I guess... I chose training because, most HR professionals I have met believe layoffs to be stigma for their company PR...

With due respect though ,this argument by itself may not be all relevant.. because realistically i have never heard the HR deciding on whether to layoff or to train its employees. its always the business.. and logically so. HR in a corporate role only plays the facilitator and the co-conspirator:)  (if I may use that word) in either of these situations...

It sure makes sense for the HR to try and retain people than to recruit similarly talented people while the economy is slowly moving to the north.. (age old formulae ... recruiting a new employee is 4-5 times more costlier than retaining one.. )

MY two cents.. and as always.. I stand corrected..

Prashant

Layoffs can not be an option in any circumstance. There could be many other way to avoid lay offs. Training is one of them. The employees can be given training so that they can perform better in their or other domains.

Layoffs also put question mark on the ability of decision maker as why this is happening?

Layoffs also hamper the image of company as a whole among employee, clients and corporate world.

Swapna ji i definitely agree to your point.If a company believes in laying off employees rather than give them training then the only one to lose out in this scenario is the company itself because when the times will improve and if the company will higher new recruits then they have to give them training which will costs the company more as opposed to  give a short training to a person who is already working in the company for some time.

So yes a company should give training to their existing employees rather than laying off. what do you say?

Moreover.a downsizing strategy reduces the scale (size) and scope of a business to improve its financial performance

Hi,

Being in the same department I would never go for layoff. As we never want to loose our loyal and hard working employees. We can train them better and if needed can transfer them to other department according to their abilities.

Instead of hiring somebody from outside its better to have the one who is been loyal to the company. By giving him/ her some training we can easily accommodate with the field/ department where we need people.

It will reduce the cost of training as well as that person would be having some knowledge about the working techniques of the respective department of the company as he has been working for the same company.

Secondly, it will save time...as he'll be already aware of the rules, policies of the company.

Thirdly, as he is already working with the company he doesn’t have to make relations as the he will be working with the same company and people.

So, it’s better to provide training to the employees instead of layoffs.

Regards,

I think we are in this position because of poor Leadership and we must train our people to turn things around.

WOuld support the training, identifying the gaps in the skills and knowledge levels and helping them bridge the gaps in troubled times such as this will help the organization for future challenges.  YOu may not always want to go for external trainings, infact the focus should be encourage internal trainers in the organization. 

I think there is no comparison between training and layoff. If layoff is due to cost cutting then training of existing employees will cost more but we have to find a way between the two. We have to make use of our old employees to find the way of cutting cost as there always remains many ways of tackling a situation to every individual. And in order to find the suitable way we should motivate our old employees into that way of thinking. So I think only training will not help.

Agree with Sanjib Kumar Jena's argument

Mostly employees are multi talented or skilled so we can take advantages from his/her experience and control some valuable expenses. Even more we create a better relationship with our old valuable employees.

we need to have training programmes for HR manager rather giving them lay offs.Because they are the back bone of the organisation.

Yes, manpower is crucial, especially in times of crisis. Organisations need to understand that mass layoffs are the easy way out, but what needs to be looked at again is the cost of hiring employees once the downturn scenario has reversed. Organisations, more so senior managers, need to identify good talent and help such employees to enhance their skillsets. This could be used as a tool to grab more business by conveying to clients that skills of the employees have been enhanced and more business could be garnered by the organisation.

Though it seems to be the order of the day to go for "Layoffs", I sincerely feel that this is not the option, though a very easy one though. When the trend in the market turns around, it would be again very difficult to scout for people and in the bargain the compnay may land up paying more. Moreover, I feel that during such times the HR is the department to be on the move. With proper homework about the skills of the employees , it is time that they start either enhancing the skills of the lesser ones or educate them to go for courses taht would help them and a the compnay at large. The employees are the base and the foundation. During the good times, we take care of them only by increase in salaries, but I feel the HR should do a deep study and find ways and means to keep this balance in respect of the employees with respect to salaries and the in the interest of the organisation. Employees who would understand this give and take would respect the organisation and would stick to it.