Talking HR 019: Involving employees in spending cuts

The recession continues to bite around the world and the public in the UK and Ireland at least are waking up to the scale of cuts required in the public service. In Ireland, €5bn needs to be cut from public spending and staff levels may need to be cut by 17,000, including teachers and the police. In this environment, it's critical that all employers are able to engage their employees to ensure savings are made in the most appropriate and effective way, with as little pain as possible for all involved. Many employers are reducing salary costs, and some reports suggest that a quarter of workers in the UK have had their pay cut. Other organisations are trying to involve their employees in flexible working. Some of these attempts seems to be working well, others have met with rather poorer results (an example is British Airways' rather bizarre request to ask staff to work for free!). In this show, we will discuss some of these challenges and experiences, and suggest ways that employers can best trim their budgets with their employees' support.