How to Lay Off Employees
Get Ahead by LinkedIn News
We talk about leveling up, about geting ahead in your career and about excelling where you are right now.
We spend 40 out of 168 hours of the week at work. So are layoffs personal? Find the answer in this article where experts speak about the best ways to conduct a layoff conversation. Work is like any relationship that should be handled with care and respect. Layoffs happen. Reflect and refresh afterward before your next opportunity.
By Ciarra Maraj
Being laid off from a job is similar to being broken up with, and breaking up is hard to do.
Employment is a relationship between the company and its employees. It is transactional and on an “at-will” basis, meaning that any party can terminate the relationship without cause or notice. Still, lines become blurred because friendships form when 40 out of 168 hours in the week are spent at work.
Layoffs happen when a company needs to recover from a financial mistake or make departmental cuts. It is hard to say layoffs are not personal because they can be, said Johnny C. Taylor Jr., president and CEO of Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM).
“There are times when it is absolutely personal,” Taylor said. “Now it may not be illegal personal so, it's not because of your race, because of your gender, because of your age. That's illegal. But it could be, ‘My manager has five people, has to get rid of one and he or she, just doesn't like me.’ You could lose your job for that. That's called employment-at-will, by the way. It's perfectly legal.”
Moses Balian, an HR consultant at Justworks disagrees.
“It's not personal in either case, all terminations should be driven by business strategy,” Balian said.
Mass layoffs are random. It is emotional but, through the emotions, an opportunity to reflect, refresh and improve lives. The best thing to do is accept that it is over.
“And it's OK,” Taylor said. “I tell employees, ‘Acknowledge the feelings, and the feelings will range, will be anger, disappointment, frustration, etc. Acknowledge that.’ It is so important to acknowledge that in your own head, as you go to your next job because if you repress these feelings, you will walk into, almost certainly, your next relationship, i.e., the job, with baggage.”
Managers and those alike can improve the news delivery by minding their language, making a plan, and being empathetic to those let go.
It is What You Say (And How)
From the crying CEO to the webinar Zoom call notifying 900 employees at once, letting people go should not be patronizing.
“So the overriding rule is dignity, respect and empathy,” Taylor said.
Dignity is where and how the situation takes place. Respect is giving the employee time at the moment to process. And empathy is the tone of voice and understanding that today it is them being laid off, but tomorrow it can be you.
This is not an easy conversation, so be direct.
“Brevity is not only professional but appropriate and also kind,” Balian said. “You want to get to the point, you want to be direct. You want to maybe, probably even, avoid the niceties of small talk at the beginning of the conversation and let the employee know the news.”
Co-founder and CEO of Stybel Peabody Associates, Inc, Laurence J. Stybel, told the Harvard Business Review how to start the conversation.
“‘I have some bad news to deliver today,’ because it emotionally prepares the individual,” Stybel said. “It’s equivalent to saying, ‘I’m about to punch you in the stomach’ versus just punching you in the stomach.”
People are losing their jobs. Be empathetic, not sympathetic. Taylor reflected on when he heard about a hiring manager crying during a termination meeting.
Recommended by LinkedIn
“Like what are you doing? Stop that,” Taylor said.
“Empathize,” he added.
Trying to save face while attempting to spare employees’ feelings can do more harm than good.
“This is not a time to be buddy-buddy with your rapport,” Balian said. “This is a time to really be the face of the company and in line with that.”
Be mindful of the language used because it can be a liability. What is supposed to be a layoff can turn into a wrongful termination suit if you use words like “I don’t agree with this decision” or “We’re making a mistake by letting you go.” Because if the employee is a part of a protected class (race, gender, disability, etc.), then the decision goes from a business necessity to suspected bias.
“Responding to a discrimination claim is the last thing you want added to your plate,” Balian said. “And so that's why managers need to use more buttoned-up language, again without sacrificing empathy.”
How to Lay Off Employees
Make a plan to stay focused. Prepare answers to common questions that may arise after the news arrives. Some include: Can I collect my things? How much is the severance? When is my last day?
“There's nothing worse than saying to an employee who asks you five questions, ‘I need to get back with you on all five,’” Taylor said. “Now there's nothing wrong with it, if in fact there's a question you don't know the answer to. The last thing you should do is wing it…We've done enough mass layoffs over time that we know the frequently asked questions and how people are gonna respond. So a plan is the most critical part of this entire thing.”
Be cognizant of communication toward staff not laid off. Transparency maintains employee morale. Opting for secrecy may cause rumors and anxiety. Balian said that employees become worried about their job and speculate who might be next if more layoffs happen.
“Then the rumor mill festers without even there being a seed from which it to start, but speculation runs rampant,” Balian said. “And so remaining silent on the issue on a company level is the worst thing you can do.”
Lean on human resources (HR). They are the project managers for these initiatives providing talking points, Balian said.
“HR should be coordinating the schedule, the sort of roll-out strategy, of the timing of these conversations, whether they happen individually or in a group setting,” Balian said.
Laying people off will never become easy. Avoid friendships coloring your spokesperson's voice, speak with respect, recruit HR to help and remember why the layoffs are necessary.
“Sometimes you have to let go of 200 people to save 2,000 people,” Taylor said.
Top Takeaways
How to Lay Off Employees