Check out my new article on Govexec.com – “To RIF or Not to RIF”
Reduction in force is a term that frightens most federal workers. It means uncertainty, potential loss of a job, disruption, and usually more questions than answers. Politicians (even the ones who want to shrink the federal government) oppose them. So do managers, unions, and most people who write about government issues. Most agencies have been “successful” in recent years in avoiding RIFs. They have used attrition, hiring slowdowns and buyouts to reduce their workforce without resorting to a RIF. Most people will tell you a RIF is something to be avoided at all costs.
During my federal career I developed an early understanding of the RIF process when I faced a reduction in force in my first federal job. I immersed myself in the subject when I had to conduct several RIFs over the next 30 years. The last large scale RIF I conducted abolished 700 occupied jobs in a Navy command of 3,200 employees. With that background, I should join the chorus that says RIFs are always bad and attrition is always better. The problem is that it is just not true. Sometimes the alternatives are worse. In fact, sometimes the alternatives do much more damage and disrupt the organization far longer than a RIF might.
ChiefHRO.com 