Surviving Staff Reductions
The decision has been made, the employees informed, boxes are packed and in the cars heading home. Final checks and exit interviews have been done, so you think the worst of the layoff is over? Not necessarily. How you handled the layoff can affect those surviving employees’ productivity, retention of your choice talent, and potential lawsuits.
- Notify each terminated employee privately and in person not by email or summoning them into a room filled with other laid-off employees. Provide each employee some private time to absorb the information and gather their emotions before you hustle them into a conference room with others to go through the paperwork. It may be more efficient as a group, but it’s certainly not humane. Remaining employees see how you treat those being terminated and this perception will have a lasting effect on their morale and future performance.
- Don’t treat terminated employees as criminals. The employee you trusted and valued before the layoff should not be treated as a suspect at a crime scene. Do you really need to hover over them as they pack up their boxes and then escort them out the door, whisking them past co-workers without the opportunity to say good-bye? (Note: There are certainly situations where there is a real possibility of threatening or bad behavior by a laid off employee, and those situations should be considered beforehand.) It is essential to treat employees with dignity and respect, weighing that against company security.
- Pre-planning is essential to a successful outcome. The Human Resources staff and the managers must thoughtfully plan the reduction-in-force; clarify roles and process, and discussion points. This includes reviewing the decision criteria, preparing paperwork, benefits, and anticipating questions that may be asked. This is NOT a time to improvise at the termination conversation, as what is said or not said, may be used in future court actions.
- Recognize and address “Survivor” anxiety. Remaining employees feel very ambivalent—relieved it wasn’t them this time, yet guilty because their friend/colleague is gone; anxious about the future, their increased workload with no change in pay; wondering if there will be future reductions; angry about how their colleagues were treated; and uncertain about what’s next. This anxiety can significantly affect performance and retention decisions when the job market improves.
If you are considering a reduction in force or need help with the people or pay issues in your company,contact Cherryll Sevy.
