A major customer has recently cancelled a large order, your employees know sales are down and they expect more layoffs.
You have been told another round of layoffs is scheduled for the end of the month. It is your desire to respond in a positive manner to your employees’ questions and fears. You are concerned that you will be met with the same anger and other strong emotions you experienced during the previous round. The rumor mill has been working overtime and overtime has been cut. In addition, there have been an unusual number of closed door meetings with key executives.
This is exactly the sequence of events that led to the major layoffs at JH Collectibles when I worked there.
A recent survey by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s (MMAC) Council of Small Business Executives (COSBE) on layoffs indicated that many employees, when informed about a layoff, were concerned over what caused it. They questioned why they were selected. Others cried when told, while many directed their anger at the company, management and the person delivering the message.
In more than one case, the affected employee told the supervisor or manager they felt bad for them. Some employees acted depressed, while others sat quietly and listened to the reasons for the layoff.
Feelings of betrayal, anger and decreased self-worth were common among the employees affected by the layoff.
The strongest response that I experienced while conducting a layoff conference was being called a derogatory term by a long-term supervisor whom I laid off. The anger was directed at me instead of the company or the situation that caused the action.
The supervisor projected the anger he felt onto the person delivering the message, instead of the situation that caused the reduction in force. This type of reaction is expected and you need to be prepared to deflect the anger and concentrate on your task.
How do you prepare to handle the range of emotions you are about to experience? There are a number of strategies that you can use.
First, you need to be able to defend why this employee rather than others have been selected for the layoff. As mentioned in previous articles, blind criteria, those that do not use any of the characteristics that are protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, should not be used to select the employees who will be laid off. This will reduce the potential for claims of discrimination.
For example, a major Midwest manufacturing company applies criteria that require that an employee have multiple skill sets in order to be retained. They also need to have consistently received strong performance appraisals. If you have a collective bargaining agreement in force, then you need to apply the rules that apply to layoff and seniority when conducting a reduction in force. In some cases, you are laying off both union and non-union employees and are using two different sets of criteria.
As stated by Dr. Joel Brocker at Columbia Business School, “what most employees crave during such transitional times is to believe that layoffs are being done fairly.” Having objective, blind criteria will reinforce that belief. In a 2006 Harvard Business Review article, Dr. Brockner provides evidence that when companies emphasize such procedural fairness, few laid off employees file wrongful termination claims, and theft and turnover among surviving employees are greatly reduced.
Secondly, now that we have addressed the administrative issues in a layoff, let’s look at the emotional component. How do you deal with the anger, resentment and grief? The answer is, you cannot really fully prepare. Each interview will have its own challenges. When confronted with anger, you cannot take a defensive posture. Let the employee vent at you and the company. This will permit the employee to express their anger at the situation. Silence can be your best strategy. It is possible that anything you say will just inflame the situation.
Now that they know they will be laid off, you need to let them emote and express their feelings about the situation. Your best available tool is empathy. Understand that this employee now realizes that they are no longer employed and there is a fear of the unknown. Employees tend to look at the worst possible alternatives, such as loss of their home, car and standard of living. It would be unusual if they would have a plan in place to deal with this job loss.
When I was at JH Collectibles, I conducted a number of layoff meetings and was met with anger, tears and silence. In many cases the response to the layoff was “why me?” and not someone else. This is not a discussion you want to get into. To quote a colleague, “This is not a therapy session, it is a layoff meeting.”
If necessary, you should again explain that specific criteria was used, such as skill sets, productivity and attendance records. It is critical to stay on message, since in this type of meeting an employee will only hear 20-40 percent of what is said. You need to state that we don’t like doing this, we have to, we have done this in a fair way, and we will help with the transition.
In many cases a company will offer a severance package to soften the blow. The severance package will depend on the number of years worked or in some cases the level at which the employee served in the company. Prepare a packet that identifies sources of assistance for the affected employee, COBRA information, retraining opportunities and anything else that would assist the employee in dealing with the layoff. The final check should be prepared and include hours worked, any unused vacation, and other monies that are due to employee. In some cases the final check is mailed to the employee.
