Separation - Do It With Grace

I’m not an advocate that downsizing and layoffs are the answer to the woes of our businesses – I never have been.  However, I do know that after initiating other cost saving strategies, sometimes an organization has no other choice.  It then becomes a question of how to let go of a “contributor” in a dignified way that acknowledges contributions made over the years, as well as assists with the transition to a “new” work-life?

Whether you are the employee or the employer, the Separation Meeting is never an easy one.  Even when an individual sees the writing on the wall and senses the company may need to eliminate jobs, it’s difficult to hear and face the finality of having to leave because it’s your job they are going to do without.  Although the manager may intellectually accept the reasons for layoffs or plant closings, that part of the brain doesn’t deal with the painful emotions of sadness and anxiety knowing the layoff message is going to turn the co-worker’s life upside down.

This recession has created the highest number of unemployed in 40 years, approximately 15 million Americans are without work, as of the end of May 2010.  I fear that we will see more layoffs in the 2nd half of the year as the economy is trying to right itself, gain confidence and figure out where it stands in relationship to the financial conditions playing out around the world.  Throughout all these downsizings we have heard one horror story after another about how the Separation was executed.  It is rare that we learn of a company that conducted itself with dignity and grace; although I do believe there have to be some of these companies out there who do it right.  They are just few and far between.

There is no way around it, a layoff, firing, termination, exit, separation; whatever you want to call it is not easy.  Someone is out, and others are still in (at least for the moment).  Paul Harvey, a professor at the University of New Hampshire commented in an interview with NPR in 2008, “that managers should treat the person being let go with dignity to take the edge off.  It’s going to be an emotional situation, and most likely the person is going to be embarrassed and angry.  They deserve an explanation.  The manager who shuts down emotionally only makes matters worse.”  [link this to NPR  ]  So what can be done to add grace to a difficult situation for both parties?

When I wrote Learning To Live With Downsizing in 1996, my strategic downsizing model included four key functions:

• Prepare managers to properly communicate and manage the message
• Consider the needs of the employees being let go
• Focus on the needs of employees remaining after the layoff
• Communicate with the community in which your organization operates

I think these are still very applicable for a downsizing strategy developed in 2010 focusing on the resources and actions required before, during and after a layoff event.

Tips for Employees

With the current economic situation, we all need to be prepared for the possibility that our company or industry may make adjustments in a way that could impact our abilities to maintain our jobs.  Not all firms are transparent, so the financial stresses the company may be dealing with may not be obvious.  Make the decision to be prepared --- just in case:

1. Create a financial strategy that allows you to put aside enough money to keep you and your family secure for 3-6 months.  That should allow you time to find some type of “bridge” job, (I’ll write about this soon – but this is a job that you’re only taking in order to keep yourself above water.  It more than likely is not in your career field, and it probably will be generating less income than you are used to.  It’s just temporary).
2. Raise your awareness about who you are outside of your job.  So often we define ourselves by the jobs we do and when those jobs are gone, we are lost.  It may be helpful to work with a career coach to help you shift your perceptions and paradigms.
3. Keep your resume up-to-date.  Don’t wait for the “shoe to drop” before thinking about what you should include and/or who might be a reference.  Check out free information on resume preparation at my website.
4. Keep up-to-date on current business trends by reading a variety of resources such as:  Fortune; Fast Company; and Businessweek.   Use this information to help you interpret what is happening in your industry
5. Should you be laid off, try to negotiate career transition services as part of your severance package.  Preparing to find a job on your own in a normal market can be difficult.  The current market makes it more challenging and may require you to consider explore re-invention or free-agent thinking.
6. If you are laid off, keep your composure as best you can in the meeting, as well as in conversations that may occur afterwards with your employer or co-workers.  You never know when paths are going to cross again, and/or if you will need to rely on any of these folks for a reference.  Don’t burn any bridges.
7. Stay focused on stress management, exercise, positive thinking and taking care of yourself.  It’s easy to fall into a habit of destructive and unhealthy behaviors during stressful times.

Tips for Employers

As a career transition professional, the biggest mistake I experience are companies going into a layoff without proper planning and strategic orchestration of preparation, training, processes and communications.  I offer the following points to help you in your strategic planning so you can detail plans that address the process, but also add grace and dignity to the reality that you are dealing with people.  People who have dreams, emotions, families, mortgages, etc.

1. Thoroughly work through your business analysis in order to address questions such as:  “Why my job?”  “What help can you provide me to get re-employed?”  “How and what do we tell the rest of the team?”  “What have we learned from this experience?”  Companies often find that utilizing an external HR professional to assist with the strategic planning and implementation can be helpful.
2. Be as transparent as you can about the financial and business stresses your company and industry are facing, so employees are not shocked by the news that layoffs must occur.
3. Teach your managers how to deliver the separation message in a way that shows compassion while holding the line on “the decision is already made”.  Be clear that this message should be delivered in face-to-face meetings as much as practical.  Communicating this type of message via email or phone is not acceptable to achieve the goal of working in a respectful manner.
4. As an HR professional, I know you have to take away access such as the computer, office keys, files, etc.  However, do this in a manner that doesn’t make the employee feel like a criminal.  In most layoff situations, the people impacted just happened to be the next in line.  It wasn’t a matter of performance, or fraud, or insubordination.
5. It’s best to have a witness in the room with you, usually your HR representative who can present the severance package and benefits being offered.   It may not always be practical for the HR representative to travel with the manager to the location where the layoff is being announced, although this is preferable.  If the HR representative can not be present, ensure the manager has the appropriate information packages, and the HR representative is available by phone to discuss the information and answer questions.
6. More than likely there will be questions after the layoff.  After the employee has had time to think about the impact.  Make it a priority that the HR representative returns phone calls immediately and offers the best customer service to the employees as they begin to sort through repositioning their lives.
7. Be sure to offer some type of career transition service.  Everyone, especially in this job market, needs help moving on to the next job.  Organizations, like my company, are available to assist with workshops, one-on-one coaching, and/or providing materials such as a self-paced job search book the employee can utilize on their own.   Your employees have helped to contribute to your success in the past, help them get started on the right foot to their future.
8. Be aware that your remaining employees, as well as the community from which you may draw workers in the future, are watching how you treat people; on the way in to your organization, as well as on the way out.  Do you cast them aside to struggle on their own, or do you deliver the difficult message with dignity, grace and assistance?
9. As soon as possible, gather the remaining team to explain what happened to the workers who were laid off, why the lay off occurred and how business will be taken care of going forward.  Be prepared for their concern and questions about who’s next.
10. Take time to assure those key employees you do not want to lose that their jobs are vital to the success of the organization and how you see them contributing in the future.  Help them see they have a future with you so they will not be as tempted to jump ship when the right opportunity comes along.

I hope I’m wrong about what we might see over the next six months.  I hope the markets are just being overly fearful and that businesses will be able to recover quickly and add jobs at a steady pace.  But if we are going to be faced with a challenging second half as predicted by several business analysts let’s prepare to manage the real human faces and emotions associated with the downsizing situation.  It’s painful for everyone – acknowledge that by being respectful.

I’m curious about your thoughts and invite you to post your comments.  We can all learn from each other.  Certainly downsizing shouldn’t be the first strategy we employ when we’re faced with challenging times, but if the organization has to initiate layoffs, what have you experienced that helped to manage the process of being let go in a more humanistic manner?

Resources:

Learning to Live with Downsizing, Deborah A. King

Position Your Next Move for a Successful Job Search, Deborah A. King

Website – Job-Hunt.org