Company Layoff Practices Matter: They'll Remember How They Feel
How you lay off employees in this economic climate really matters. You've heard me discuss alternatives to layoffs, none of which are exceptionally positive, but may provide temporary solutions. Yesterday's blog post zeroed in on the pessimism of CEOs. I don't want my blog to be about rain, rain, rain, but let's look realistically at the impact of the layoff experience for employees.
According to Telonu.com, a site that tracks employee layoff experiences as shared by their respondents:
- 88% of laid-off employees rate ‘how their layoff was handled’ as poor or very poor.
- 94% rate outplacement support as poor/very poor.
- 81% of those still employed perceive job security as poor or very poor.
- 74% of those still employed rate morale as poor/very poor.
We can also learn from the site's 12% of respondents who rated their layoff experience as fair or positive, that these factors mattered.
- Fair or better severance payment and heath insurance support.
- Outplacement support was cited by the most positive people who had experienced a layoff.
- Companies that gave people time to find other opportunities inside the company were also praised.
The majority of employees responding so far also said they would return to employment with the company that laid them off. They cited factors outside of their company's control, such as the economy, bankers, and so forth, and not their management, as reasons for the layoff. About.com's Alison Doyle, shares more about how and why companies need to do layoffs carefully.
The pain of layoff and unemployment is real and scary for people. Prospects are cloudy on the employment horizon. These insights from people responding at Telonu give us guidance if a layoff becomes necessary in your organization.
Additional sites tracking layoffs include Layoff Tracker (thanks, Amy at Techsmith) and the TechCrunch Layoff Tracker for the technology sector (542 comments as of this morning).
Know of other layoffs sites? Share in “comments.” Thank you.
New Layoff Resource for Employers
Image Copyright Nicholas Monu
More About How Employers Do Layoffs
Comments
Susan you have such great information in your blog. How about a piece on alternatives & supplements to traditional outplacement services? Exiting employees are requesting technology that they can utilize to focus their search, market themselves to future employers and will help them reenter the workforce quickly. Technology can empower them and get them proactively involved in their search. OptimalResume is the leading provider of this technology. We can cut employer costs and at the same time generate goodwill that would exit with some employees! It’s a new paradigm for HR to consider, however throwing money at expensive services that can be outdated is not always the best solution. This is a great topic for you to pick up and address!
On a recent webinar I shocked someone by saying that in a layoff situation, your goal is not to make a bad situation worse through poor communication. With many layoffs under my belt I firmly believe that the way it is handled matters enormously. Thank for this.