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Complex question - here are the particulars:

Small staff (<10). I recently took over as top executive - I'd been leading in a lower role for about 3-4 years. Part of my charge when taking over was to analyze staff structure and suggest changes to the board.

One staff member hasn't made the cut. Long story short, this individual is a notoriously low performer, but that's not the reason for the action. His department is sort of outdated in our current structure, and our board has made it clear that the work product his department creates is not as important as some things that we could get done if we eliminate his position and create a new one.

Along with this I'm suggesting a number of other changes to structure. My old position wasn't back-filled, and as a result I'm doing both my old job and my new job at current.

A slight complication in my situation is that the individual who's being laid off is experiencing some personal-life issues which will make it very unfortunate for him personally that this action is taking place. Additionally complicating matters is the fact that the organization does have some external political ramifications to consider - this employee has a bit of a "following" externally, and some of our constituents will not be happy that we've elected not to create this work product any longer.

As it relates to the layoff, I'm aware that the traditional mode of notification to the employee is the "late Friday afternoon" conversation, followed by a severance agreement which would include him continuing to cooperate over the period of severance (to help tie up loose ends), but generally speaking not return to the office.

Here's what I'm wondering - is there a more dignified way to handle the layoff, and would you recommend it, or would you stick to the cut-and-dry approach? We're planning to offer significant severance (3 mths), and I'm wondering if I might not explain the situation, allow four more weeks of in-office work while we develop messages and craft announcements (not to mention, he gets his work done during that time rather than me being saddled with it), and then have the remaining eight weeks be external severance, if you want to call it that.

The whole "Today's your last day, pack your things and go" approach seems so impersonal and rude. Unappreciative of contributions, also.

What say you, gurus?

TNoxtort's picture

 Not sure I can help you too much on the actual situation, but I work in pharmaceutical and entry level person gets almost 6 months in severance, plus 2 months of the WARN act being a big company, and an employee with 30 years of experience walks out with 2 years of severance. 

Mark's picture
Admin Role Badge

You do know we have a DETAILED podcast on this, first published 10/23/2005.  We've recurred to layoffs a couple of times after that.  Just search for "compassionate layoffs" or just "layoff" and you'll find it.

Here's an excerpt from the show:

Before Remember: Everybody already knows. Don't kid yourself - people know it's coming.

Check for, however unlikely, open positions elsewhere in the company that these people might be right for. this is unlikely, perhaps, but it should always be part of your process, one of your items in your checklist. If you do it this way, when there is a lucky strike, you won't miss it.

Prepare an information document or packet (HR oughta help) - Describe financial, medical and other benefit situations, and any resources the company will provide. They will NOT remember this stuff no matter how clearly you say it. HR ought to not only help you with the details, but ideally they will provide a key phrases list, and even senior leadership's comments that you can pass along.

Make sure you know their home phone number. You will be calling them. Rehearse

Schedule a conference room if you don't have an office. It's got to be private, obviously. Kick someone else out for this if you have to to comply with the next bullet.

Communicate as soon as possible. Once you have the okay, meet privately with each person you are laying off immediately. IMMEDIATELY. Don't wait til the end of the day. DO IT NOW.

DON'T TELL ANYONE ELSE - NOT EVEN YOUR SPOUSE - IN ADVANCE. It's inconsiderate, and you might be wrong!

During

I would schedule no more than 15 minutes for the meeting. If it goes longer than that and it's going well, you might can justify 45 minutes. But if it's going poorly, the end time w ill help you extricate yourself. Monday is best, but .any day is okay, Friday is least good.

There's a lot more than that in the cast.

And 3 months is NOT generous at all, and don't you DARE ask him to work during his severance. Severance is for after. If he's going to work, you're going to pay him.

Mark, late on a Friday night

HMac's picture

Sorry Mark- I don't get why you started that helpful post with a (sigh)...

Were you sighing because he didn't know you have a detailed podcast, first published in 2005?

Or was it his approach?

Or was it the late on a Friday night part?

TNoxtort's picture

 Now that I read what Mark said, oh wow.

If the employee is still working, that is NOT severance, rather, it's called a PAYCHECK. There is no such thing as external and internal severance. You pay severance after their last day, at which time they might could claim  unemployment. So your plan is really only 8 weeks of severance. I'm glad to hear from Mark what I suspected: that 3 months(and in reality, it isn't even that) is not significant severance.

I think the today's your last day pack and go can be appropriate if you give a good severance with benefits and such. At my current company, the let go employees actually had several weeks of notice, and they got their 2 month + 6 month or more severance with full benefits and entitlement to end of year bonus. Years ago, when I got fired from my first job out of college (lasted 1.5 years) , I was given full pay and benefits until I had a new job (8 weeks), and then they paid me for several months anyway; in my next job I realized I had learned a lot there, and with that kind of package, it's hard to be mad at them. I think that's the point of severance.

Given all the complications you mentioned, I think throwing it extra months of severance is a small cost to the good will / PR / avoiding potential legal issues, for later.

 

 

kerryserawow's picture

Sorry to frustrate - let me clarify. What I'm really wondering is if there is a way to give some notice that the last day has been decided. Of course we don't start severance until after the last day. Just trying to avoid the suddenness of "This is the end, give me your keys." Could I say that the last day is two weeks/four weeks from now? Are there other reasons that's sub-optimal?

Is there a good rule of thumb for determining severance in terms of weeks of pay?

Thanks for your help - very new at this. Your podcast has been invaluable to me.

kerryserawow's picture

One last note - I did listen to that podcast and I thought that it was excellent as always. You advocated for a very compassionate approach. I liked that you put responsibility on the manager. This isn't something I've taken lightly.

Mark's picture
Admin Role Badge

If the cast wasn't helpful, there's not a lot more I can suggest.  It's quite specific.  It worries me to see you reference the "late Friday" idea, when we specifically recommended against that in the cast.  It saddens me to think that the cast left any doubts about doing the right thing and doing so with dignity.

Hugh - the (sigh) was due to the detailed specifics that were in the cast.  But how does that answer help this person's question?

And Art is wrong - the "last day" thing is NEVER appropriate, even if they become rich when you do it. Professionalism and money aren't to be mixed as if we practice alchemy.

Mark

**** Shownotes:

This week's cast is on LAYOFFS. We know it's not an upbeat topic, but it's highly likely you're going to be involved in one at some point, and professional managers know how to conduct layoffs efficiently, with candor and compassion. We have slated three podcasts for this topic. One is on preparation- what you need to do in advance. This is for more senior managers, and those who will be in in discussions with HR. The second one is the one everyone always asks about - How to Actually Lay Someone Off - What do I say in the conversation, and how do I say it? That's what we're going to cover today. The third cast is how to communicate to everyone after the fact. It's an oft-ignored part of the process, but done well it can really help.

 

There are also a couple of podcasts in our future on how to SURVIVE a layoff - in other words, being on the receiving end. But today's cast is about being a manager delivering the news to one of your team. As well, to be clear, this is NOT about firing someone. Termination is about an individual's performance (or malfeasance), and is notably different.

 

Part of the reason we're doing this now is we had a recent question from a subscriber, and his feedback to us said that everything went really smoothly, and HR told him it was perhaps the best termination interview they had ever seen.

 

[Cast]

 

First off, we want to state up front that we subscribe to the "soft" manager approach to layoffs. That means that even though you are dealing with THE TOUGHEST SUBJECT POSSIBLE, and the employee may respond with rage or frustration or tears, we think your profession requires you to be compassionate, caring and understanding. We believe these qualities make you a BETTER manager, and not just when you're laying someone off. So, you may hear some suggestions today that aren't standard. WE think they ought to be, but they're not. One thing that will help you understand why we suggest these things is to read them from the point of view of the one being laid off. They read pretty good from that seat.

We break the recommendations down into three sections: Before, During, and After.

 

Before

 

•                Remember: Everybody already knows. Don't kid yourself - people know it's coming.

•                Check for, however unlikely, open positions elsewhere in the company that these people might be right for. this is unlikely, perhaps, but it should always be part of your process, one of your items in your checklist. If you do it this way, when there is a lucky strike, you won't miss it.

•                Prepare an information document or packet (HR oughta help) - Describe financial, medical and other benefit situations, and any resources the company will provide. They will NOT remember this stuff no matter how clearly you say it. HR ought to not only help you with the details, but ideally they will provide a key phrases list, and even senior leadership's comments that you can pass along.

•                Make sure you know their home phone number. You will be calling them.

•                Rehearse

•                Schedule a conference room if you don't have an office. It's got to be private, obviously. Kick someone else out for this if you have to to comply with the next bullet.

•                Communicate as soon as possible. Once you have the okay, meet privately with each person you are laying off immediately. IMMEDIATELY. Don't wait til the end of the day. DO IT NOW.

•                DON'T TELL ANYONE ELSE - NOT EVEN YOUR SPOUSE - IN ADVANCE. It's inconsiderate, and you might be wrong!

 

During

 

•                I would schedule no more than 15 minutes for the meeting. If it goes longer than that and it's going well, you might can justify 45 minutes. But if it's going poorly, the end time w ill help you extricate yourself. Monday is best, but .any day is okay, Friday is least good.

•                Start with the bad news. "Bob, I have decided to lay you off." The tone should be somber, NOT brisk. Show regret. Be strong enough to show sadness. NO CHIT CHAT or pleasantries.

•                Add a filler to allow them to catch their breath. "This is always hard, and I am sorry to be the one to tell you. I assure you, it's not because of who you are or your value." They won't hear the next twenty words after you tell them they're losing their job.

•                Tell them why. I can't know the reasons, but they ought not to be for performance. (If it's for performance, why not fire them?) Corporate or HR ought to have given you some guidance.

•                Accept responsibility. "If you want to know who made the decision, it was me." Don't blame your direct boss, or someone at corporate. "I was asked to layoff two people, and you are one of them. it gives me no pride to say it, but I'd rather you not blame someone that doesn't deserve it." If you can't stomach this, you have no business being a manager.

•                Tell them what it means in terms of finances and benefits. "We will be giving you __severance. Here is what will happen to medical coverage. Here is what will happen to 401K, etc. Show them where it's written. If HR says they will do this, ask forcefully whether they will let you do it. What makes the deliverer of this news good at this terrible task is closeness and perceived empathy - HR rarely gets that credit. Do it yourself.

•                Offer to help with their job search.

•                Fight any attempt to have security involved. You'll probably be asked to escort them out of the building. DON'T let anyone else do this. You do it.

•                Tell them what the team will hear - I will be telling the team immediately, and if you want, I encourage you to talk to them. They will probably be uncomfortable, but I will encourage them to talk to you as well. They don't know ANYTHING about your financial situation. They will know what the big picture is. I ask you to be considerate and not engage them in discussions that are negative about the company or the team.

•                End the meeting if necessary. "Okay, there's more to talk about, but I have to cut this off. Please call me or HR with any questions you have. I will be calling you as well"

 

After

 

•                Brief the rest of the team immediately. Tell them who got laid off, and repeat the reasons you shared/were given. Be forceful about having everyone attend the meeting - don't do it three times to accommodate everyone's schedule. And, give them advice on how to behave around their lost teammate. Tell them it's okay to express sympathy... that avoiding these two people is incredibly rude and insensitive. The laid off will feel branded a failure - having others stay away will make them feel kicked while they're down. Look each one in the eye and ask for a commitment to reach out to the 2 leaving.

•                If you can, tell them that THE LAYOFF IS OVER. There are no plans for further layoffs now, and I don't see any in the foreseeable future." If you string out a couple more over a year, your team will disintegrate in front of your eyes.

•                Call those you laid off. Within 48 hours, and weekly thereafter. Don't be surprised if you are yelled at by a spouse. Put your head down and figuratively shuffle your feet as you apologize. YOU DID THIS TO THEM - accept it. If they are angry, gracefully extricate yourself, "I am sorry you feel that way. I'll try again in a couple of days." If you have three calls like that, it's okay to say, "I'm not helping by calling. If you need help from me, I'll let you call me. Best of luck."

•                Do a brief after action report when you're done. What you would have done differently, words you wished you'd used, steps you wish you'd taken. Add those ideas to your checklist, and share it with peers.

 

 

 

 

theisler's picture

Layoffs are never easy. In a company as small as yours, they are even more painful. Pay attention to Mark. This person already knows. In a company this small, someone on the board told someone who told this person. You actually look like a fool or a coward not addressing this sooner. I know it is painful. I wish I could say it gets easier. It doesn't. You will get past this. Do it well, and you will sleep at night. Do it poorly, and you will spend many a sleepless night.

 

If it helps, the first layoff I had to do was in a company I built myself. I knew everyone, their wives, and kids. It was not a surprise to anyone. Everyone knew that revenue was drying up. I actually waited longer than I should have to lay someone off, which was a disservice to the rest of the company. I wish MT was around all those years ago. Learning these lessons the hard way stinks.