Knowledge is Power: How to stay layoff-proof in a down economy

By Allan Maurer, Tech Journal South

Staying valuable to your employer when layoffs are rampant may seem like an uphill battle. In these slower economic times, many are wondering how to keep from becoming another name on the unemployment list. While there is no magic formula for keeping your job, Bruce Culbert, CEO of iSymmetry and myCRMcareer offers several tips for making yourself more layoff-proof.

“First,” he says, “be sensitive that you’re in a difficult environment. People too often get caught up in ‘woe is me, what shoe is going to drop next’ thinking and get distracted. They bring bad attention to themselves. This is not a time to do that. Be empathetic to the pressures your company is under and figure out ways to add extra value. Certainly don’t get distracted.”

“Take initiative to learn on your own,” says Culbert. “It’s important to invest your time in your career by getting the latest technology training even if you have to pay for it and do it on your own time. Develop expertise in line with what your business is about. Develop skills around your business.”

Culbert says it is a good idea to find out what is going on upstream and downstream. “Understand the concerns and processes of your co-workers. What’s going to happen in a down economy is that people are going to disappear. Management now has to find a person who can do two or three things while the business is at a reduced staff level. When a company has to lay people off, it will keep those who are more valuable overall.”

Culbert, who has been with IBM, BearingPoint and Salesforce.com, launched five different high technology companies in Atlanta, all geared toward contract IT outsourcing and services for people in customer relationship management sales, marketing and services.

“Be flexible in accepting work assignments,” he says. “Be willing to accept responsibility for others who have been laid off and take on some new responsibilities because there is not budget to hire.”

He adds, “Be a problem solver. Don’t complain about the difficult circumstance the economy may bring upon your company. Look for solutions to problems. Know your business and how your role impacts customers and the bottom line. Even if you assume a specific IT role in your company, you should think like the CEO and see the big picture.”

Even if you do everything right, however, Culbert notes that “Sometimes you can’t help it, the numbers get to you. That’s just a reality of what’s going on now. We had a client who had a 15 percent across the board cut. It went from cautiously optimistic to super pessimistic in two months.”

Culbert says there is an upside to the down economy. “You see a lot of people go into consulting or form small corporations as individuals or with another person.” People laid off often do not face a lot of restrictions, he points out.

“They can gout and compete against former employers the next day in many cases.”

It also allows companies that are doing well to strengthen their own staffs, he notes.

Adopted from Allan Maurer’s Tech Journal South article entitled “Stay layoff-proof in a down economy,” December 22, 2008. allan@techjournalsouth.com