Page 172 - Socially-responsible-restructuring-Effective-strategies-for-supporting-redundant-workers

Socially responsible restructuring
Effective strategies for supporting redundant workers

From the case studies, a number of cross-cutting issues emerge for
understanding the enablers, in engaging career guidance in the support of those
at risk of job loss from restructuring.
Preparation for socially responsible practices to support future restructuring
needs of enterprises, seems to be limited; where this occurs it is rooted in wider
bargaining traditions that do not customarily cross national boundaries. Although
the evidence from the review in this respect is limited, it seems that better
practices applied by a specific multi-national enterprise in one country, do not
usually translate into front-line support in plants of the same enterprise in another
country.
Enterprise proactivity, beyond meeting minimum statutory requirements,
seems to be atypical, especially for socially responsible career guidance
practices. There are important exceptions, notably for some enterprises in
Germany and Sweden. In the latter, in contrast to other national contexts in much
of Europe, this stems partly from the limited role of the PES in restructuring
processes since the mid 1990s, beyond some statutory notification. The
adjustment to restructuring is seen to fall with the social partners, but proactive
arrangements are discretionary.
A further model for proactive responses is the transfer company arrangements
in Germany. However, here too these arrangements and the use of effective
career guidance support within them are not universal and rarely covered
employees from SMEs.
Where there were proactive arrangements by enterprises, invariably as a
result of social partner negotiations, guidance and associated support services
are typically more intensive and usually rely heavily on specialist contractors. For
transition or transfer companies and other intermediary agencies, having in-depth
knowledge of current and likely future requirements in local, regional and,
sometimes, national and European labour markets is an essential success factor.
This requires active research and analysis, working with companies to gain ‘real-
time’ understanding of where job opportunities are, and not just second-hand
knowledge of trends data.
In both proactive and reactive responses by enterprises in restructuring
situations, most adjustment is undertaken in partnership with external bodies
including PES, fully or partly publicly-funded. These are important features of
services that go beyond enterprises’ capacities, and contribute to cost-
effectiveness in provision by harnessing the mainstream services, resources and
expertise of core public agencies. Success factors of such collaborations, with
PES and with other external services and suppliers, include sound preparation
and planning to build clear working arrangements, and clarity in roles and

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