Selection Criteria for Employee Layoffs

1101 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Employee retention and turnover analysis

Industry or global shut downs, cost cutting, and spin offs are just a few reasons why employees are laid off. Fallon and McConnell (2007) argue that companies conduct layoffs primarily due to economic issues. Today, many organizations are being forced to reduce their workforce due to these factors. However, before layoffs occur in organizations, there are numerous steps that have to be taken to ensure effectiveness in the process. The selection criteria are the most important aspects of organizations’ initial decision to conduct workforce reduction. Decisions regarding to which employees leave or stay would need to be established before conducting layoffs. Personnel Policy Service Inc (n.d) states that employers should use discretion in determining which employees to layoff. In choosing employees for termination, they suggest that companies use criteria, such as length of service (seniority), performance rating and merit, job status, and job skills.

Seniority is a common selection criterion used by many companies in determining which employees remain.”Of all the criteria, seniority is the most objective” (Segal, 2001, p.199). Under seniority-based layoffs, the most recently hired employees are the first to be laid off. Both Fallon and McConnell (2007) and Personnel Policy Service Inc (n.d) state that using seniority is advantageous because it is a fair and safe means of determining who to layoff. Personnel Policy Service Inc (n.d) argues that it is also very easy to implement seniority as a selection criterion. However, using seniority as the sole selection criterion has it disadvantages. Companies that use seniority as their sole selection criterion run the risk of losing employees that have expertise, initiative, and leader...

... middle of paper ...

...g layoffs, it is important that selection criteria be established. A hybrid approach that applies selection criteria seniority and performance should be used in regards to layoff decisions. As, McConnell (2006) states, it is extremely important that these selection criteria be applied consistently in all layoff decisions to avoid employee claims of discrimination.

Works Cited

Fallon, L.F, & McConnell, C.R. (2007). Human resource management in health care. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett publishers.

McConnell, C, R. (2006). Umiker management skills for the new health care supervisor (4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett publishers.

Personnel policy services inc (n.d).Common questions in layoffs. Retrieved from http://www.ppspublishers.com/articles/layoffs.htm

Segal, J. A. (2001). Workplace tribal councils. Hrmagazine, 46(6), 197. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

Show More
Related

  • How Cabela's maintain competitive advantage through human capital

    2621 Words  | 6 Pages

    Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2010). Human resource management (13th ed.). Mason, OH: Thomas/South-western

    Read More

  • Reduction in Force

    1533 Words  | 4 Pages

    McConnell, C, R. (2006). Umiker management skills for the new health care supervisor (4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers

    Read More

  • Human Resources Management at REI, Inc.

    2489 Words  | 5 Pages

    Noe, Raymond A., et al. Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2010. Print.

    Read More

  • Ban The Box Case Analysis

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2014). Fundamentals of human resource management (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Team Members in Health Care Organization

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    McConnell, C, R. (2006). Umiker management skills for the new health care supervisor (4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers

    Read More

  • The Disadvantages Of Unions And Size Advantage Strikes?

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    For the employer, the disadvantages come in the form of higher wages, strikes and decreased human resource control. Many unions negotiate workplace rules that promote and protect workers based on seniority, rather than merit. It means that if you need to terminate a number of workers, you must terminate those workers you’ve hired most recently, not those workers who are the least productive (Ashe-Edmunds, 2014). The concept affects the efficiency of the organization, which directly affects profits.

    Read More

  • Legal Issues In Reduction Of Workforce

    1635 Words  | 4 Pages

    Length of service should play a role in making decisions for a reduction-in-force in a non-union organization but it should be taken into consideration along with skill level. An employee should not keep his or her job simply because they have been with the organization for several years. Each employee would need to be reviewed not only on how long they have been with the organization, but on his or her performance as well.

    Read More

  • Human Resource Leadership - Worker Retention Programs

    2843 Words  | 6 Pages

    Economic growth and employee turnover is one of the most critical issue facing corporate leaders today. As a result there is a shortage of skilled workers. We have explored several aspects of the workforce stability. The employee retention issue continues in the face of unprecedented churning in the employment market. Human Resource Managers are provided with a wide range of tools to control employee turnover. Workforce stability can be a HR Manager’s competitive advantage in these turbulent times. This is one of the hottest topics for corporate leaders in all fields in the United States and globally.

    Read More

  • Strategic Human Resource Management

    1221 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fisher, C., Schoefeldt, L., & Shaw, J. (1996). Human resource management. (3rd Edition). Princeton, NJ: Houghton Mifflin Company.

    Read More

  • Voluntary And Involuntary Turnover Case Study

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    Voluntary and involuntary turnover have an effect on organizations. Rapid changes in job descriptions, organizational structures, and inter-organizational competitiveness increase the importance of studying turnover and its relationship with organizational change. According to Leana and Van Buren (1999), "the loss of key network members can severely damage an organization 's social fabric and perhaps eradicate its social capital altogether." When businesses lose a high number of employees, problems can occur, costing the company time and money. Some of the costs incurred are associated with training, drug testing, physicals, and orientations to hire replacements that may take several months to learn the job and to achieve competency. There is a saying, “Good help is hard to find---and harder to keep”. This saying refers to good organizations trying to reduce turnover when the competition for retaining good employees is intense.

    Read More

  • Human Resource Management and Health Care

    1335 Words  | 3 Pages

    Human Resource Management is defined as the process of managing human talent to achieve an organization’s objectives (Bohlander & Snell, 2010). A more detailed definition is given by the Society for Human Resource Management which states that “human resource management is the function within an organization that focuses on recruiting, managing, and providing direction for the people who work in the organization” (Schmidt, 2011). The role that human resource management plays is the most vital in all business organizations. This importance is easily seen in running a health care facility. Human resource in health care is important in improving the overall patient health outcomes and the delivery of health care services.

    Read More

  • Employee Recruitment and Selection

    1672 Words  | 4 Pages

    The word recruitment is described as the procedure of choosing the workers and then registering them for satisfying the openings in the business. The procedure is employed to distinguish the possible citizens who are appropriate for carrying out a definite job. The procedure endeavors to discover the most excellent individuals for the job. Conversely, selection is a procedure of choosing the individuals by scrutinizing them on diverse standards. Selection is referred to as the preliminary phase or footstep of employment since for hiring the novel workers ' selection is executed first. In addition, no set criterion for the procedure of selection exists. The workers are chosen consistent with the nature of work in addition to because of their skills and proficiencies. Recruitment is carried out in money-spinning way and inside a restricted time phase. For several institutes, it is the key and main action that is executed since the selection of workers is of much significance. Clearly, the employee recruitment and selection takes part in an immense role in preserving the company’s position. Erroneous selection and recruitment influences the overall position and worth of the company. Therefore, Recruitment and selection are the procedures that are linked to any company’s human resource department.

    Read More

  • Employee Security And Job Security

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    673), retention management must be based on three types of turnover, voluntary, discharged, and downsizing. Not all businesses are freighted by turnovers, for some it is the way of life and cost is built into the budget. However, for others any type of high turnover can be detrimental for company profit, employee wage and benefits offered. First, let’s take a look at voluntary and involuntary turnover that affects retention. Voluntary turnovers are caused by many different reasons. Turnover may result from topics such as job dissatisfaction, job mismatching, knowing that job opportunities are plentiful. Two reasons that I will discuss more are micromanagement and employee loyalty. Like stated before in the introduction, when employees are dissatisfied, possibly due to being placed in an area that doesn’t fit with their skill set, one is more likely to seek new employment. Another part of turnover is discharging and downsizing. Discharge is just that, members being discharged due to discipline and job performance. While downsizing turnover is a result of business being overstaffed (Heneman III, Judge, Kammeyer-Mueller, 2015, pg. 675). There are also other reasons for voluntarily employee turnover, such as generation differences when it relates to employment. The current generations are more likely to see a job as one piece in their life puzzle rather than as the first, indispensable anchor piece without

    Read More

  • Human Resource Challenges of the 21st Century

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    Noe, Raymond A., John R. Hollenbeck, Barry Gerhart, and Patrick M. Wright. Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage. 7th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010. Print.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Human Resources

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    Massey, R. (1994). Taking a strategic approach to human resource management. Health manpower management, 20, 27-30.

    Read More

More about Selection Criteria for Employee Layoffs

Open Document