HR has moral responsibilities beyond paperwork.
Layoffs: HR departments are not staffed for a layoff
HR gets a bad rap when it comes to layoffs. Unfortunately, I have led HR teams when they have had to conduct layoffs. I have posted a number of times about what individuals should think about if they don’t survive layoffs. Today, I am going to share steps that HR teams should consider when conducting a layoff.
As hard as a layoff is on the exiting employee, layoffs are also hard on the HR team. This isn’t an excuse, it is a reality that most employees miss. HR makes the calls, bears the brunt of angry and frustrated employees, and still needs to be professional. These departments are short-staffed for this day. HR departments are staffed for projects, occasional individual employee conversations, and running reports. Understaffed HR departments need to make sacrifices on what they will and will not do during a layoff. Sacrifices are based on resources and time. Most HR departments are conscious of what steps and processes they will omit. These omissions are seen as incompetence from the outside.
Communication is key
When we prepare for a layoff, we think about internal and external comms, processes, budgets for severance, timelines, scripts for managers, and messaging to employees who remain, to name just a few.
We work with the internal marketing team to put together a timeline of events starting 2-3 weeks out. These meetings include the payroll, benefits, legal, and HR departments from all offices and countries. We list the task, time and timezone the task needs to be completed, who the owner is and status. A few weeks out, we will review this 2-3 times a week and keep everyone on the team updated. 10 days out, we meet every day. them
Confidence in the process
I am a big believer in confidence and how confidence affects performance. HR will be less nervous on the big day if we are prepared, know we have done everything we can, and don’t have any loose ends or questions. We have practiced and rehearsed, and know the steps. HR has eliminated doubt, and the employee experience is better.
Of course, things will come up last minute, but it is easier to make adjustments when there is a timeline that everyone is aware of.
Hopefully, this post will do two things:
- Give other HR teams ideas so the employee experience is improved
- Let those affected in a RIF that out of respect to those that are leaving, we did our best.
Some thoughts I share with the HR team:
Everyone has permission to ask the same 10 times if needed
The goal here is that everyone is comfortable and confident in the process. There is a lot to keep track of. We are working with different teams, different time zones, different countries and different departments. I stress at every meeting that everyone has permission to ask the same question until they understand the process. They also have permission to question the process. This can be a new process for some, so everyone can ask the same question over and over in the same meeting, and the same week. It is important that there is no confusion. At the end of the day, we want the experience for the exiting employee to be as “Least Shitty” as it can under the circumstances. We want the folks staying on to feel as confident about the future as they can.
Show empathy for everyone, don’t feel sorry for anyone
No one wants to conduct a layoff. I think it is an honor to be trusted to be responsible for a company layoff.
The goal is for employees to keep as much of their dignity on the way out as they had to when they joined. Layoffs are not the fault of any one individual contributor. In the same way, we don’t get to pick our race or where we are born; we don’t have much control when it comes to layoffs.
HR should show empathy but not feel sorry for anyone. Most appreciate the former, and no one wants the latter.
If HR has this conversation with professionalism, the interaction will be a lot better. Nervous laughter, uneasiness, and being unsure of the process will all lead to a “More Shitty” experience for those exiting. This is the time when the employee needs the most coaching and the most assurance.
Make it as easy under the circumstances as we can for the exiting employee
Make employees feel as comfortable as possible given the circumstances. Provide contact info, answer questions like it is the first time you are answering the question (vs. the 50th), and show grace. Most employees early in their careers have not been laid off and will be full of questions. Employees may have family at home. The family will have questions and the more answers and assurances the employee can provide, the better the experience. Some demographics will be hesitant to ask questions.
How do you work in HR? I could never fire someone?
Reductions in force are probably the hardest time for an HR team. Most HR folks got into HR because they wanted to take care of the employee. I want to take care of the employees, but at the end of the day, I want to take care of the company and the shareholders. When HR folks who are early in their career have doubts about making the calls, I remind them of the following:
The choices of who goes and stays are not personal. The company is looking at roles and responsibilities.
I would like to say we are looking at individual people. The company can not afford to look at individuals. If we looked at individuals, we would keep all employees. HR does not make the decisions on individual people. Executives are looking at the roles and responsibilities that the company can survive without. If you have 10 developers in a department, can the company get by with 7?
How HR makes a difference
I remind HR employees who feel the conversations are too hard:
HR determines how good or how bad an experience the employees leaving the company have. HR determines how confident those who remain will feel about the future of the company. No one wants to let any employee go. HR can make the situation less shitty.
Help with the next steps:
HR can help folks through the next few days and set them up for the transition. Reductions in force are not just about making sure employees get severance and benefits and know how to move their 401K.
HR can give an employee confidence by reinforcing that this was not about skillsets or contributions. Taking the time to help employees with resumes and mock interviews can give candidates confidence.
These small gestures give the remaining employees confidence in the HR group.
HRNasty
nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with the result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone good at something. “He has a nasty forkball.”
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