says. “If there is any doubt, and what I mean by doubt is the decision hasn’t been made, you have to focus on the fact that you’re going to do everything you can to ensure that they survive.”
If employees are wondering whether or not they are going to be coming to work tomorrow, their focus is not going to be on the job.
“You have to provide them with hope that, ‘Guys, we can’t focus on the what if we lose our job or we can’t focus on the what if our branch gets shut down. The key is to focus on what do I need to do as an employee to ensure that I’m going to be here.”
Removing that doubt is not easy, and perhaps impossible, when employees see their colleagues and friends being let go. But when you demonstrate that you have a plan, it gets a little easier.
“You want to try to provide everybody with the opportunity that, while we are all in this together, you do control your own destiny,” Vrabely says. “If you do perform well as an individual or you can perform well as a branch, there would be no need for us to look at eliminating your position or your location.”
