How can we find and engage people at an early stage of redundancy?

New Work Cornwall Co-design Support

A nice way to unearth the answer is to first map the redundancy process as we did here in a co-design workshop with a mix of agencies, participants, solicitors etc.

This exercise helped the group to recognise a gap in the way employees are supported. Often, within SME's, an employee is made redundant with minimal support and then agencies get on board to help.

However, employers facing a downturn receive support from banks, administrators, accountants or solicitors before then; and these external businesses could encourage employers to make redundancies more responsibly.

Wouldn't it be better if employees were supported before they are made redundant rather than after? Well, this was a vivid message within the co-design workshop and Coodes Solicitors were quick to spot the commercial enterprise behind new schemes.

Harnessing the perspectives of different experts also enabled the group to co-conceive "freedundancy" - a unique user-centred forum where all types of advice and support are exchanged or bartered free of charge. This would be an independent enterprise, consumer driven and co-developed by volunteers who administer it.

So instead of thinking of service providers as the sole providers of service support, here are two great ideas where more and better can be achieved by others. And all this from framing a challenge in the right way.

Vi sit / www.newworkcornwall.co.uk