Hi Super PA.  I work in an office of support staff and we have been informed that we will be going through a review process in order to make savings.  We have been told that this will lead to redundancies.  Can you advise me on how I should approach this to be one of the ones that stay. May.

Hi May.  Gosh I'm sorry to hear about the future redundancies.  Sadly there is a lot of it around at the moment.

It's very difficult for me to give a definitive answer, because I don't know what your managers are looking for but I can give some tips based on my own experience managing office staff.

  1. Have a think about what skills your bosses will want in the new team.  Ensure that the decision makers are aware of all your skills, including those that you may not be using in your current role.  If you have the time, develop skills that you think will be needed and valued.  If you want to develop new skills ask to go on a course!  They may say no right now, but it will show you are interested in developing yourself.  
  2. What type of people do they want to be in the team?  Do they want a team player, willing to pick up extra work when there is a crisis on, or someone who takes frequent sick days after a heavy night out.  It's common sense really.  Be the person others want to work with.
  3. If you can afford to, consider cutting your hours.  How about a job share?  If this is an option discuss it with colleagues. When business picks up you might be able to go full time again, but don't bank on it if you have a mortgage to pay.  I wouldn't normally suggest offering a pay cut, but in the current job market it might be worth considering. Remember though, it might not be so easy negotiating up that pay further down the line.
  4. These situations bring out the worst in people, and stress and resentment can lead to difficult behaviour from colleagues.  Keep the peace, look after yourself, getting plenty of sleep and developing healthy habits.  I find exercise helps deal with stress - pick something you enjoy doing and don't overdo it.  Too much exercise can actually add stress to the body.
  5. Have a think about whether you actually want to be in the team.  Chances are the same workload is going to be shared between fewer people. Will this be somewhere you still want to work?  Keep and eye out for other jobs that might be better for you.  Are there any internal vacancies at the moment? Brush up your CV and have it ready just in case.  One benefit of working in admin and support is that the skills are transferable to other industries so you have more opportunities than a specialist.
  6. Is this an opportunity for you?  Sounds a bit weird but sometimes these challenges can push us into new challenges.  It was the threat of redundancy that led to this blog, so you never know!!  Think outside the box.
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I hope these points give you something positive to think about.  It's hard to keep your mood up when there so much uncertainty around, but in years to come you will look at this as a character building period of your life.

Have a look on my JOBS page to see if there is anything available right now!!
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I've spent the weekend scouring the internet just for you!  Hard work but someone had to do it.  I have collected together a selection of online job feeds for secretarial and administrative posts in the UK.  Click here to have a look or click on the JOBS tab above.
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