A new-age variation on layoffs

Add this to the list of sensitive, new-age euphemisms for employee layoffs: rebalancing.

Or, as Debbie Vaden, director of Network Services-America at IBM in Tampa, put it during a recent meeting of the Tampa Bay Technology Forum, "Attracting and retaining top-notch talent is difficult, especially in times like these when we have to do a rebalancing of the workforce."

In other words, getting good people is hard when you're axing others.

Vaden and three other local executives commiserated about the difficulty of propping up worker morale in depressing economic times. With financial rewards out of the question, corporations are struggling to find other ways to motivate employees.

At Catalina Marketing, workers' bonuses disappeared, but the IT department got foosball and pool tables. And even though there's no money for raises, the retail marketing company is still promoting people. "They accept the promotions, even if there's no pay," said Patty Melanson, Catalina's president of operations.

At Tech Data, after raises and company 401(k) contributions were put on hold this year, chief executive Steve Raymund began holding regular meetings with small groups of employees, answering questions and listening to complaints.

"We always want to know what's the deal that's connecting individuals to the organization," said Lawrence Hamilton, vice president of human resources for Tech Data. "And we've found it's unique for every employee."

And at IBM's Tampa office, executives overseeing the latest "rebalancing" made sure that individuals who were not laid off were personally contacted by their managers.

"You want to focus on the people remaining with you because workers may begin to feel like they have to look constantly over their shoulders," IBM's Vaden said.

Paranoid about being "rebalanced" like an old tire? Imagine that.

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