Choices Under Fire (Part 3)

The decision's been made. Now they have to decide what happens to a Finance Officer everyone likes.

This is the third post in a series built around a real client. In Part 1 (The Empathy Trap), I shared their hesitation about bringing us in. It wasn't the cost or the risk. It was their Finance Officer: dedicated, well-liked, part of the fabric of the place. Part 2 (How Cutting Costs Gets You More) covered how this isn't an easy decision but provides pointers on things to consider.

They've now decided to move forward. And they're working through the balance of what happens for her the right way.

Choices Under Fire

I'll be upfront. I'm not neutral here. We're the firm coming in.

And I'll be honest about something else. After 20 years, this part still sits uncomfortably with me.

What we do helps businesses get through tough conditions, and that can protect the jobs of everyone else on the team. But it often means someone loses a role they're good at.

I don't think I should ever get comfortable with that. Which is exactly why I think we have a responsibility to talk openly about the human side of these decisions.

When businesses reach this point, there are really three options.

Option 1: Do nothing.

Park it. Wait for things to pick up. Revisit it next quarter. I'm seeing this a lot right now, and I understand why. It's the option that avoids a hard conversation today.

But it isn't neutral.

Every month you wait, you're still carrying the cost. Still carrying the single-person risk. Still running processes nobody has looked at in years. And honestly? Nothing I'm seeing suggests conditions are about to turn quickly. The businesses that come through this in the best shape are strengthening their position now, not waiting for the market to do it for them. Waiting rarely makes the decision easier. It usually means making it later, under more pressure, with fewer choices. This client looked hard at the numbers and decided waiting wasn't an option

Option 2: Redeploy her.

This is where every good leader should look next. It's also the law. Under the Fair Work Act, a redundancy isn't 'genuine' if it would have been reasonable to redeploy the person elsewhere in the business. But here's the honest part. Redeployment doesn't reduce your headcount cost. Her salary stays on the books. So it only works if there's a real role that genuinely needs doing, one where her knowledge of the business adds real value. If that exists, it's the best outcome for everyone.

If it doesn't, creating one is just Option 1 in disguise. It delays the conversation, and it isn't fair to her either

Option 3: A redundancy, done with genuine support.

If redeployment isn't the right fit, the question becomes: how do we make sure she lands well?

This is where we've offered outplacement support as part of the transition of bringing our services in. We've spent 20 years placing finance professionals across Australia, and that network doesn't switch off because we're on the other side of the change.

→ Practical career support: Resume coaching, interview prep, positioning her experience

→ Access to the roles we see every day, including ones never advertised

→ Someone in her corner who knows what good finance people are worth

Whichever path a business takes, some things don't change:

→ Consult early and genuinely. People cope with hard news far better than with feeling blindsided

→ Separate the person from the role. Say it plainly, and mean it

→ Respect what they've built. Involve them in the handover and credit what they've carried

→ Think about timing. Not pay week. Not the week before Christmas

→ Remember the team is watching. How you treat someone they care about is ultimately how you'll treat them

After two decades of doing this, here's what I believe.

Taking cost out of a business is the easy bit. Any spreadsheet can do it. Doing it in a way you can still be proud of in five years? That's leadership. The care this client has shown since that very first email tells me their people are in good hands.

To everyone else facing a version of this right now:

Which of the three options are you seeing most? And if you've been through a redundancy, as the leader or the person affected, what made the difference between it being handled well and handled badly?

(As always, get proper employment advice for your specific situation. Every business, every Award, every personal situation is different.)

Part 4 next zooms out: why this dilemma is about to land on every leader as AI arrives as the tidal wave after the one SMEs are all facing now.