Managing Workforce Reductions the Right Way

As a business leader or employer, you understand the importance of creating a cohesive workforce that works together to drive progress and innovation. It can be difficult if layoffs are necessary or there is a need to decrease labour costs due to economic pressures. As the employer, you want to ensure a smooth transition for departing employees, maintain trust and productivity from remaining employees, and reduce stress from HR teams and managers. And while the situation may feel overwhelming, it is possible to manage workforce reductions in a way that enables faster transitions for outgoing employees, minimizes risk, and maximizes productivity of the go-forward workforce.

Outplacement services can help ease the pain of workplace reductions for all involved. A well-thought-out reorganization can both enable operational efficiencies and reinforce your organization’s values. Organizations embarking on transformational journeys should consider three distinct audiences as they consider how to operationalize the new structure:

Departing Employees
Remaining Employees
Leaders

Here is what you should know about using outplacement services during restructuring events.

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How to Support Departing Employees During Layoffs

It is important to support your outgoing employees during workforce reductions. After all, they’ll continue to be brand ambassadors long after they leave. One way to do this is by providing them with outplacement services that include assessments, technology, and experienced coaches to help them navigate to their next role. This can minimize anxiety and stress during a difficult time while providing them with valuable resources on their journey forward.

Employers can benefit from quickly finding departing employees new opportunities in several ways.

It helps protect the employer’s reputation within the industry and with customers, by demonstrating their commitment to supporting
their workforce – even through transition.
When remaining employees see their colleagues land their next role quickly, it encourages a more positive work environment for those
who remain, bolstering morale which can help maintain productivity and foster team collaboration.
It reduces unemployment costs associated with layoffs and ultimately saves money for the company in the long run.

How to Support Remaining Employees During Layoffs

The remaining staff will likely be feeling the effects of layoffs as well – whether it be fear or distrust in the company they work for or a decrease in morale due to fewer colleagues around them. Employers should continue to focus on maintaining trust between themselves and their employees by keeping communication lines open and being transparent about changes in the organization as much as possible. Managers should also make sure that employees have the necessary support systems in place through touchpoints such as team meetings and one-on-one check-ins, so that they can safely express how they are feeling and remain productive at work.

Employers can benefit from supporting remaining employees during layoffs in several ways.

It helps bolster loyalty and trust between employers and existing employees, which can lead to improved productivity in the workplace.
It encourages a positive work environment for remaining employees by providing them with access to additional resources such as job counselling and career advice.
It may make the process of recruiting new talent easier by promoting a positive company culture that attracts top talent.

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How to Support Leaders During Layoffs

Leaders are often tasked with making tough decisions when it comes to workforce reductions, which can lead to elevated levels of stress for them, too. Companies should provide managers with tools such as training sessions or workshops so that they are equipped with enough knowledge about how best to handle layoffs within their teams. Far too often, Managers are left in the cold while the organization focuses on the mechanics of the workforce reduction – meanwhile, Managers are tasked with bringing the vision to life with little-to-no support.

Leaders need resources that equip them to prepare the organization for the change, effectively communicate the why(s) behind the change, and earn the support (dare I say belief) of the organization in the go-forward strategy. Emailed generic “talking points” pages simply don’t prepare the Leaders to truly lead during this critical time for the company. Leaders need more.

Consider boosting the available mental health support available in your employee assistance program or engage with a resource specifically to support your managers during the restructuring. Having additional mental health resources available to your managers could significantly help them manage the onslaught of emotions they will encounter during this difficult time and even reduce stress. Providing rich coaching and learning experiences for your Leaders will enable them to more effectively lead through transformation.

Restructuring events also place a tremendous amount of stress on an organization’s HR team. Outplacement services provide the HR team with professional support in managing the layoff process, ensuring that employees receive the guidance and resources they need to transition smoothly to new opportunities. This can alleviate some of the burden on the HR team and allow them to focus on other critical tasks.

Ultimately, using outplacement services during workforce reductions can help both the departing and remaining employees, as well as HR teams and leaders. Outplacement solutions, like those offered by Right Management, support the entire organization - helping ensure a smooth transition for exiting employees, minimizing impact to an organization’s reputation, and enabling the go-forward organization to deliver its business objectives.

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The Power of Knowing Your Team

From Stagnation to Agility: The power of knowing your teamWith more and more businesses citing a reluctance to hire as a result of challenging market conditions, leaders must shift their attention to their existing workforce – focusing instead on understanding where their skillsets lie and how to help them fulfil their full potential.Aligning leadership strategies with comprehensive talent assessment and development plans fosters internal mobility and workforce agility, and yet many organisations continue to underuse such interventions, resulting in a workforce that is stuck in the status quo, unable to clearly see or pursue growth opportunities.Three trends that are limiting employee mobilityThe world of work looks different now – Flatter organisational structures have limited employees’ ability to take vertical career steps. Our latest research revealed that employees have mostly come to terms with this reality, focusing their attention on developing within their roles before vying for a promotion – 29% of employees said they’re looking to take on more responsibilities in their current role. However, over the past 5 years, just 16% of people have applied for an internal opportunity; and so it begs the question – are business leaders doing enough to understand the aspirations of their people, and facilitate internal mobility in a flatter world?Misinformed assumptions about their people –While 88% of leaders believe their employees are actively looking for career opportunities within the business, only 62% of employees agree with this sentiment. This disparity suggests that leaders lack critical data around who within their business is actually pursuing career development and mobility, and are instead making blind assumptions about their workforce, resulting in misaligned and ill-informed talent decisions. As a result, the vast majority (71%) of employees aren’t receiving the support they need to grow their careers effectively, and businesses aren’t generating a desirable ROI.Leaders are too afraid of upsetting the apple cart – Through its capacity in facilitating increased self-awareness, talent assessment is a natural enabler of employee growth and movement – so why are so many people stuck in their current role? When asked what their primary reason for talent interventions is, 32% of leaders said retention – a significantly higher proportion than the 19% who said, “to encourage internal mobility”. So, even if they are incorporating assessment into their talent strategy, having such a hyper focus on retention means business leaders are likely failing to utilise talent insights as a means to encourage workforce agility, leaving over a third of employees blind to the opportunities available to them within their organisation.How data driven organisations create agile workforcesAssessment is extremely powerful in generating alignment between organisations and their workforce, enabling both parties to succeed. Our research revealed that 46% of employees want to be assessed in order to understand their current skills, with over half (51%) also looking for workshops and learning programmes to help them bridge any development gaps. If they wish to avoid stagnation, organisations must recognise and encourage this desire for learning in their people; utilising assessment to better understand their employees’ career aspirations, so that line managers can signpost their team members to targeted development support, such as coaching, and internal opportunities.Whether the end goal is to select the best people for new positions, identify and develop existing talent, or uncover critical development gaps in target populations, talent assessment can provide important data and insights into the developmental needs and goals of a workforce. This information is crucial to any business being able to make informed talent decisions – ensuring they provide the right support, to the right people, at the right time.Unfortunately, as found by Gartner, only 33% of leaders think their organisation is sufficiently using data to inform their workforce planning decisions – suggesting assessment remains an underutilised intervention. And when employees do not feel empowered to learn and grow, they leave – with 47% of individuals unhappy with their career support now actively job hunting.To dig into further insights on workforce mobility from over 4,000 respondents, read our new report – From Stagnation to Agility.

ManpowerGroup Ireland Q2 2025 Employment Outlook Report Now Available

TECH SECTOR TOPS LIST OF BUSINESSES HIRING FOR GROWTH IN Q2 2025Among firms increasing headcounts, 38% report business growth as the primary driver behind hiringThe Information Technology sector reports the strongest appetite, with 55% planning to hire driven by organisational growthHowever, a record 83% of businesses continue to report difficulty finding candidates with the skills they needDownload our ManpowerGroup Q2 2025 Employment Outlook Report HereA quarter of Irish businesses plan to increase headcount in the second quarter, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey. Ireland’s national Net Employment Outlook for Q2 2025 is +25%, remaining unchanged on last quarter.Among employers increasing headcount, 38% report organisational growth as the primary driver, with 31% reporting backfilling vacancies, and 28% listing changing skills needs as the primary driver. However, with 83% of businesses reporting difficulty finding candidates with the right skills and unemployment at a 25-year low, businesses wanting to hire will need to explore a wide range of talent attraction strategies to meet their skills needs.The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey is based on responses from 420 employers across Ireland. It tasks whether they intend to hire additional workers or reduce the size of their workforce in the coming quarter, April to June. It is the most comprehensive, forward-looking employment survey of its kind. In the latest survey, employers were also asked to indicate the reasons driving their decision to increase or decrease headcount.The Dublin-based Information Technology sector reports a Net Employment Outlook of +28%, with 55% of businesses increasing headcount reporting organisational growth demanding new headcount as the primary reason for hiring. This is compared with 20% adding headcount to backfill vacancies, and 31% hiring due to changing skills needs.“The tech sector is reporting an appetite for growth like no other.” said Jonny Edgar, Managing Director, ManpowerGroup Ireland. “Following the post-pandemic scramble for talent which resulted in over-hiring and a long stretch of hiring freezes, the sector has now stabilised in a strong position to grow sustainably. We’ve seen sharp increase in appetite for candidates with AI skills, alongside continued demand for cybersecurity, cloud, and data specialists.”The Industrials & Materials sector – spanning engineering, construction, and manufacturing – reports a Net Employment Outlook of +32%. Employers adding new staff in this industry report changing skills needs as the primary driver (36%), followed by organisational growth (24%), and backfilling vacancies (24%).“We’re seeing an expansion in manufacturing first hand, with several of our largest clients currently ramping up hiring levels due to increased demand, alongside recently expanded manufacturing lines in Ireland from overseas businesses. All signs point to this trend continuing in Q2.” Edgar explained.The ManpowerGroup 2025 Talent Shortage report found 78% of Information Technology businesses and 82% of Industrials & Materials employers in Ireland found difficulty finding candidates with the skills they were looking for. While employers across Ireland reported IT & data skills were hardest to find, followed by operations & logistics and engineering skills.“There’s a strong appetite to growth across Ireland. However, demand for IT & Engineering skills vastly outpaces the number of candidates who have what employers are looking for – with our 2025 Talent Shortage report finding talent scarcity has risen from 13% a decade ago, to a record 83% this year. Employers who want to meet their skills needs and thrive in 2025 cannot afford to wait for ready-made candidates to walk through the door“We advise employers to place less emphasis on traditional requirements that are holding hiring back, like past job titles and arbitrary years of experience. Instead, employers should focus on hiring candidates with potential, and transferrable skills, who just need a bit of upskilling to become the right fit. The only way out of this talent shortage is through investment in skills,” Edgar concluded.Download our ManpowerGroup Q2 2025 Employment Outlook Report Here

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Manpower Ireland 2025 Salary Guide

Maximize Your Hiring & Career Decisions with the Manpower Ireland Salary Guide 2025Staying competitive in today’s job market means understanding salary trends, industry benchmarks, and hiring expectations. That’s why we’re excited to introduce the Manpower Ireland Salary Guide 2025—your go-to resource for making informed decisions in recruitment and career planning.What’s Inside the Salary Guide?Our latest Salary Guide provides comprehensive insights across key industries, including:✅Marketing✅Logistics & Supply Chain✅Accounting & Finance✅Sales✅Engineering✅Manufacturing✅Life Sciences✅Construction✅AdministrationThis guide offers essential salary insights to help: 📌Employers benchmark salaries to attract and retain top talent.📌Job seekers negotiate fair compensation based on market data.📌Hiring managers & HR professionals stay ahead of industry salary trends.Why This MattersThe right salary insights empower businesses to make smarter hiring decisions while ensuring candidates find roles that align with their value. Whether you're looking to hire or considering a career move, this guide provides a data-driven approach to navigating the job market in 2025.Get Your Copy Today📩 Download the Manpower Ireland Salary Guide 2025 now.🔁Share this resource with your network to help others make informed career and hiring decisions!For more details or to discuss how this guide can support your recruitment strategy, reach out to our team at [email protected], or call 01 645 5200.Manpower Ireland 2025 Salary Guide

Why are employees becoming stagnant?

From Stagnation to AgilityAs organisations navigate an ever-changing workforce landscape, balancing employee aspirations with organisational needs is key to driving success.While businesses clearly recognise retention as a key goal, they often overlook employees' desire for personal growth and skill development. As a result, effective career interventions that support individual and career growth, such as tailored learning programmes and coaching, remain underutilised – leaving many employees and organisations at risk of stagnation.So what’s holding everyone back?Employees are simply happy where they are – Our latest research found that while 77% of employees plan to stay with their current employer, just 18% are considering an internal role move in the next 2 years. While a desire to avoid burnout and maintain a healthy work-life balance are undoubtedly contributing to this trend, this statistic also suggests that a lack of career support has left many individuals unaware of the transferability of their skills. They cannot see how or where they could potentially move internally, and so are opting to stick rather than twist – playing it safe in an unpredictable world.Shirked responsibility for career progression – Employees believe employers are responsible for their future career path – a problematic sentiment in itself; but perhaps even more worrying is the fact that 66% of business leaders agree, and yet our research found that half of leaders say they aren’t planning to make significant investment in career interventions for their people in the next 5 years. For an organisation to thrive, it needs its people to be mobilised and working at their full potential, and so surely the least employers could do is hold the door open for those looking to move forward.Leaders’ short-sightedness is blocking development – When asked what their desired outcome for talent interventions is, 32% of leaders said employee retention – compared to just 19% of respondents who said “to encourage internal mobility”. Organisations appear to be prioritising the short-term need of having employees maintain productivity in their roles right now, instead of looking to futureproof their workforce and enable ongoing development. If employees are receiving zero encouragement from their leaders to pursue learning and growth opportunities, it’s no surprise less than 1 in 5 are looking to challenge the status quo and explore internal mobility.A lack of communication when implementing support – While talent interventions such as coaching have long been proven to have significant benefits for employees, our latest research discovered that 1 in 3 employees said their career support actually had a negative impact on their careers. When implementing career interventions, its integral that business leaders provide context and clear communication as to why. If an employee is told to engage with a development initiative without any explanation, they may perceive this as a signal that they’re viewed as an underperformer and under scrutiny from the leadership team. Fearing they’re soon to be forced out of the organisation, many may choose to get ahead of the game and leave; meaning an individual loses trust in career support, while their employer loses a talented individual, and all over a lack of communication.How coaching enables people and businesses Despite coaching being a key driver of employees’ appetite for growth, with 44% of coached individuals expressing interest in further training and development initiatives, vs. 30% of those who haven’t been coached, just 20% of respondents say their employer has provided coaching support to help them in their career.Whether it’s targeted 1:1 development coaching, team sessions, or on a peer-to-peer basis, coaching can empower individuals and teams to push the boundaries and achieve their true potential. A coach could help an employee identify and understand the transferability of their skills and pursue internal mobility opportunities; or encourage greater career ownership by helping people create targeted action plans that are aligned to their career aspirations. Insights generated from these sessions also empower employees to speak with their managers and leaders about their career– helping leaders better understand the aspirations of their people and generate improved ROI for the support they’re providing.When talent interventions such as coaching are implemented with clear communication – immediately dispelling any potential misunderstandings of hidden agendas – people and organisations thrive. Our new research found that 22% of employees said more human interventions such as coaching would make the career support available to them more impactful. And with digital coaching platforms making the support more accessible than ever, there’s really no good reason for businesses not to invest in support for their people.To find out more about how career interventions such as assessment and coaching can enable workforce agility.

A Day in the Life as a Production Operator with Medtronic

A Day in the Life as a Production Operator with MedtronicManpower Ireland is continuously hiring for Production Operators across various Shifts (Day, Evening, Night) for Medtronic for their Galway & Athlone offices. Medtronic is a Global Medical Device company that helps millions of patients around the world. Do you want to see what a Day in the Life as a Production Operator with Medtronic looks like? Check out this video below, that shows you exactly this. Apply today via the link below or refer a friend who may have an interest in joining Medtronic as a Production Operator. https://www.manpower.ie/jobs/medtronic

Talent Shortages Report Ireland 2025

2025 Ireland Talent Shortage ReportWhat You Will Find In This Report:Talent shortages by sector, region, and company sizeTop five hardest to find skillsRegions that are struggling in talent attractionHow employers are tackling talent shortagesHow to improve the hiring process to match the marketDownload Our ManpowerGroup 2025 Talent Shortage ReportIs Ireland past the peak of the talent shortage?For over 14 years, ManpowerGroup Ireland has surveyed employers across the country to ask how much difficulty they are having filling vacancies due to a shortage of skilled talent in the labour market. This report explores where skills gaps are widest, which skills are most scarce, and what employers are doing to address these shortages. The research suggest that talent shortages are at record highs in Ireland at the moment and this trend will likely continue throughout 2025.Managing Directors Message, Jonny Edgar, ManpowerGroup Ireland"The ongoing demand in the Ireland talent market means companies will continue to struggle to attract key talent in the current business environment. Talent shortages have now reached record highs with 83% of employers across all sectors and organisational sizes finding the current talent market challenging. Irish companies have worked hard to drive positive change amidst major challenges; by upskilling, reskilling, seeking out new talent pools and through smarter use of technology. Although any movement towards closing the skills gap is positive, other indicators point to an ongoing, challenging talent market in which organisations will need to develop more innovative and sustained talent attraction strategies in order to be successful in their organisational goals”.Download Our ManpowerGroup 2025 Talent Shortage ReportGet In Touch with ManpowerGroup Ireland Today

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How to Practice Gratitude at Work

How to Practice Gratitude at WorkGrateful people are successful people.“Gratitude is the ultimate performance-enhancing substance at work,” says Professor Robert Emmons, a gratitude researcher and professor of psychology at UC Davis.Employees who excel at work don’t wait for something good to happen to be thankful; it’s often the other way around. To get yourself on the gratitude track, here are ways to increase gratitude in the workplace.Notice the small thingsAt the end of the work day, make a list of three things that went right. Even if it was a challenging day, anyone can find three positives, such as finishing an important email, booking a meeting or committing to taking a lunch break. Put this in a prominent place at your desk where you’ll see it when you arrive the next day. Be thankful for small wins and use the moment to start the day with momentum.Compliment a colleagueIt’s easy to get wrapped up in our routine and challenges we face. But even when you’re busy – and especially when you’re busy – pausing to notice the accomplishments of a colleague and thank them will lighten your load. When you pay attention to catch your co-workers doing something right, you’re less likely to negatively stew over your problems. The positivity will be reflected back on your mood and productivity.Write simple thank you notesYou don’t have to make a big show of gratitude. A simple post-it-note that’s left on your monitor or on a colleague’s desk will do the job just fine. It’s not the stationary that counts – it’s the thought.Create a digital gratitude folderWhen you get an email that means a lot to you, don’t delete it or let it sit in your inbox. Instead, start a gratitude email folder for compliments and projects you’ve accomplished. Scroll through it on days when you need the extra boost.Gratitude takes work, but it’s worth it. Being mindful of what’s right can help build momentum into a beneficial upward cycle. Thanks for reading – now pass it on.

January Job Opportunities with Manpower Ireland

Manpower Ireland is Hiring – Explore Exciting Job Opportunities!Are you ready to take the next step in your career? Manpower Ireland is actively connecting top talent with leading companies across the country. Whether you're an experienced professional or looking for a fresh start, we have a range of exciting job opportunities available right now!Featured Job Openings📍 Dublin:🔧 Motor Mechanic | €43.8k - €60k OTE🚗 Roadside Assistance Technician | €34.2k - €44k OTE🔧 Patrol Assist - Roadside Support | €34k - €44k OTE📐 Field Systems Engineer | €45k - €55k DOE🛠️ Operations Manager | €60k - €65k📍 Galway & Athlone:🏭 Production Operators (Various Shifts)At Manpower Ireland, we specialize in matching skilled professionals with top-tier employers across various industries. Whether you're looking for career growth, a competitive salary, or a new challenge, we can help you find the perfect fit.🔹 Competitive salaries & benefits🔹 Opportunities across multiple sectors🔹 Expert support in finding the right roleApply Today!Ready to take the next step? Don’t miss out on these fantastic opportunities.📩 For more details or to apply, visit: Manpower Ireland Careers or reach out to us directly.Start your next career journey with Manpower Ireland today! 🚀

Webinar Alert - Q1 2025 Hiring Trends & Talent Shortages Wednesday February 19th

Hiring Trends & Talent Solutions Webinar - Feb 19th at 9amIn the first of our ManpowerGroup Ireland webinar series of 2025 we will be exploring the key insights from our latest Q1 Employment Outlook Report as well as our annual 2025 Talent Shortage Report. Wednesday February 19th at 9am. Key topics we will be discussing on the webinar includes: The Hiring Trends from our latest Q1 2025 Employment Outlook Report How companies can benefit from these trends and position themselves appropriately in the current hiring market Our Talent Shortages 2025 Report and the current key areas where talent is hard to find Learn what workers want and work that into talent attraction plansTips to implement in your recruitment strategies from our experiences at ManpowerGroupQ& A where we can answer any questions you have. This is a free webinar and suitable for HR Professionals, Senior Management and Business Executives. Registrations is required and places are limited to 4 attendees per company. Book your place today and you are welcome to invite a colleague who might like to attend.