Employee layoffs… the most tough situation for the HR team as well as the management.

There may be many reasons behind employee layoffs. Economic crisis, poor performance, changes in the system, technology advancement etc. are some of them. Even though layoffs are done in the interest of the company; but presenting the same to an employee being fired is not that simple. It is rather a challenge to the one who does this.

When you are assigned to do layoff an employee; being a human being you may feel uncomfortable or guilty in executing the same. But these guilty or humanity feelings cannot refrain you from performing your duty as a HR Professional or being in a Manager role. Let it be a mass layoff or you are just terminating a single employee, be prepared to handle it efficiently with due respect to the company policies as well as the employee(s) being let go.

Now, let’s discuss how to handle a layoff process clearly and efficiently with minimum damages and stress to all the parties involved in the process.

Be trained

Most of the companies may be having their own policies or strategies for recruiting, onboarding as well as for handling layoffs. So most probably the HR professionals working in that organization would have been already trained for these scenarios. If you are trained well; then less troubling the process will be for you. But if the companies are not having a structured policies for employee layoffs, then the situation will be tough for the HR professionals assigned to it. If so; it can have many negative impacts on the organization; even can end up in a lawsuit.

We can not predict how the situations change; economically, technically or even some internal process changes. So, every organization should foresee chances of layoffs whether individual or a mass; and schedule a policy for the same and make sure all the HR staffs are got trained on the same also. The organization could even take help from a mentor with hands-on experience in employee lay offs for structuring the policies and, a legal advisor for helping with the legal compliance.

Prepare & Practice

Make sure you have worked through the details before breaking the bad news. Be prepared to face the worst- case scenarios. So better make a plan how to start the conversation and convey the bad news to the employee; and take trials of the same with some one from your team itself. Understanding the situation, list as many as questions that the employee may throw at you and find answers to deal with the same. You can keep it scripted but be ready to solve if something unscripted has to be faced.

Don’t be Mechanical

Be compassionate to the employee. Understand the feelings of the employee being laid off. But it doesn’t mean that you should express your disappointment, just express your sympathy for them. You can also appreciate the employee for their previous accomplishments, which will make them feel better. If possible, you can even arrange an outplacement service or job counselling for the employee; which will boost the company’s morale values among the existing employees. If you are feeling uncomfortable while conveying the bad news to the employee; then just think about the mind set of the employee going to be terminated; it is just a life-altering news for them.

Treat with Respect

Employee layoffs are a part of the business but can be handled with due respect. You should consider their situation and never play with their feelings. You should never express anger or threaten the employee. The HR professional who executes the layoff procedure should treat the employee with utmost respect and should protect their dignity. The employee being laid off should be informed about this in a private meeting only and all their questions about the decision to be answered vividly.

Never Personalize

You should never target any body for personal reasons while preparing the list of positions to be cut off. Doing so will affect the reputation of the organization among the existing employees as well as in the outer business world.

Be quick and Direct

The ever-best way to handle a layoff is to be quick and direct in passing the dismissal message to the employee while keeping complied to all the above-mentioned points. Be straightforward to the point to be discussed and never draw out the discussion for a long. Also, sometimes after getting to know about the dismissal, the employee may get emotional and raise too many questions which are beyond the subject; never try to answer those and do not get into a debate with the employee.

Offer Transitional Support

Being dismissed or existing, treat your employees in the right way. When an employee is being terminated from the organization, you can contribute to his future with severance, benefits, references or even support in finding another job. All these actions can make the layoff process less painful and keep your morale values up amongst the existing employees too.

HR professionals need to be expert and specifically skilled in conducting downsizing, ensuring the employees affected are treated with respect and supported in making a smooth decision. When the process is handled by an expert, the commitment towards the remaining or existing staffs is also maintained.

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