Comments on: Best Practices for Layoffs

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By: ruthseeley

ruthseeley — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:39:12 +0000

This is an excellent guide to how to communicate layoff news. The one thing I’d add is that it can be fatal for an organizations to make a vague announcement about the need to reduce the size of its workforce. If the organization says things like, ‘we’re looking to downsize by 20% over the next three years’ without being any more specific than that – and without talking about the situation to employees first – it can end up losing all its best people. They’ll just pick up the phone and call their headhunters the minute they hear the word layoffs.

By: Gordon

Gordon — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:37:06 +0000

A good summary of bad and good, thanks
G

By: sukhjit

sukhjit — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:59:12 +0000

Francine, I would but a big star next to numbers 1 & 4.

This topic has been on the forefront of my mind lately. It comes at a time when I have had many (sometimes heated) conversations about layoffs and why they should be done humanely. To my surprise, startup/ web2.0 layoff culture has been shockingly brutal. Perhaps I am naive, but I expect a level of respect for good work. Respect that includes time to prepare for what is a major life change for many people, especially when you are a worker bee like me that puts heart and soul into your “job”.

I’ve worked in television for over 10 years and have had many shows end. Projects and productions come to an end, they just do. As the staff it’s your job to do your best till your last day of employment, then move on. When you know your show is going on hiatus and probably not getting renewed, you work hard till the last day of your employment but in the back of your mind you begin to look forward so you can figure out what’s next. You begin to budget differently, for a time you may not have work. In all my years in the workforce, I was afforded this respect … except for one time. And as grateful as I was and am for the job, I will never forgive my employer for giving me no notice whatsoever that the company was in enough jeopardy, that the job I was getting praise for on Friday would not exist by the end of Monday. When I think back, I feel saddened and hurt by the lack of respect. I’m sure it was not easy for the bosses to deliver bad news then deal with unhappy stockholders and investors. I appreciate that… but I do still get heavy hearted thinking about this. Stockholders and investors what you to make them money, as a business it is your obligation to do that. And, as I was informed, an employer has no legal obligation to give a employee anything when they lay them off. That’s fine, but in my mind, time to prepare doesn’t cost a thing.

Thank you for re sharing this blog post, Francine. I hope the CEO’s who find themselves in this terrible position will take a moment and consider the wisdom you’ve shared here. –sukhjit