Havells Sylvania

The last major lamp manufacturer in the UK, Havells Sylvania, commissioned Yvonne Lumley to help its employees through the redundancy process following the announcement that it was closing its Shipley operation.

Havells Sylvania broke the news to the 250-strong workforce last year that it was moving its warehousing and manufacturing to a purpose-built facility in India and today only 40 employees remain.

The Challenge

Yvonne Lumley was tasked with helping the employees come to terms with the impending redundancies and advising them on how best to equip themselves to find a new job.

The Solution

Yvonne arranged job search workshops for staff ranging from warehouse and production to customer service teams. In addition to the workshops, she also placed a career transition consultant on site on a regular basis to provide follow-up one-to-one advice and guidance.

The same consultant was used throughout the programme to ensure continuity and consistency. This worked well as the consultant built up good relationships, proactively seeking people out and encouraging them to join the programme of support.

The support included guiding people in offline and online job-search techniques, giving them the tools to create an excellent CV, helping them to prepare for an interview and acting as an ongoing source of professional advice. Havells Sylvania helped by providing a workspace where people could meet and use computers.

The Benefits

• The programme helped people to come to terms with the psychological aspects of redundancy and to rebuild their confidence in their skills.
• The on-site consultant helped the HR Officer whose job was also affected (HR teams can find themselves in a difficult situation if they are casualties themselves of the redundancy process but at the same time are being sought out by other employees to answer questions and to handle the emotional repercussions).
• Of the entire workforce undergoing the redundancy process, 95% reported that the career transition programme was extremely beneficial and helped to regain their trust in Havells Sylvania.

Site director of Havells Sylvania, Mark Walker believes the process has been invaluable. ‘Although there were a few sceptics initially, they were quickly won over when colleagues reported back to them on the effectiveness of the programme,´ he said.

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