Management Lessons From Recent Tech Sector Job Cuts

(From Forbes) -- Hewlett-Packard recently announced that it will eliminate 27,000 jobs in an effort to cut costs. In early April, Yahoo announced a 14 percent cut in its workforce – the most drastic reduction in the company’s history.  The recent layoffs at HP and Yahoo are a reminder that even amongst the soaring successes of Google and Facebook, many technology companies are learning to do more with less, particularly when it comes to talent. As competition for top talent in Silicon Valley heats up, and as some companies are forced to freeze hiring, how can they promote a culture of innovation? After all, talent drives innovation and innovation is the lifeblood of technology companies.

The answer lies in senior team effectiveness. Too many companies underutilize their top teams. This lack of full engagement leads to employee frustrations and affects the entire organization in terms of culture, internal conflict, adaptability and bureaucracy. New research from RHR International reveals the impact a well-designed senior team has on organizational performance. These teams outperform industry peers when it comes to profitability and return on assets, sales and revenue growth, quality of products and services, and employee engagement. The impact of a well designed senior team on innovation is undeniable. In a study of 200 senior teams, 97 percent of high-performing teams outperformed industry peers in the quality of new products and services.

Top teams used to depend on hierarchy and reporting structure. Given the rapid pace of change in today’s world, this rigidity has given way to adaptability and agility. When designing senior teams, successful organizations must draw from diverse talents, ranks and divisions to manage strategic and visionary issues as well as fluid and tactical matters. When senior teams are created with this in mind, innovation exceeds the capabilities of a single individual and innovation is driven throughout the organization (a quality of 82 percent of the study’s high-performing teams).

Companies can leverage senior teams through three guiding principles:

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