Rightsizing – One of the Silliest Concepts that I’ve ever heard!

I’ll keep this brief.  I was recently talking to someone that was in the process of being laid off.  We discussed it a little bit and then he dropped a word that has really stuck with me.  “The company told me they were right-sizing me.”  Rightsizing – really?  How  stupid is that?  It reminds me of one of my other favorite stupid words from the recession – Staycation (If you aren’t familiar with a staycation it was something created by marketing people to suggest you stay home and have fun there on your vacation to save money during the recession).  I’ve let this sit in the back of my mind for a couple of days and I really can’t get past it… So I thought I’d share it with you. 

What do companies really think that they are doing when they tell someone that they are being right-sized?  Do they feel like it will somehow lessen the blow?  Are the consequences for the employee any different than someone being laid off, fired, terminated or downsized?  I don’t think so.  In my head I imagine a room of consultants sitting around discussing their next layoff having the following conversation:

Consultant A:  So the numbers look pretty bad… probably going to need get rid of another 100 jobs next month.

Consultant B:  OK – but how do we spin this?  We just did this three months ago…

Big Idea light bulb goes off above head of Consultant A

Consultant A:  I know!  We’ll call it rightsizing instead of downsizing.  Down has such negative connotations anyway.  Really, you can be down and out, down in the dumps, even down on your luck.  But right – who can argue with right.  Think how much better people will feel about it!  Plus we can tell investors that since it is right sizing we are being proactive in order to remain competitive and respond to industry trends.  This isn’t some reaction to bad numbers!

So maybe it didn’t go quite like that but still I feel that the term is designed to make the company feel good and has no real tangible impact on the employee.  In fact, I imagine that it probably is even more of a slap in the face.  What – the company doesn’t have the stones to tell the truth.  We can’t afford to keep paying you or you just aren’t cutting it!  If you read my last article you will realize that I’m on a little bit an honesty kick right now. 

Full disclosure here.  According to some of the consultant’s websites I’ve gone onto they draw a distinction between downsizing and rightsizing.  Essentially they say that downsizing is just cutting staff to reduce costs and improve the organization.  However, Rightsizing is the act of strategically reducing staff to increase productivity and improve revenue.  So remember this everyone – if you think about something strategically you are doing something good, can call it something fancy and clear your conscience.  I also think that you all should know that I realize laying people off is a pretty real and unavoidable solution in comes cases.  Just don’t try and trick yourself into thinking you are doing something different than you really are.  Call a spade a spade!

Anyway, that was your daily dose of the deluded rantings of a recruiter.  What do you guys think?  Am I off base?

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:

Five Dumbest Mistakes You can Make in an Interview

Five Things Employers Do in the Interview Process that Suck

The Four Skills that Every Insurance Account Manager Needs to Succeed in Their Career

So You Got Fired…  What Do You Say in an Interview?

Five Things You Should Know When Working with a Recruiter

Ten Common Job Seeking Mistakes

Self Defeating Job Search Moves

Forward Emails:  The Silent Job Search Killer

Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

Back to Basics:  Five Interview Tips You Need to Follow

Answering the Salary Question

The Four Worst Interview Tips

Five Biggest Resume Mistakes

Five Keys to a Great Resume!

Five White Lies that Cost People Jobs!