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Management Dilemma! Help!
Sasha
#1 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 8:51:00 AM
Rank: Veteran


Joined: 9/5/2007
Posts: 627
I was tasked to conduct an independent business review for a local manufacturing company and manage the implementation of the recommendations. My findings led to a number of recommendations,which ultimately included staff rationalisation as a major and most important measure to mitigate the financial hemorrhage the company was suffering!

Now .....,I have to fire more than half the staff! During the review,I'd sat down with the employees to hear their views about the performance of the company and I was shocked at what they had to say! They'd gone for 3 months bila salaries,and even when paid,it was 8k,12k,14k! Very little money! I sympathised with them!Unfortunately,the law provides for payment of a maximum of 20k when you have to terminate employees on account of insolvency!

My heart tells me these guys deserve better (some have 20 years experience),but my head tells me I have a duty to my client (to save the company)!

Worse still,the production manager (God has a sense of humour),happens to be an old flame with whom things didn't end well! I have to fire him as his department is the worst performing!

What would you do? Any alternatives? The company is operating on a negative cash flow! They have very few alternative investments,so no overdiversification! My client is the secured lender and has refused to advance any more money to them! Sales can be improve but that would require a significant injection of cash,which my client has refused to do until cost-cutting measures are implemented!

Help!


Immorality: The morality of those who are having a better time!
Njunge
#2 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 9:17:00 AM
Rank: Elder


Joined: 2/7/2007
Posts: 11,935
Location: Nairobi
@Sasha,

You see dear,by firing some of the staff you will in the process save some staff.The other alternative is to keep them and let the entire lot go down with the company........I say fire...!!.....and start with your old flame for good old times sake......


Guka wa bijuti...
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
tuvok
#3 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 9:21:00 AM
Rank: Member


Joined: 5/2/2007
Posts: 536
That's quite a tricky one.

It seems that without letting some guys off,the company could go under.

Maybe making the situation clear to the guys who have to be let go,might ease the situation (a bit).
Goals
#4 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 9:24:00 AM
Rank: Member


Joined: 10/6/2008
Posts: 118
Review performance of employees and retain the best or else all will loose if the co. goes under!
PONDI
#5 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 9:38:00 AM
Rank: Veteran


Joined: 5/8/2007
Posts: 885
sasha..the world is a tough and cruel place. whoever paid you to do this job paid you in cold hard cash,expecting you would deliver a 'cold,nothing personal' objective report. fire the extra folks. starting with the useless ex. kazi ni kazi,no mucking around.

He who laughs last thinks slowest..
Blackberry
#6 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 9:46:00 AM
Rank: Member


Joined: 11/9/2007
Posts: 420
Location: Nairobi
and the bonus is in fireing the EX!! thats gratifying!!

Opinion is free, truth is sacred.




albertross
#7 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 10:08:00 AM
Rank: Member


Joined: 9/20/2007
Posts: 98
@ Sasha,don't look to get one back on the ex,it is demeaning..................but go for it,let him have it........

Poor performance in both places.....he must go.........and save the company by letting people go..........
Maybe as a compromise you could ask the client to retrain them............those under 40.........

Thinking is free...............so THINK!!
Sasha
#8 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 1:37:00 PM
Rank: Veteran


Joined: 9/5/2007
Posts: 627
Thank you guys for the moral support.

It is just so cruel and hard to tell a mother of 7 that despite working for 20 years and not being paid for 3 consecutive months ati 'kazi imeisha and for those 20 years, I'm only allowed by law to pay you a maximum of 20k!' Very sad!

Management thinkers! Mukiha, Wendz, JKMwatha! Any ideas on alternatives?

@Goals: That already been done. Unfortunately the best are also the highest earners and they are usually the first to go! Only those crucial to the functioning of the company cannot be fired!


Immorality: The morality of those who are having a better time!
Gordon Gekko
#9 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 1:53:00 PM
Rank: Elder


Joined: 5/27/2008
Posts: 3,760
What are the prospects of the company? Is the HR element the biggest cost item? Are other areas that are haemorrhaging cash? How did they get there the position they are at in the first place? Sales went down? Costs went up hence margins were squeezed?
Unfortunately,the longest workers are always the most expensive,and if the HR costs are significant,the first in first out theory must be used. Does the company rely on intellectual power,hence the longest serving staff are the most productive?
Alternatively,I remember when Sarova went through a crisis previously due to tourism downturn,they correctly surmised that future prospects were bright and they just had to whether the storm. They put their workers on leave shifts (two weeks work,two weeks leave etc.) until the business picked up. By doing this they retained their staff,boosted morale (no one went home) and are today doing well. Maybe this model can work.
Kwanini
#10 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 2:00:00 PM
Rank: Member


Joined: 1/28/2009
Posts: 353
Location: Cloud
@sasha
like a good surgeon yo got do the painful... cut the tumour... to avoid the tears and the usual lobbying prepare 2 or more ropes and let them chose which rope to hang to. its that plain. its a tough world. Remember the Employment Act,and above all you gotta do what has to be done.... now that old flame of yours.... Thats why you are Management!

For i am the master and the captain of my fate !
"For i am the master and the captain of my fate"
FundamentAli
#11 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 2:07:00 PM
Rank: Veteran


Joined: 11/4/2008
Posts: 1,289
Location: Nairobi
How can you fire the production manager? A manufacturing concern without a production manager? Are you planning to out source manufacturing? You cannot fire the production department. The company has to produce. Find out what is wrong with the department. It is likely they do not get the required support from management. Have lunch with your ex and let him tell you what is ailing the company. You have to get the whole story from Him. You could be looking at your Ex and thinking Cotcha. But my guess is that you have caught nothing yet. Look at the business. See what is needs to to keep going. Firing staff might not be the end of the problems.

Fundamentals + Sentiments = Position
Djinn
#12 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 2:11:00 PM
Rank: Elder


Joined: 11/13/2008
Posts: 1,565
Am not management guru but I'd not touch long standing (10-20 years) staff first.....severance,gratuity etc will cost more than letting go of new comers (3-5 years with the company). of course new comers costs less in the short term (lower pay,less benefits,etc).

Also...this seems to be cost cutting as part of the crisis.....thus measures should be short term till things improve....can management take pay cuts to serve others?

Next,detach yourself from the old flame and extinguish him - its just business after all.

The problem with equality is that we desire that it be with those that have more than us rather that those that have less
Wendz
#13 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 2:28:00 PM
Rank: Elder


Joined: 6/19/2008
Posts: 4,268
@Sasha

Good tricky one.... this is where you get your experience.

Lets see; you said you did a business review. From this,i assume you meant you look at all the areas of the business including the companies objectives,the enviroment the organisation is working in (helps you understand what is ailing the organisation),the entire industry and how their competitors are doing and if they are faced by similar problems,the internal matters i.e the products and how competitive they are,their competitive advantage,the HR,their costs,how their resource allocation is,etc and from all this,you felt that the HR is the one that had a problem. If this is the case,then you will have no choice but to do what is required to be done. If most of the costs are going to the HR which is not justified by what they are bringing in,then you will need to rationalise the HR... As for your oldtime flame,most probably he will say that you were doing it maliciously and wont forgive you for that (for a good reason anyway - we are talking of families and lost livelihood) but the most important thing is that you know you are doing it fairly and rationally. If it was someone else on his seat,would you have fired him based on performance or the facts that were collected? If yes,so it will still apply. Its hard to let people go but sometimes in management,you will have to face it.

Look at this way,you may fire them today to save the company and rehire them a year or so latter when the business picks or you may choose to hang on to them and bring down the entire company and there wont even be that future to hope for (lame excuse but may makes you feel better).

by the way,why 20k? I thought they are entitled to all their dues? How about even the 3 months in lieu of notice? dint they have some form of pension fund? Or were they casuals? It will also depend on how you handle the transition e.g,counseling etc.


Some deals are like glass. Sometimes it's better to leave them broken than try to hurt yourself putting it back together.
Obi 1 Kanobi
#14 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 2:33:00 PM
Rank: Elder


Joined: 7/23/2008
Posts: 3,017
Are you sure you know what you are doing? Are you like a receiver manager

You do realize if you terminate the employees,then you will have to pay them all their outstanding salaries plus some amount in lieu of notice (should be 15 days pay for every year of service) or as per their employment contracts.

The 20K max only applies when the company is under liquidation and payments henceforth follow a strict waterfall starting with debentureholders/secured lenders,KRA etc.

And why are you doing the firing,why can't you let management clean up their mess under your supervision so you don't have to look into the eyes of any single moms or ex's.

You sound like someone trying to get help with classwork. Sorry.


I guess if you can't win with facts,you can always pen bile-laced,xenophobic rants to distract everyone.
"The purpose of bureaucracy is to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline." James Collins
karis
#15 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 2:33:00 PM
Rank: Member


Joined: 9/14/2006
Posts: 10
Is the company in liquidation or receivership? Thats the only time that the limit of 20k applies - where the employees would be treated as preferential creditors. If the company has not been placed under receivership or liquidation,the employees are entitled to their terminal benefits per their terms of employment. Remember,when a receiver is appointed the first and most critical steps that he should have done was to secure all the assets of the company,inform the employees that their employment under the previous terms have ended and issue them with new contracts of employment,which would not be under any permanent terms. This way the employees are prepared for the eventuality. Four years ago I was involved in a liquidation and if you post your email address I would be glad to share a few tips on staff lay-offs and other performance enhancement strategies that I used.
eli
#16 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 2:56:00 PM
Rank: Member


Joined: 6/17/2008
Posts: 294
Save the client. Fire the redundant,non - performing staff!

But you shall remember the LORD your God,for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth,that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers,as it is this day. Deu 8:18
Sasha
#17 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 3:19:00 PM
Rank: Veteran


Joined: 9/5/2007
Posts: 627
@ Wendz! All that is done! As I indicated the company is operating on a negative cash flow. The biggest liability is the HR! The total payroll totals to 2.3 million. While doing the review, I realised that there was too much idle time, too many casuals (the casual payroll adds up to about 300k every week), and some guys who earn 200k yet their deliverables do not match their salaries. I have considered marketing the company as a going concern but that is going to ellicit a civil response from the directors (which I'm trying to avoid). The first thing in a turnaround is to find out the cause of the financial woes and stop the hemorrhage! The hemorrhage is centered at HR! Good points nonetheless, I will take them into mind!

@Obi & karis: I'm not as experienced as I'd like to be, but I'm learning! Thank you for your points. I said the company is insolvent! The Companies' Act provides for such rules i.e. four months' salary or 20k which is the lesser! My first recommendation was receivership, but my client was of the opinion that this would adversely affect the company's PR. So they've gone for Administrative Receivership (AR) where the directors cede all administrative powers but retain statutory powers in the company.

The Employment Act provides for one month pay in lieu of notice, and gratuity which will be paid from the funds coming into the hands of the AR. But the company has no money! Has been operating on overdrafts. The staff is demoralised as a result of unpaid salaries.

On the Production Manager! All production activities have been stopped. The company cannot buy raw materials as the suppliers have denied them credit. So the production is idle. Production efficiency (as compared to the industry, considering the age of the machinery) has been at a paltry 60%! The wastes are astronomical! He has to go! That one, I've decided!

Why don't I let management handle the lay-offs? Because I'm responsible for the turnaround of the company! I make the decisions!


Immorality: The morality of those who are having a better time!
Obi 1 Kanobi
#18 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 4:07:00 PM
Rank: Elder


Joined: 7/23/2008
Posts: 3,017
@ Sasha

I think you still need to do more ASAP. let me give you areas you need to critically analyse.

1. You said the cash leakage is in HR,this is wrong,as of now the cash leakage is all over the company as there is NO PRODUCTION!!!!

2. Your client is not being very clear in what he wants,the best option for him is to go for an immediate receivership in order to safe guard the company's assets,remember the more you have employees around earning free money,the more you are losing an asset called money coz THERE IS NO PRODUCTION!!!!!

3. What PR does your lender want to preserve when you have stated clearly that production stopped.

If I were you I would present the following 2 options to the lender.

a) Go for full receivership and have private guards secure the company's premises immediately,nobody goes in or out. Then commence liqudation procedures.

b) If the lender feels that the company can be revived,then the best thing to do is

i) to send all the staff you have identified as unnecessary on their annual leave.

ii) Review the remaining employees and have all those with unutilised leave days use them up (management always accumulate leave days),

iii) get rid of all casuals.

iv) Re-assign employees to different duties (e.g have the cash accountant moved to GL etc,to reduce incidence of misappropriation,this will also help you identify the least versatile for later culling)

v) Have the lender re-start production immediately before the markets are taken up by competitors,keep production at demand levels to avoid accumulating inventory,but at a minimum above breakeven point to avoid losses.

vi) After all this is done,you can invite directors and work out some restructuring .

I honestly don't understand even how you can be allowed to do all the above without the directors consent,they would either fisrt consent to all the above or the lender would have to place the company under receivership.

The second option almost always never works,good luck



I guess if you can't win with facts,you can always pen bile-laced,xenophobic rants to distract everyone.
"The purpose of bureaucracy is to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline." James Collins
mlefu
#19 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2009 5:17:00 PM
Rank: Elder


Joined: 2/11/2007
Posts: 1,680
Location: nairobi
i wld go the gordon way.

PS..@ all 'business' guys..cant you summarize your points?..damn!!!!

muthomi mugi aiikagia maitho kabere...
Jokimy
#20 Posted : Saturday, April 18, 2009 5:19:00 AM
Rank: Member


Joined: 3/26/2009
Posts: 15
@sasha
How can this manufacturing company survive when:
1. Production is zero
2. Casuals are paid equivalent of more than 50% of payroll?

Do they still have products in the market? How is the demand or market share? What is the cost of production and the cost of the 'production waste'? Will firing half the workforce improve the cashflow?

Consider the above and make an informed decision.

The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty,but those of everyone who is hasty,surely to poverty.
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