A few weeks ago, Steve Boese posed a task to his Twitter followers, he needed some assistance with a class project; Steve is the professor of said class. Like any good user of social media, Steve tapped into his network for bloggers willing to let a student write a guest post. In quick succession, Steve’s network stepped up to help. Pamela Allen chose PseudoHR, here’s a bit about Pam.
Pamela Allen is a student of Steve Boese at Rochester Institute of Technology. Pam is pursuing her Masters degree in Human Resources. Pam had this to say about her class
I have only heard of blogs, but never posted anything or created one. I had my first experience with Wikis. With two kids involved in sports, going to school and working full time I basically have little time to do much of anything else.
Pam currently works at a large University Medical Center as a Department Administrator. She says she is
in charge of personnel matters as well as financial oversight for a department of approximately 150 faculty, staff and students. Basically, I have all of the responsibility, but no authority.
Please joining me welcoming Pam to the blogging universe, Pam take it away…
Letting staff go is never fun but it’s easier when its one on one because the employee should know its coming. I have the misfortune of delivering the dreaded lay off speech next week to 20+ employees at my company. Given the state of the economy, I am saddened to see any one lose their main source of income, even if said income is not substantial. Having said that, some of the employees in this group take up the majority of my time with issues which makes the situation bittersweet.
My question to the HR community, wonderful as you all are, is this; what is the best way to deliver the layoff speech to these employees? For those that have done this, what did you use to help you cope with the situation the first time? Any advice you can offer to help me with this situation would be greatly appreciated.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
My advice -
Be honest and straightforward, I’ve had laid-off employees show up for work on Monday, because no one actually SAID “you are laid off”
Do not give false hope. If there’s no chance of them returning to work, use “downsize”, “elimination of position” or “reorganization”. Otherwise, they may sit on UI, and not look for a new position, thinking they will be recalled.
Be empathetic, listen to them vent, but give them the information they need, and send them on their way.
Do not take it personally, some may want to “shoot the messenger”, but you did not cause the problem. However, do not “blame the boss” – I always use “we” instead of “the company” or “the board of directors” – I’ve had ee’s think I was “on their side”, which is fine, but I’m not your personal unemployment attorney – I work for the company.
Good luck, and remember, if you DONT feel at least a little bad about having to do this, you probably need a new job.
I have also had to deliver the bad news, in groups and individually, at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day. It doesn’t matter how you deliver it, it is awful for all involved, including you. My advice is to be honest, as TLColson said, and provide the employees with information/details about the downsizing or layoff terms and conditions in writing (including severance, 401k, benefits, compensation, unused vacation, etc…). Employees may not hear anything that you say if they are surprised. Also, have another member of management present to assist in the meeting (if you get stuck) and to help with the “shoot the messenger”. I used Tylenol PM to cope. I also distanced myself from the impacted employees for a few days before the meeting to help me prepare emotionally for the meeting. If you are close to your employees, the emotional distance will help tremendously.
Be prepared with the facts involved for what the company will and will not do for the outplaced person. Empathy is very important, but you can’t let yourself get wrapped into the discussion that doesn’t include the facts.
Schedule time for the evening after the event to do what helps you release stress, exercise, action movie, playing with lego, long bubble bath, whatever it is that makes you feel better, because you will need it.
As hard as it may be, look the employees in the eye when you talk to them. Give them the most respect you can muster for the interaction. This will go a long way for most of them to leave with their respect for you and at least some for the company.
Firstly, thanks April for hosting the guest post from Pam, and being so willing to participate in this project. I think Pam’s post also perfectly illustrates one of the key takeaways that I had in mind for the assignment, How using technology, especially social technologies, can assist the HR professional with ‘real’ issues and contribute to professional development. Great job Pam and April! Full marks!
Pam,
This is Igor, a classmate of yours from the HR program at RIT.
I participated in the preparation of several downsizing programs in my job as an HR generalist. I agree with previous posts that employees need to receive a clear message that they have been laid off. It is also important to go through admin stuff such as severance payment, vacation days, handover of duties and equipment etc. We communicated our downsizing programs via email to all employees, explaining the reasons for the program and the steps of the program. Communication is crucial when downsizing. You cannot over-communicate, so keeping everyone posted is very important.
It also helps if you can provide assistance to the laid off staff with materials/guides on how to find a new job, how to prepare for an interview, how to prepare a CV. It is also a good gesture to offer recommendations for the laid off staff for future jobs.
Good Luck!
One key piece of advice that I can tell you NOT to do. Do not make this about YOU or others involved in the decision. While okay to mention it; it is a business decision, don’t make it about how difficult it is for you.
It is about the employees who are lossing their jobs.
Let me repeat:
It is about the employees who are lossing their jobs.
I have been in two situations where the person doing the laying off stressed how difficult it was for HIM/HER to do this. Yada, yada, yada, quite frankly, I didn’t care. I was losing my job and he thought it was best to stress how difficult it was for HIM?! Who is he kidding? HE will still have a paycheck next week. In both situations these idiots came across as uncaring narcissists.
At another company the owner actually gave a speech to those of us who “survived” that he was so stressed out by having to do this that he and his wife were going on vacation for the next two weeks. Afterall, “they needed a breather.” Not the most tactful thing to say, was it? One woman, whose husband had been laid off, shouted out: “can we go with you?”
So, let me repeat it again:
It is about the employees who are lossing their jobs.
Focus on that.
Charles, thanks for the advice. I think I got the message loud and clear…its about the employees, not me or my feelings!!! Right? Pam
Nice job Pam!
(classmate of Pam)
@Steve Thank you for letting me participate, I really enjoyed it.
Thank you Steve and April. Now I have a new piece of technology (blogging) to go to when I am in a jam and need some assistance. This was a fun assignment and the class has opened my eyes to a wide array of technology I was “too busy” to be involved in. Thanks again. Pam
@tlcolson Great points! I’ve heard many horror stories about managers trying to do this themselves rather than involving HR and it always going horribly wrong. My strategy is always straight and to the point, don’t elaborate and don’t drag it out.
Thanks for the encouragement. Although I didn’t have to make the announcement, but rather the head of the project did I assisted her and guided her in her script. She was told to be short and to the point which she was, but she never really came out and said “your jobs are being eliminated” until one employee spoke up and said “are you saying we will be out of jobs”? Then I think the light went on. Anyhow, the employees were grateful that we didn’t give them two weeks notice or even walk them out the door after the meeting. Most of them have 6 more weeks of employment which hopefully won’t backfire and be unproductive weeks.
@BMartin Being friends with or being close to employees that are being laid off or terminated is hard. I personally use Captain Morgan to deal with those situations.
@Lois Great advice! I think trying to show empathy is where a lot of people get off track and go horribly wrong. Like I told @tlcolson, straight and to the point.
Hi Igor,
Thanks for the advice. We delivered the news yesterday afternoon and eveything went as well as could be expected. We were honest which gave us lots of points. The manager wanted to wait another two weeks to tell the group hoping for an eleventh hour savior which I didn’t recommend. I made sure people knew I was there to help them in any way.
Pam
@Pam You are most welcome! When you start your own blog, send me a link so I can subscribe!
Yes, you got it.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude or shout. But, as you can imagine I was shocked by such selfish behaviour in both cases.
“I made sure people knew I was there to help them in any way”
Yes, that is good. Even if they don’t say so, I’m sure that the people being let go will appreciate that.
The one place that I was laid off from – despite the idiot boss – actually paid for a resume writing course for those of us who were interested. It was a 2-day course that covered more than just resumes, it include things such as mock interviews, etc.