Not long ago, I met a woman who’d been with her company for more than 20 years. She was beside herself with stress because her company was restructuring and had asked her to “reapply” for her job. She had no idea where she stood, what she was up against, what she’d done wrong (if anything), or what she’d done right. She had no idea whether she’d have a job when all of this was over.
This is disgusting. No employee should ever have to wonder where they stand. If management is doing its job, then employees know exactly at what level they’ve been performing. Performance appraisals are done on time, are weighted accurately, and reflect the entire performance period. Performance should never be left up for interpretation. Everyone wins (company & employee) when performance is communicated.
So what is this garbage about having to reapply for one’s job? Who came up with this idiotic idea? Who decided this was a great way to handle reorganization? This is the wimp way out. If companies would staff their leadership positions with competent leaders that have a backbone, then no one would have to take the coward’s way out and try to displace an issue onto an employee.
I’m sorry, but if leadership has been doing their job, then leaders already know who is a top performer and who is a poor performer. And the employees should know because management has been communicating with them.
I realize that we all take actions hoping for a certain outcome. Organizations need to take a good look at their actions and the outcomes they’ve actually caused when they ask loyal, hardworking staff to reapply for their jobs. Likely more damage than benefit is being caused.
The employee in the beginning of my story did win her job when she reapplied. She was suffering from a lack of confidence, not a lack of performance. Unfortunately, trust of her company is now permanently destroyed. She doesn’t feel valued and is job hunting. Given what she brings to the table, I’m confident a competitor will bring her on board quickly. Isn’t it interesting that her company is the one that encouraged this? After all, her resume wouldn’t be up-to-date if they hadn’t made her reapply for her job.
