In the journey of career management, a layoff might just be part of the process

Oilweek — Global recession, drilling slump, downsized, right-sized…laid off. Losing a job can be a shock, says Jim Fries, senior consultant at Calgary-based integrated human resource and business consulting firm Cenera. Even with frequent reports of layoffs in the news, it´s different when it hits home.

To soften the blow, companies these days try to "humanize this process" as Suncor´s president Rick George put it last August when discussing the layoffs association with Suncor´s acquisition of and merger with Petro-Canada. Many companies provide some form of severance pay, outplacement services such as job-search, career coaching, or advance notice of cuts, sometimes months ahead.

The concern for the well-being of employees may be a sign of our social evolution or it may be that employers remember how difficult it was to find workers just a few years ago. Protecting their reputations for when things turn around has to be at the back of their minds because employees remember how they are treated and word gets around.

"Managing a termination with empathy, compassion, and respect for the dignity of the affected employees is critical," Fries says. "Terminations are never easy, but they can be done in a way that is respectful for those employees who are leaving, and just as important, for those who are staying."

To this end, oil and gas companies often have consultants like Fries come in the same time pink slips are handed out to help people get over the shock if they weren´t expecting the job loss.

"We help get their feet under them, clear their heads, and get focused on what they need to do to get re-employed," says Fries, a 25-year human resource management veteran.

Working through these emotional issues is essential. Without any support, some people get stuck in unproductive patterns. You can hear it in the coffee shops or on the Internet. As one blogger puts it, "Since there are five stages of grief, I have created the five stages of layoff:

1. Astonishment

2. Fear

3. Anger

4. See # 3

5. See # 4."

Different people obviously feel the shock of a job loss differently and circumstances play a key role. Has the employee managed to put aside some savings? Does he or she have a very young family? Are there other special considerations? Delving into these issues leads into the next phase-establishing clarity and priorities.

A healthy dose of career analysis can be a fruitful and empowering thing in the job transition process. It can be an opportunity to better align a career with true capabilities or genuine passion. It can point to the upgrading of skills. Growing attendance numbers at trades schools and other educational institutions indicate at least some portion of laid-off workers are taking up that option-especially those who were lured away from school by oil and gas work in the first place.

"Of course, you need to have the financial resources to make this kind of change," Fries notes.

A number of Fries´ clients decide they are open to contracting or consulting work. So one of the services Cenera offers is workshops on starting your own business. They cover the ins and outs of self-employment, from incorporating and marketing to tax planning. Sometimes, a three, six or nine-month contract turns into full-time work.

"The other things we help people with is identify transferable capabilities," Fries says. "So if they have an ability to manage projects in oil and gas, or understand balance sheets, or have computer skills, that´s all transferable to other industries."

But in an oil and gas town, leaving the industry can mean taking a pay cut. So only a few of Fries´ oil and gas clients take this route. Still, one of his client´s recently transitioned from the oilpatch into the not-for-profit sector. Another, an accomplished project engineer, also managed to have acquired a number of rental properties over the years.

"So now he´s thinking that as an interim measure he´ll focus on his rental business and wait for the economy and the project work to come back," Fries says.

This project engineer is more typical of the majority of Fries´ clients, at least in that he simply wants to find work in his chosen field of expertise. Of course others may not have the luxury to wait out the recession.

So establishing clarity can then lead to a plan. Marino Giancarlo, president of Saddle-ite Management Consulting-"we help our clients ‘get back in the saddle´"-says job transitioning is a "process that has both internal and external components." After the internal emotional phase comes the external phase of financial planning, budgeting, charting a best- and worst-case job hunt scenarios, unavoidable updating of the resumés and cover letters, and then the search.

When it actually comes time to looking for work, one thing quickly becomes apparent in talking to any HR consultant: the better your networking skills, the better your chances [are] of finding work.

"The people that are most successful [at] finding work are the ones that have good industry experience-20 to 25 years-and have done a really good job staying connected to their professional networks," Fries says. "They´re active in industry associations. They´re volunteering. They´ve got a good established network and they´ve been in touch with that network."

From this it follows that networking isn´t something a person starts doing only after losing a job. Networking is more like paying regular payments on an insurance policy that kicks in when a person is laid off, but also that pays dividends at any stage of a career.

Bob Michael, president of Management Resources, describes how networking efforts might gear up after a layoff: attend association meetings, have coffee with key contacts, call potential employers directly to ask if they have any challenges in filling the positions you are looking for. If not, who might be?

When looking for work, networking should also become a dimension of a person´s social life. If you are part of a running club or gym, let the people know who you are and what you are looking for. Consider making networking a habit even after finding work because, as Giancarlo puts it, "career management and career transitioning is a journey, not necessarily a destination."

Right now, an unemployed geologist may find it tough finding work since there´s so little exploration. An accountant may find work more easily. But vacancies are continually created by turnover, promotions, and new projects, Michael points out. Mergers and acquisitions are ongoing. Budgets are being built on the back of oil prices that have gelled in the $70 range. Even gas is notching up with the approach of winter. The economy is slowly, though maybe not so surely, heading into recovery.

Some companies are also seeing the downturn as an opportunity to high-grade their workforce and hire the best talent for their key positions while it´s available. After all, the same demographics that led to the recent labour shortage will kick in again when things turn-and with a vengeance this time, according to a recent Delloitte labour study.

"There´s work out there," Fries says. "But if you´re searching Internet job boards and newspapers, you´re competing with thousands [of] others and your chances aren´t as good as with networking."