How to Lay Someone Off
It finally happened: The economy caught up with your business and you're faced with the unenviable task of pink-slipping someone on your team.
It's no one's favorite managerial duty, yet it's one that can't be avoided when the layoff bell tolls. But you can approach the situation with tact and understanding, and handle it in a way that does as much as possible to preserve morale and team spirit in the rest of your employees.
Wired magazine ran a great how-to piece in a recent issue ("How to...Lay Someone Off," Feb. 2009) that suggested hitting four key notes:
- Predictability: Warn you staff exactly when cuts are going to happen. What they don't know can hurt them -- as well as morale and productivity.
- Understanding: Give victims reasonable justification for termination.
- Empowerment: Allow your employees to have some control over their exits. For example, offer a package with options such as a choice between extended health coverage or cash up front.
- Compassion: Don't pull a Trump ("You're fired!"). It's a tough moment, so put yourself in your former employees' shoes and show a little empathy.
Posting on Fast Company's Fast Talk discussion about layoffs, Saabira Chaudhuri writes:
"If you have security concerns fine -- handle sensitive information carefully but don't boot someone out the same day unless there's a really good reason. Let them leave with dignity."Guy Kawasaki opines on the art of the layoff, and adds this gem:
Don't ask for pity. Sometimes managers go to great lengths to show the person they're laying off (or firing) how hard it is on them. This reminds me of the old definition of chutzpah: A boy murders his parents and then asks the court for leniency because he's an orphan. The person who suffers is the one being terminated, not the manager.Remember that the rest of your staff -- as well as your peers and your boss -- will be watching you closely to see how you handle the situation. Conducting yourself with integrity and transparency will help you keep the respect of your team and make it more likely that they'll continue on in your camp. Dr. John Sullivan suggests you can maintain morale and productivity during layoffs with a few additional action steps:
Post your layoff criteria before the ax falls. This openness allows all employees to know what benchmarks or measurements will be used, so that those who currently fit the criteria can have an opportunity to work harder toward becoming exempt from them. For top performers and those in key jobs, it also reduces anxiety and allows them to see that they are important and needed.
Watch out for overworkers.
When downsizing is nigh, some employees may suddenly take on more work to look like superstars. Take it with a grain of salt -- and be on the lookout for errors and overwork to make sure overworking doesn't go too far.
Address "survivor's guilt."
Employees who held on to their jobs may face a type of stress known as survivor's guilt -- the feeling that they unfairly lucky to be spared while their friends and co-workers were terminated. This phenomenon can cause anxiety and depression and can wreak havoc on morale and productivity. Be on the lookout for team members suffering from this guilt and be ready with a kind word, moral support, or in extreme cases, counseling.