| INTRODUCTION TO THE MOBILITY CENTRES CONCEPT |
| Even large and successful companies such as Microsoft and Philips are not immune to the need to reduce employee numbers. Sometimes the need to reduce employee headcount stems from the introduction of new technology which makes existing plant and machinery obsolescent—and with it the skills of the employees who operated them. In other situations, changing consumer demands and competition in the market means that companies may suffer loss of market share and falling profitability requiring reductions in some or all of its work-force. |
| The only legal obligation in Ireland--as in many other countries--on companies making employees redundant is to ensure that redundancy payments comply with statutory requirements. The general experience in Ireland is that in most cases the company will following discussions with employee representatives agree to pay in excess of the statutory minimum. Some companies may also agree to provide the services of out-placement agencies to help redundant employees find new jobs; in most instances, however, the out-placement consultants will be generally retained to assist managers and other senior employees. |
| A new innovative approach |
| A small number of innovative companies have--in addition to providing redundancy payments--set up special programmes/resource centres to assist employees being made redundant to seek career opportunities elsewhere. The establishment of these centres were usually agreed as part of the redundancy package negotiated by management and trade unions. |
| These centres--which we call mobility centres (though they are often known by other names: job centres, career change centres, etc.) --are intended to provide advice, counselling and information to employees seeking careers outside the company. |
| The mobility centre assist employees seeking new career opportunities outside the company by helping them to prepare CVs and holding mock interviews to hone their skills in this area. The mobility centres can also work with employees to help them to understand the mechanism of the labour market in their area and to identify job openings. This might mean, for example, contacting employment agencies in the region to obtain information on job advertisements. In some companies, the mobility centres actively promote the skills of the employees being made redundant to major employers and recruitment companies in the area. |
| Not just for downsizing ... |
| However, a number of Dutch companies have discovered that mobility centres can play an important role in facilitating employee mobility long after the redundancy situation has finished. The role that the mobility centre can play in this regard is by working with employees to discover job opportunities in other parts of the company. It can, for example, provide career guidance services to employees in a part of the company which is facing closure to find jobs in other parts of the company which are growing. |
| In tight labour markets i.e., where there are difficulties in recruiting personnel the mobility centre can help in promoting internal mobility. The mobility centre can develop strategies for the development of new skills within the existing workforce and in doing so relieve bottle-necks within the organisation. It can work with employees in traditional and slow growing parts of the organisation to seek jobs in the newer and faster growing units. |
| Mobility centres are as much a resource for managers as employees as during periods of retrenchment managers may need to reduce employee numbers yet at the same time the organisation as a whole may wish to retain skilled employees within the business. The mobility centre can take the employees from those units which have a surplus of labour and retrain them to apply for positions in other parts of the business. |
| The development of a skilled, adaptable and flexible work force is and will continue to be a key requirement of companies in a competitive market place. The mobility centre can play a key role in developing and implementing policies which facilitate employee mobility. |
| Tell me more |
| The advantages of mobility centres are described here and you can find a guide to the implementation of mobility centres by following this link. |
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