Raising the Corporate Dead

In today's economy it's easy to feel like a day-old, empty milk carton. Fortunately we're living in the age of recycling, so there's a good chance you might get picked right out of the corporate trashcan to be reused and disposed of all over again--by the very same company. A couple times now I've witnessed the phenomenon of mass layoffs followed by at least a handful of workers rehired by the same people who got rid of them 10, five, or maybe even just a year ago. Is this a good idea?  Times are tough, and companies sometimes have to cut workers they would otherwise keep, but if these individuals weren't deemed essential enough to avoid throwing overboard when the ship was sinking, do you want them onboard at all?

I'm overly sympathetic, so I'd usually say "yes," but re-hiring an employee who didn't make the cut in the  corporate version of "Survivor" means not giving the employees strong enough to withstand the recession as large raises or bonuses. On the other hand, it's good for morale for employees to see their company doing its best to give workers it was "forced" to let go another chance, and it helps work life culture to lighten the load of the survivors by brining back to employment life those who originally didn't make it. How does your company come down on this question of whether to bring back the corporate-deceased?  Dead forever, or ripe for resurrection?

Let's say you're not comfortable raising the corporate dead, how about bringing seemingly-lost-forever workers back for limited engagements such as for special projects and consulting opportunities?  Seems benign enough, but I know at least one company that frowns on this practice. Maybe it worries about the potential legal entanglements of giving work to an employee it laid off. If you need someone to do the same work they were doing before, and you're happy enough with the way they do that work that you're continuing to give them assignments (albeit on a temporary, benefits-free basis), did you have any legal grounds for terminating them?  Chances are, the company wouldn't get into trouble because they probably have the right--if they're careful enough about how they handle it--to get rid of anyone they choose, but who knows?  Maybe a clever employment lawyer could wreak havoc in this case.

Sometimes seeing a former co-worker or boss you were glad to see leave roaming your company's halls again is downright disheartening--like a horrible performer who insists on returning to the stage for multiple encores, no matter that few people were clapping. From a selfish perspective, it's often nice to say goodbye with no hope of resurrection. Instead of a corporate miracle, these returned-from-the-corporate-dead remind me of vampires the company can't manage to finish off for good. Dark, but I bet some of you have had the same thought.

In addition to re-hiring/re-using/unwrapping corporate mummies, I wonder if more of you are increasing your cross-training of workers so in case layoffs are necessary, you can expand the usage of your current workforce so you don't have to look for new people, or re-use the ones you just sent away?  It's not a terrible idea, though I worry about the risk of over-burdening already-burdened cubicle laborers. It might create another resources issue, as over-used employees burn-out so bad nobody--including your own organization--will be able to use them at all for a while, never mind re-use potential.

It might be funny this Halloween to invite back all formerly ousted employees and managers you'd like to use again for special projects back to the office for a Night of the Living Corporate Dead party. Patently offensive, but sometimes (or always in my book) honesty is the best policy, so maybe they'd see the humor of what you're asking them, laugh, and eagerly (though benefit-lessly) pick up the work you forced them to leave behind.

Perhaps the best idea is to never get rid of them in the first place. What these raising-the-corporate-dead efforts should teach us is mass layoffs in lean economic times often are short-sighted. It may enable you to survive your short-term crisis, but, ultimately, you're going to need that disposed-of manpower to get the job done for your customers and investors.

Before you start wrapping up employees for corporate mummydom, think about appreciating them in their current incarnation. Propping open the company tomb isn't always the most pleasant experience.

Are you "re-using" your corporate deceased? Or have you given up on breathing new employment life into these departed individuals?

Comments

[john gallagher]

SOmetimes the corporate dead are better coming back to life as an outsource contract employee.Interesting artice.

[wulansari]

Some people spend thousands of dollars on new computers, and then buy a cheap chair from their furniture or office supply store, without giving a thought to their ergonomic health.