Delayering or reduction of the staff is an emergency managerial decision, which usually entails many adverse consequences. Provided that cutbacks occur, such a company as Xerox will have to face several challenges. First and foremost, we should mention shortage of qualified personnel, because very often cutbacks are chaotic and non-discriminative which means that some rather competent workers can be made redundant. Another problem that is almost inevitable is the atmosphere of fear in the workplace as every employee is greatly concerned with his or her position in the firm. Subsequently, this causes poor interpersonal relations among them. However, the biggest problem is the re-organization that must be undertaken by the management. One must bear it in mind that delayering may touch middle-rank managers, who act as a link between average members of the staff and the highest authority. The only possible outcome is poor coordination and performance. Apart from that, we must not overlook low retention of the staff members, who may be looking for another alternative.
Several steps should be taken in order to address these issues. First, the management has to explain that delayering is not motivated by mercantile reasons such as pursuit of profit. Secondly, even if the leadership is forced to resort to such measures, they must be very discriminative. Prior to making any worker redundant, one has to weigh up all pros and cons. As it has been noted earlier, the redundancies of middle-rank managers should be reduced to a minimum, because without them functioning of any firm is practically impossible. Finally, the restructuring will involve extra-training courses to the workers, because the scope and nature of the duties may dramatically change.
Xerox immense concern with the uses of technology, retention techniques and HR development can be ascribed to several motives such as the profitability of the firm; it is no secret that proficiency and competence of the personnel is by far the major determinant of the efficiency. Besides, the aforesaid aspects may shape the public image of the firm, this goes for potential customers and would-be employees, who may or may not be interested in cooperating with Xerox. Naturally, we have to acknowledge but the topmost priority is the cost-efficiency of the firm.
Another facet of the question under discussion is the relations with the competitors, for example, Canon or HP. Given the fact that the rivalry is very stiff, the management has to demonstrate that the quality of its services and products outmatches those of other companies. The clients feel safe while buying and using the products of this enterprise, and the degree of their satisfaction or dissatisfaction is directly proportional to the competence of the HR department. In this respect, we have to analyze another dimension of this problem, namely, staffs attitude toward their job. First of all, they must be certain that their position is secured. They also must be sure that their skills are constantly improving and that they have opportunities for professional growth. Otherwise, they may choose to leave Xerox, especially if they know that their services may be required by others.
To conclude, this paper illustrates the importance of HR management. Overall, we can argue that the task is many-sided: Xerox, one has to ensure its profitability, and this can be done only with the help of average subordinates, who must be competent, content with their job, and reassured.