These tips will help your company thrive following layoffs and downsizing activities.
You Cannot Over-Communicate During Layoffs and Downsizing
Throughout the layoffs and downsizing process, communicate the facts as honestly as you can and with great compassion. People must walk away from meetings and one-on-one discussions with the feeling that decisions were fair and legitimate.
They must feel the decisions were good for the business and their future. They need to understand the context in which decisions were made. They need to hear that a rational, well-thought-out decision making process occurred. Express empathy for those who have lost coworkers with whom they shared relationships. You cannot over-communicate during a layoff or downsizing.
Make Sure Some Things Stay the Same Following Layoffs or DownsizingA commitment to the continuation of regular group and one-on-one meetings following the layoffs and downsizing is also important. It is a mistake to bring sarcasm, an apparent lack of empathy, blame or criticism of those who are leaving to these sessions. To maintain morale, the people remaining must have seen the downsized individuals treated with dignity and respect.
Treat People With Dignity and Respect During the DownsizingEscorting people and their work artifacts out the door with security personnel or a supervisor standing guard, is not an effective way to assist the layoff survivors to feel warm and fuzzy about your organization. It is much better if you hold a meeting toward the end of the day, break the bad news and then assist the individuals to pack up their belongings when most of the workforce has gone home.
Or, as one manager in a client company decided, he met each employee on the weekend to help them pack and wish them well. This also allowed him to “check up” on the former employee several days into their unemployment. In my observation, this manager’s remaining staff pulled together and quickly returned to a high level of productivity.
A debate is ongoing about the timing of communication about layoffs and downsizing. I believe an organization should tell people as much as possible as soon as information is known with some certainty. This includes the timing of private discussions between managers and employees who may stay or lose their jobs as a result.
In one client company, we recently downsized the workforce. I believe this event should occur early in the week so people have time to start their job search. The managers decided to act on a Friday, however. We had received the feedback from employees that not knowing who would lose their jobs, and wondering all weekend, would be worse for morale. So, we acted.
Design an effective communications strategy for before, during, and after the layoffs and downsizing. It is the critical factor that supports your workforce quickly unifying around the mission, vision, and new organizational structure. Effective communication ensures the ownership of the new strategies for success.
As you design your strategy, think broadly about all the possible ways to communicate during layoffs. Hold company meetings; schedule one-on-ones; publish a transition newsletter; use email, Intranet, and Internet resources; hold frequent department gatherings; post minutes and notices; use voice mail for messages; encourage informal planning sessions that are focused on forward progress.
