Negotiating job security
By Steven P. Cohen, Globe Correspondent, 3/30/03
Massachusetts industries have a history of exporting jobs. The textile mills of Lawrence and Lowell, shoe factories of Lynn, and electronics producers of Route 128 have long ceased employing large numbers of workers. Now consumer products with well-known New England names have labels that say ''Made in China'' or Malaysia or Indonesia.
Whether we blame it on ''normal'' business decisions to increase profits by cutting labor costs, or the behavior of companies that are frightened by a weak economy, job security isn't what it used to be. While many companies have gone through several cycles of downsizing, there is no way to be certain that just because you have survived thus far, your job will be there in the morning.
It is time to take responsibility for your own professional life. There are no job guarantees upon which you can depend.
Negotiating the minefield of the current job market requires clear vision, self-confidence, and good preparation. You need to have a good sense of the alternatives available to you - or in the parlance of negotiators - your BATNA, your Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement - must be assessed before you are informed of your employer's strategies for increasing the company's profits at the expense of your annual income.
Perhaps the ugliest ''offer'' folks are facing is an ''opportunity'' to stay in their present jobs but for lower pay. This is the alternative presented almost daily in the airline industry, where virtually every major carrier is cutting jobs. The day this possibility is posed to you is not the day to begin thinking about your alternatives or wishing you'd monitored your job security when you still believed you had some.
Just as in any negotiation, preparation is the key to success.
The first step in preparing for your future now, even if you are in the middle or end of the career game, are the same questions you presumably asked yourself when you were young, inexperienced, and thought the world was your oyster:
- Why am I in my current job? What rewards does it offer that make it attractive to me?
- If I had my choice, how would I spend my time? Is there a way a hobby or other interest could yield financial and other rewards that look good compared to my present job situation?
If this pay cut has a specific duration you may feel the short-term pain is justified by the likelihood of long-term gain For example, if your original pay will be restored once the corporation makes a profit or achieves other benchmarks, and if you feel that is likely to happen within a reasonable time, a pay cut now may be an acceptable choice.
A pay cut may also be less painful if you can get your company to agree to such compensation as flexible work hours, a more attractive set of choices in such areas as health insurance, retirement plans, vacation options, or similar compensation elements.
At the same time, you need to refer back to your BATNA, one or more alternatives that may become more attractive when the financial rewards for working at your current job are reduced. You need to find out what kinds of resources are available for supporting you if your current job ends. Is the company offering any cash incentives for leaving? In addition, you ought to find out how your health insurance coverage - and any other company-subsidized insurance - could be affected by a change in your employment.
If a layoff is coming, you need to make sure it is structured so that you are eligible for unemployment compensation.
You should be in a constant state of readiness for a job change. Learn what you can about the job market in your profession - both in your local market and in other places to which you could move. If you maintain a constant state of preparedness for tough times, you will be better able to cope with the decision-making involved when offered a choice between less pay or no job. Thus you need to keep your eye on the job market both within your field and your geographic area.
Since an increasing number of people change the direction of their careers during their working life, remember it is a normal thing to do and does not carry a stigma. As long as you know there's butter to soften the blow, being toast may not be such a bad thing.
Steven P. Cohen is a Beverly-based executive coach with clients on both sides of the Atlantic and president of The Negotiation Skills Co. He is the author of ''Negotiation Skills for Managers'' (McGraw-Hill, 2002).
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