How to get fired or caught up in the downsizing threshing machine

Here we are offering you five really good ways that high-tech workers could get themselves caught up in the brutal threshing machine of a downsizing exercise and book themselves a good spot in the expanding ranks of the unemployed.

1. Be invisible
Now is not the time to go unnoticed. It' not the time to shrivel and try to be invisible to management. Many people tend to default to hide-and-retreat mode when layoffs come up, but that could call more attention to you and make it appear you aren't contributing enough to be kept around.

Even those working hard could unknowingly be at risk due to their 'in-office' time. Some IT workers who operate from a home office might need to make a few extra trips into work to remind managers, in person, of their existance and importance to the company.

Being visible during downtime is a big deal. If you are always remote and people at the office don't see you as part of the team, that could cause problems. Often it can be a case of out of sight, out of mind, and remote workers could unwittingly become a target to be cut

2. Let your skills stagnate
There may be no training dollars, but that doesn't mean managers won't be considering IT pros' lack of updated skills when making layoff decisions. Regardless of the current economic trouble, high-workers should always be looking for ways to advance their knowledge.

IT staffers that don't maintain their certifications and stay trained show poor strategic thinking and will very quickly find themselves behind the curve. Turning a blind eye to new technology and thinking it can wait will wear thin in a down economy. Managers don't want staff that add to the can't do list in times like these.

The employee who uses the excuse about lack of dollars won't make points when it comes to cutting staff.

A pet annoyance of mine and many others, is people asking companies for more than they are willing to give. There has to be some level of mutual understanding about what contributions can feasibly be made on both the employer and employee. There are low- and no-cost training options if the employee is willing to make the effort.

3. Snoop into systems
It goes without saying that IT workers shouldn't abuse their access to company confidential systems, but industry watchers warn that if layoffs are going to happen, those high-tech pros with questionable practices will be the first to go.

It is really easy for an IT person to see what others are doing and to look at confidential data, without being caught but if you are suspected of some shady stuff, that would be reason enough to bring your name to the top of the layoff list.

Even if the practices aren't breaking corporate policies, IT professionals need to be on their best behaviour. Try to avoid abusing a flexible schedule with long lunches and don't use your high-tech position as a reason to spend too much time on the Internet for non-work-related activities.

If you are the person viewed as someone just logging their hours to collect a paycheck and don't plan to contribute more than the minimum, management will see that and you will become vulnerable.

4. Make plenty of demands
Pay cuts, hiring freezes, layoffs none of these factors suggest it's an appropriate time to ask for a raise. Yet experts say some will use their ongoing service to a company during a recession as a reason to demand more money and other benefits.

Now is not the time to ask for a raise; now is not the time to complain about needing more time off. In these cases, the squeaky wheel will get the shaft.

While it may seem to IT pros they are going above and beyond and deserve compensation for their efforts, those in the position to fire staff might not want to hear it.

Right now, employees should be nodding their heads a lot, not being surly or pushing back on responsibility.

5. Spew forth negativity
Employers now more than ever want positive attitudes on staff, and those spewing negativity will be weeded out.

The truth is that everybody from a technical standpoint is replaceable. I notice more than anything the negativity an employee displays. Negativity is contagious, and once an employee goes that route, it is nearly impossible to turn them back.

So now, go forth and apply what you have learned and you could soon be free to take a new challenge in a different organisation or just hang out at the local unemployment office with your new friends.

Maintaining Morale

In these tough economic times, even workers at stable organisations might be finding it hard to stay motivated. This can make it difficult for managers to maintain a positive, productive work environment.

Strong staff morale is critical to ensuring that productivity and retention levels remain high. Focus on maintaining an upbeat work environment and sustaining employee morale.

Here are seven effective ways to keep your own employees motivated and ensure that your organisation remains a positive place to work.

1. Don't sugarcoat the truth. Open communication is better than silence and secrecy. Discuss the organisation's current situation and future viability with your staff. To the extent appropriate, share plans for riding out the recession. Invite workers to brainstorm about how lessons learned during past downturns could be applied now.

2. Listen to your staff. Sharing news with your workers is important, but so is listening to them. By giving them a chance to voice their concerns and ask questions, you'll be able to accurately gauge the overall attitude in the workplace. Because some employees may be reluctant to speak up, you'll need to tune in to subtle cues as well. Stroll through your workplace, do you hear laughter, or are people working in grim silence? Do employees seem enthusiastic or muted? Their behaviour will provide important clues about the prevailing mood.

3. Assign work strategically. Re-evaluate each staff member's responsibilities and do some fine-tuning so the team can work more efficiently. Make this a collaborative process. Ask your staff how best to distribute the workload. There may be duties or projects they would like to tackle, and giving them manageable new challenges can be motivating.

4. Protect staff from overload. Be realistic about your employees' limits. If you sense that your employees are overwhelmed, take action before they reach a state of burnout. Determine which projects are urgent and which can be put on hold or redistributed. Or consider bringing in freelancers to work on projects on an as-needed basis to provide additional support and relieve pressure.

5. Reward employees and show appreciation. Rewarding employees is less about offering material things than about showing respect and appreciation. Small gestures, such as saying thank you, asking their opinions on ideas and complimenting their efforts, can help show that you are grateful for their hard work and loyalty.

6. Talk about higher purpose. How do your organisation's products or services make your customers' lives safer, happier, healthier or easier? Is your organisation involved in philanthropy or community service initiatives? Remind your employees that they are making meaningful contributions not only to the organisation, but also to the community.

7. Focus on the future. Although you might not be able to make binding commitments or promises, now is a good time to talk with your employees about their career paths. Speak to them about how to make their jobs more satisfying, assist them in reaching their professional goals or provide opportunities for advancement.

By taking steps to boost morale and foster a positive culture, you'll see benefits beyond higher levels of employee motivation. A positive work environment is one of the most effective and powerful retention and recruitment tools you can have. When employees enjoy their work, they're more likely to stay, and the most talented job candidates will naturally be drawn to an organization with a reputation for having a great corporate culture.

Finding another executive position

If you talk to recruiters and headhunters that are specialising in executive searches, you will discover taht they are all saying the same thing: Talent cannot hide, if you're good, we'll find you. This may or may not be simple rhetoric but for today's executives whose phones are not ringing off the hook, we thought it might be useful to ask about the dos and don'ts of raising one'sprofile and getting picked up on a recruiter's low frequency radar.

For my part I will concentrate on the IT profession. A survey of 150 enterprise executives and IT managers found that while 38% found their current job through a personal network, 30% worked with a recruiter to land a job. Leaving 32% to wander in the wilderness.

Executives not looking to move, the headhunters we interviewed said there are ways you can make yourself useful that will pay dividends down the line and mistakes that can, put you in the doghouse forever.

First, you need to establish some kudos. After years of operating on the outer rim of the C-suite fishbowl, enterprise IT managers /executives are in deep. The executive IT manager role has moved to the forefront. It's a true C-level position.

The IT manager has found a seat at the table but IT managers are expected to contribute at board level. They are not an overhead to be controlled and contained, or a back-office function to ignore until something happens. They are a business enablement function that needs to be developed and cherished.

With the status comes pressure. There is zero tolerance for anything but solid execution, benefit achievement and results. The board room and sponsor expectations are higher than ever.

"Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius."

The IT manager /executive operates on a different level than several years ago, when IT was at the epicenter of the tech bust. IT managers /executives are expected to be more business focused and enabling. There isn't a job that IT doesn't support and the extent of their financial spend and budget control is often the biggest in the company.

Moreover, despite all signposts pointing to a rough road ahead, recruiters remain busy, even if they are looking over their shoulders. Good candidates have multiple options and are difficult to retain.

Here are some suggestions, from the macro to the minuscule, for managing your career, so that you have multiple options too.

1. Track record

This speaks to the cardinal rule of recruiters: Build something and they will come. IT managers /executives who are going places stay at one organisation for a long enough time to deliver.

If you haven't been through a business cycle or two, I don't care how good you are, you can't claim success or real experience. A year or 18 months usually doesn't cut it. You have to be at an organisation long enough to live with your decisions, to make adjustments, to fix you're mistakes and to build on the things you've got right.

IT manager /executive searches often begin with very specific queries from client companies. A CEO of CFO will come forward and suggest that they want to drive a massive transformation of the business and require a strong IT manager /executive who has successfully completed major systems integration. Given some more specific information, the search is then on, where that talent exists.

Companies know that you don't always have full control over how long you last in a specific position but you should have management power over your career.

You have to look at your career and ask, 'Am I continuing to progress, am I getting broader, bigger and more complex responsibilities, am I building a portfolio of experience that will be valued by the next company, or the company after the next company?" Look for good companies and good leaders from whom you can learn.

Remember, nobody is going to do that for you. If you sit back and let your career happen, you might get lucky, but you might not. I wouldn't be too comfortable in letting fickle lady luck and moody madam fortune decide where I end up or what I am able to do.

2. Visibility

About two-thirds, maybe even three-quarters, of the people that headhunters contact during executive searches, are already in the headhunters' databases. It's their job to know who is out there before they are hunted but that leaves a good chunk of good people who have slipped under the low frequency radar. This includes those who are working so hard they haven't had time to put their head up.

Leave behind the cloak of invisibility and the anonymous mantle of obscurity. All headhunters stress the importance of getting on the speaker circuit and raising your profile. When doing a search, the first place to go is to the top expert in the field who is talking about this subject. Identify a topic you know well and have a lot of experience in and tell your vendors that you're available to speak at events.

Some touch of the artist wells up within me, and calls insistently for a well staged performance. Surely our profession would be a drab and sordid one if we did not sometimes set the scene so as to glorify our results

If it has been some time since you last agve a talk to a big audience, you can first get on a panel or a forum, which may be easier than giving a direct speech. People are always hungry to get expert speakers. It is actually easier than you think to be on a panel or a forum.

If you are selected as a speaker, prepare, prepare, prepare. Word travels fast if you fail to meet expectations.

We are a big fan of LinkedIn, but it must be used strategically. Your information must be accurate and concise. Hide your connections, but do connect to as many good people as you know. It is only prudent that you should ignore any request from somebody you don't know, and do ignore it, there is no need to write back and justify your actions.

3. A trusted source to recruiters

The covenant of eternal employment was broken some time ago, hence the need for a strong professional network, which includes headhunters and recruiters.

You need to proactively build a relationship with executive recruiters in your space, so you come into their mind before insignificant others.

Good recruiters have visibility into the marketplace. Over the course of a long career, a recruiter can act as trusted advisor but good relationships are a two-way street and mutually beneficial.

Good headhunters are busy and they're going to be spending most of their time on the searches they're being paid to do, not just giving out superfluous career advice to you. You can make yourself useful to them, in ways that will repay you many times over.

If you're the IT manager of Acme and used to work at GE, the headhunter may call you and ask to talk to the best IT person in your organisation, with Six Sigma process improvement knowledge. The question is are you willing to give them that information? If they ask you for a reference for a candidate that you know from a previous position, would you provide this?

When it comes to your own career, don't exxagerate or fudge. If you're thinking of leaving but can't really move for the next eight months because you're due to come into a major stock option, you'd better say so. Be honest and good recruiters will be honest back, sometimes painfully so. They don't work with people who are lying and exaggerating. It's not worth their while because ot erodes their integrity.

4. Go best, young execs

A word to the wise for the up-and-coming executives: Ambitious professionals look for the next rung up, the job nobody thought they could do, to prove themselves but the wise investment might be a lateral move, if there is an opportunity to learn, grow and work with the best.

These can be great learning environments and worth the investment and sideways step. Clearly, it's best to make the investment early in your career, if possible, when you have a little more flexibility in the scope and scale of role you can take.

In any case, big organisations, the Microsofts, Dells, GEs and Procter & Gambles of the marketplace, tend to hire "bigger than the role."

These companies are so complex, the matrix is so difficult to get your arms around. To put you in a stretch role in an environment where you don't know the company, you don't know the political landscape, is really difficult. It's a unique individual who can take on those two variables and be successful.

Their view is to put you in a role that you can do, so you're not underwater from day one. As you progress and figure out how things get done, they will expand your role. It is an expansionist veiw, limited only by what you are capable of.

Stay Focused - Tough Times ahead

Budget cuts. Layoffs. Doing more with less. Sound familiar? Every manager is suddenly tasked with putting out fires on multiple fronts, as businesses struggle to survive amid the economy's smoking ruins. Don't forget your day job, little things like keeping the service levels (SLAs), servers and network availability in the greenest of green.

The mounting responsibilities and demands can be both personally distracting and professionally discouraging for some IT and business managers: The US's work-related worries jumped from 62 percent to 67 percent between April and October 2008, according to the American Psychological Association.

Now, more than ever, focus is the name of the game, especially when people and money are tight.

Finding and maintaining your office Zen isn't as easy these days. Drawing on past experiences, here's how some current and former CIOs have maintained focus in their role and within their department during a crisis.

"After the dotcom bubble burst in 2000, business was struggling and the workplace was pretty tense," recalls Les Duncan, then senior vice president and CIO at Joann Stores.

To ease staff concerns, Duncan held regular meetings where he could speak directly about business conditions and highlighted that week's or month's hot issues. His staff knew how the company planned to weather the difficult times so they could focus on their work, he says. "This transparency also helped me to stay focused on what was really important i.e. the success or failure of the business during hard times."

Get busy and stay busy. We've all worked at businesses where large numbers of employees were cut from the payroll. Most of the employees ran around huddling in small groups talking about the latest rumour, but you want to be in the group that stays busy and focused on delivering. So busy that you don't have time to whine.

Positivity and flexibility is essential in staying on target at work. "Anticipate changes by checking in frequently with business decision makers and stay on the offensive by killing projects that are going nowhere".

Try to see the opportunity in any major change. It's a good time to offer assistance to colleagues and take on tasks that might normally be outside your scope. This is not the time to hide in an IT or business silo, but the ideal time to step out of it. Create the space and opportunity to innovate. It costs very little and can result in new opportunities and growth.