As British businesses face new challenges with the potential for a second nationwide lockdown over autumn and winter, leading career consultant Kate Bishop is launching a new dedicated redundancy coaching and strategy package that aims to support both employees and businesses themselves through job losses, change, and organisational and personal restructuring.
Following on from her recent appearance on the Restructuring, Redundancy, and What Happens After webinar, where she was joined by HR specialist Reyhana Jano and employment lawyer Steven Eckett, Bishop is offering this new strategy package to offer practical and expert advice for getting back into the job market. It includes assessing opportunities, and maintaining health and wellbeing during times of uncertainty and periods of change.
“Redundancy can be devastating at the best of times, but coupled with widespread economic uncertainty and a highly vulnerable job market, those facing job losses during the pandemic may be feeling very lost, confused, or unsure about the future,” she says. “My aim is to help transform redundancy into opportunity, working with people to identify a rewarding path forward, and using this as a chance to discover what they really want to do, identify and acquire the skills to do it, and, therefore make positive, lasting change in their lives.
Proud to be one who practices what she preaches, Bishop has been through this very scenario herself, giving her the unique ability to coach through personal experience. “I set up my own business when I was made redundant, and although it definitely wasn’t the easiest option, it was without a doubt the best choice for my life, and for career fulfilment,” she says. “It may be a cliché, but redundancy can be a fantastic opportunity to progress within your current industry, or perhaps to retrain and do something completely different!”
Between May and July 2020, the Office for National Statistics shows that redundancy levels in the UK were at 5.6 per 1000 employees; the highest figure since the period of September – November 2012. Estimates by insights firm McKinsey predict that 7.6 million UK jobs are now at risk. Some sectors are expected to be more heavily affected, and 68% of roles in accommodation and food services could be lost as a direct result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Kate Bishop’s new redundancy strategy package looks at ‘the what’ in terms of career strategy, ‘the how’ to do it, and ‘the who’ can help when it comes to effectively navigating change. It’s designed to help employees facing job losses to understand what they want to achieve, how to achieve it, and who can assist them and support them along their journey. Add to that elements of confidence coaching, Bishop believes that this will make for a smoother transition for those facing redundancy or change within their organisation.
It’s also designed to help organisations themselves manage change from the inside, building resilience, ensuring wellbeing amongst remaining employees, and leveraging the power of stressful situations as a driver, not a paralyser.
