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Aim
This role play exercise is designed to help managers deliver the news of redundancy to an employee, and give practice in the execution of a difficult redundancy meeting.
The company concerned is a small engineering practice. The role play features the managing partner delivering the news and an engineer being notified of redundancy. Allow around one hour and 10 minutes for completion.
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to …
- deliver the news of redundancy sympathetically
- consider possible employee reactions and how to deal with them
- practice responding to difficult questions appropriately
Facilitator Guidance
This role play is best used in a group which has some prior knowledge and experience of the redundancy process. It would be suitable as a practical exercise towards the end of a redundancy skills workshop, once participants have got to know each other better.
Depending on the size of the group, the role play could be facilitated in a number of ways:
- Involve one group of participants, allocating each role to one individual at a time. The rest of the group can act as observers.
- Alternatively, participants could be split into smaller groups, with a role allocated to each participant, including one or two observers per group. The role plays would run simultaneously.
The role play(s) could also be recorded and played back during the review stage to highlight areas for improvement/praise.
Suggested Resources
- copy of the first page of the task sheet for each participant
- copy of the relevant brief for the role playing participants
- copy of the checklist for each observer
- video or tape recorder
- paper and pens
What to Do (35 Minutes)
- Introduce the role play and the objectives of the exercise.
- Divide the group as you have decided and allocate the roles of Mr Jones, Jason Biggs and the observer(s).
- When selecting participants for the observer role, it is a good idea to select a person with experience of redundancies or who is skilled at giving feedback. Ask them to make notes on the observer checklist for feedback purposes.
- Then select the individual(s) with the least experience for the role of Mr Jones, to allow them to practice and develop their skills. Ask for volunteers for the role of Jason Biggs.
- Distribute copies of the first page of the task sheet to everyone, and copies of the briefs to the relevant participants. The two players should not be aware of the circumstances of the other role. Observer(s) should be given copies of both briefs and the observer checklist.
- Allow around 15 minutes for the role playing participants to prepare. Ask the observers to set up the room accordingly.
- Allow 15 to 20 minutes for the role play activity itself. Circulate to observe the role play(s) in order to provide your own feedback during the review activity.
Review Activity (20 Minutes)
- Ask the participants to feedback to each other. Mr Jones should go first, followed by Jason Biggs and lastly the observer(s).
- You may find the following questions useful to prompt the discussions:
- How do you feel the meeting went?
- What do you feel went well, and what areas did not go so well/as planned?
- If you had the chance to run the meeting again, what things would you do differently (particularly relevant for Mr Jones).
- Ask each observer to refer to the points on the observer checklist when giving feedback to their group.
- People are often very critical of themselves, so the challenge will be to ensure that participants put their performance into perspective and give equal weighting to the aspects that went well.
- Ensure that positive and negative feedback is balanced so that the individual receives praise and constructive feedback to take forward and learn from.
Apply Learning (10 Minutes)
- Bring the whole group back together and ask them to reflect upon the experience. Ask the group as a whole to identify the key learning points that the exercise has highlighted in terms of ‘good practice’ prior to, and during, a redundancy meeting.
- Ask them to draft a ‘good practice’ checklist which they can take back to their workplace and use in the future should they have to undertake a redundancy meeting.
D W Jones Consulting - Task Sheet
Originally established by David Jones, D W Jones is a small engineering practice. It offers mechanical and electrical consulting services to clients in the local area. Kenny Bain and Martin Cartwright became partners in the business three years ago after moving up through the ranks. They provide advice to Mr Jones on key areas of the business, although as senior partner Mr Jones has the final say on important decisions.
The practice employs mechanical and electrical consulting engineers with varied levels of experience. Mr Jones has a strong paternal attitude towards his staff, and has supported the careers of many apprentice engineers through sponsoring their studies and promotion when they qualify. The work of the practice is derived from commercial projects, and the company has built up considerable expertise in this area. In particular, it has developed a good working relationship with Best Developments, a commercial consortium which has an active building program in the area. This collaboration has resulted in much repeat business and the work with Best Developments now accounts for over 60% of the projects at D W Jones.
However, in recent months the building trade has experienced a downturn which is linked to a slowing of the economy. There has been a knock-on effect in many related industries, and there has been a reduction in consulting work at many small engineering firms, including D W Jones. Best Developments has decided to scale back its expansion portfolio as many of its new office buildings have been empty for months, and profits have been seriously affected. Fewer big projects are becoming available for D W Jones. Competition is intense between local engineering practices and D W Jones has lost out on a number of important tenders.
D W Jones must consider its options. The engineering industry is well known for being prone to instability due to economic fluctuations. In the past, D W Jones has been able to weather the storm by securing voluntary redundancies and freezing recruitment. However, this time the threat of compulsory redundancies is very real indeed. Kenny and Martin have asked for volunteers, but nobody has come forward. They have therefore created a redundancy selection ‘pool’ which includes everyone involved in consulting work.
Brief for Mr Jones, Senior Partner
You are very unhappy at the prospect of making anyone redundant. However, you have been convinced by Kenny and Martin that redundancies are a necessary step in securing the future of the business. You know from a financial position that you need to let four people go.
You are aware that Kenny and Martin have sought legal advice to develop non-discriminatory criteria for the redundancies. The criteria include client responsiveness, technical skills, team working ability and attendance records. Each employee in the pool has been systematically ranked against these criteria, and a list of those ‘at risk’ drawn up. As senior partner, you are now about to start the consultation period with each of the ‘at risk’ employees.
Your first meeting is with Jason Biggs. You need to tell him that four jobs will be made redundant, and that his role will potentially be redundant in one month’s time unless alternative employment can be found. You are not looking forward to it, as delivering bad news is not one of your strengths. This is the first time you have ever had to do this sort of thing, and you feel very uncomfortable.
Jason joined the company at 18 just over nine years ago, and you have watched him develop into a competent engineer. However, he is now rather complacent about his role, and has become less effective at managing client relationships. As a result, some important clients have been lost. Over the last couple of years he has made little effort to update his skills, and some of the more junior engineers have better levels of technical expertise. He also has an above average incidence of absence, and these factors have counted against him.
For the meeting, your goals are to deliver the news in a sympathetic way. You feel it is important for Jason to understand the reasons for the redundancies, why he is ‘at risk’ and how he was selected. You’ll also explain details of the statutory award payable, the notice period, and the appeal process. The fact that he does not wish to bring a companion to the meeting makes you think he will take the news on the chin and won’t make a fuss.
Prospects for suitable alternative employment within D W Jones for Jason are slim, although you will give him every opportunity should something arise. You want to help him as much as possible to find another job, and you’ll make use of your extensive industry contacts to help him. Other support options are also available, including career counseling. You’ll also give him plenty of time off to search for a new job or to update his skills.
Brief for Jason Biggs, Mechanical Engineer
You are Jason Biggs, and you have been with D W Jones since you left school at 18 just over nine years ago. Since starting as an apprentice engineer, you have worked your way up and are now a qualified mechanical engineer.
Mr Jones has been a great mentor to you over the years and you feel you have a good working relationship with him. However, following an earlier meeting with Kenny and Martin where you were told you were in the ‘pool’ for redundancy, you have now received a letter inviting you to attend a ‘consultation’ meeting with Mr Jones. The letter explains that you are likely to be made redundant.
After all the years with the company you can’t believe that you might be made redundant. You have always been loyal to Mr Jones and you are very annoyed. You don’t wish to bring a companion to the meeting, as you’d prefer to speak to Mr Jones alone and tell him exactly how you’re feeling.
You are feeling nervous and pretty angry before the meeting, and realize that you can barely contain your emotions. There are a number of things in particular that are worrying you:
There has been little explanation as to why the redundancies need to happen. You know that D W Jones has been in a similar situation in the past when work has tailed off, but nobody was made redundant then, so why now?
You also think the atmosphere surrounding the process has been rather ‘cloak and dagger’. You want an explanation of how the redundancy ‘pool’ was created, and how the selection was carried out.
Since receiving the original letter you have hardly been able to contain your anger. After all, why should this happen to you? Your first thought was that this is a management farce and you have been chosen at random. You will be looking for answers and strongly believe that there are other people who should go before you, like the more junior engineers who joined in the last couple of years.
You also are concerned about what might happen next. You want to know if there are any alternatives to redundancy. You also want to find out what help might be available in finding a new job elsewhere, and you will push for as much help as you can get. After all you deserve it!
Observer Checklist
Q: Did Mr Jones appear well prepared for the meeting?
Q: Was the news of redundancy delivered in a sympathetic and professional way?
Q: What was Jason’s response to the news and how did Mr Jones deal with it?
Q: Did Mr Jones give Jason plenty of time to talk about how he was feeling and to express his opinions?
Q: Did Mr Jones clearly explain the business reason(s) for the redundancies?
Q: Was Mr Jones able to explain why Jason had been selected for redundancy?
Q: Was Mr Jones able to talk through the different forms of support that would be made available to help Jason consider his options and find a new job?
Q: Was the right of appeal explained?
Q: How did Mr Jones close the meeting, did he make efforts to end things on a positive note?
