In response to today’s Comprehensive Spending Review, Jayne Carrington, Managing Director of Right Management, global talent and career management consultancy, comments:
“Yesterday’s comprehensive spending review has confirmed what has been widely expected for some time that public services will be reshaped with the result of major job losses across the sector. It is a moment of transformational change and organisations that embrace this change and manage it well are more likely, not only to survive, but also to be regarded as pioneers and ‘thought-leaders’.
“To do this, leaders and managers should explore the future purpose of an organisation and review talent strategy. Revisiting the capabilities and competencies of staff needed to deliver ‘new look’ services, will mitigate the risk of a losing talent.
“While public sector organisations are skilled at managing change, there has not been much experience of large-scale redundancies. As many people will make the move from public to private sector, career transition support to help people identify transferable skills will be invaluable.
Also, appreciating the significant emotional toll managing and facing the risk of redundancy can take, public sector employers could look to provide their staff with an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). Talking to counsellors and qualified experts, unsurprisingly, reduces stress and absenteeism and can dramatically increase morale, engagement and productivity.
“Finally, strong and engaging leadership will be key to ensure the public sector continues to deliver an effective service during this challenging environment. Leaders who can communicate their vision for the organisation with clarity are going to be best placed to steer their organisations through these difficult times.”