Downsizing Your Workforce Will Lead to Higher Turnover Rates & Long-Term Financial Problems

Leading multinational companies have long been focusing on employee wellness and using outplacement services. Well-run businesses have recognised that wellness and outplacement initiatives are not simply a “nice” thing to do, but have significant long-term benefits for the organisation.

Research from Deloitte found that the total cost of losing an employee can range from tens of thousands of USD to 1.5X – 2X the annual salary of the employee! If the complexity of the employee’s role and the required investment in training is high, the loss for the employer will be amplified. This shows that huge economic impact employee turnover can have on a business long-term.

This is significant as the Harvard Business Review found a strong correlation between downsizing and voluntary turnover. A 1% downsize in the workforce leads to a 31% increase in voluntary turnover rate the following year. They also reported that surviving employees of the redundancy experienced anxiety, guilt, and even anger, which ultimately resulted in:

• 41% decline in job satisfaction
• 36% decline in organisational commitment
• 20% decline in job performance

Businesses need to think carefully and plan their layoff process if they don’t want the knock-on effects of poorly handled termination. Employees dictate a business’ success, meaning a drop in business productivity and commitment could cause serious financial and reputation problems for your organisation. As companies with weaker brands saw 28% higher turnover rates according to LinkedIn Hiring Solutions Insights, you should be doing as much as you can to protect your employer brand.

What is the ROI for Employee Assistance Programmes and Outplacement!

Smart business leaders have recognised the possible problems and are implementing their wellness strategies to counteract possible difficulties. The Harvard Business Review concluded that well-designed employee wellness programmes led to an ROI of approximately $2.73 for every dollar spent. The key benefit areas included:

• Reduced medical costs
• Reduced absenteeism
• Increased Engagement
• Increased Retention

Asia-Pacific companies are catching on to the trend and the employee wellness market is predicted to grow over 9% per year. The Covid-19 pandemic is expected to accelerate this growth, with more Asia business leaders focusing on wellbeing initiatives. Employers are planning employee assistance programmes (EAP) that include stress management, mental health, substance abuse, and healthy sleep.

EAPs usually include outplacement services, which is vital when companies choose to downsize. Outplacement helps transition displaced employees to new career opportunities through counselling, coaching and connections.

Outgoing employees will feel significantly less animosity towards the employer and the chances of future lawsuits will be reduced. The remaining employees will feel like the organisation truly cares for its people, and the typical problems of decline in job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and job performance will not occur.

How Do I Choose the Right EAP Vendor?

With the Return of Investment (ROI) being so high for well-designed wellness programmes, it is crucial that businesses find the right one and make it part of their business strategy soon as possible. However, the keyword is “well-designed”. This means that the programme must be tailored specifically to your business needs.

When choosing a vendor, you must consider the vendor’s experience, what services they cover, your budget, their service locations, and customer support. Business cultures vary from location to location, so an employer must choose a vendor with local expertise that can customise a programme to meet all requirements. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to employee wellness/assistance plans.

Asia businesses must choose programmes that are Asia-centric, catered specifically for working professionals in Asia. As the work culture can be so different in APAC, it is important to select a vendor that operates in multiple locations throughout the region and has extensive knowledge about the needs of businesses in different countries.

To learn more about Links International’s coverage and how we can tailor the perfect EAP for your business, contact our professional team now!

Related Articles:

• Top 3 Reasons the Best HR teams Use Outplacement
• The 4 Benefits of Employee Assistance Programmes
• 4 Ways to Increase Employee Engagement
• The Risks of Poorly Executed Workforce Layoffs
• Making Redundancies? What HK Employers Need to Know

Links International is an industry leader in innovative HR outsourcing with services such as payroll outsourcing, visa application, PEO/EOR Secondment, outplacement, recruitment and more! Contact us for more information on how we can help leverage your HR function.