How to Handle Virtual Layoffs with Transparency & Empathy
by Laura Poisson
There are few things leaders must do that are more difficult than terminating someone’s employment, especially in the COVID-19 environment. The key to minimizing the negative impact and protecting morale is to ensure separated employees at every level are treated with dignity and respect.
Be transparent: Open and honest communication helps to create trust between leadership and employees even when the news is bad or incomplete. Advanced signaling that changes to talent strategy are being evaluated and will be communicated as soon as possible allows people to begin to prepare for change and provides a better platform for pivoting and moving forward once the changes have taken place.
Thoughtfully prepare for notifications: In addition to preparing severance packages, communication strategy, logistics and FAQ responses, you will want to help managers prepare for the emotional impact of this process. 48 hours before notifications, pull the entire team together to go over the role of the executive team, managers, HR, IT and any other team members who will be involved in the notifications. You will want to address their own concerns and anxiety about the situation, review the logistics of the day, and make sure that they are prepared to address the needs of the impacted employees on notification day.
Deliver the news: While there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to handling employee separations, here are 5 key steps to help virtual notifications go as smoothly as possible:
President/CEO calls an all company virtual meeting to make a general announcement communicating what is about to happen. Let people know that everyone will be contacted over the next few hours to discuss the personal impact to them. Ask people to stay close to their computers/phones and ask for patience during this time, as you will get to everyone as quickly as possible.- Managers and HR conduct brief virtual meetings with each employee to let them know the impact to them.
- HR prepares emails ahead of time with important documents and sends while on the call so that they can be referenced during the meeting (This meeting should be approximately 10 minutes).
HR schedules one-on-one follow up meetings with impacted employees to allow for a deeper dive into benefits and pressing concerns. - President/CEO hosts virtual meeting with go forward team to signal that communications have been completed, acknowledge the loss, discuss best ways to support their departing colleagues and share some insights about how the company will move forward.
- Managers pull their teams together to discuss their role in moving the company forward and changes to workflow/org structure.
Offer career transition support: Unexpected job loss is a stressful, overwhelming and difficult life experience under normal circumstances and during a pandemic, it’s even more difficult. Career transition/outplacement support will help people cope with the emotional impact of job loss, better understand their unique value proposition, prepare their assets and learn strategies to effectively network and interview in a virtual world.
Communicate, communicate, communicate: In the days and weeks following a lay off it’s important to communicate, frequently, clearly, and with empathy. Leverage one-on-one and group communications via CEO weekly updates, team huddles, virtual lunches, etc. Provide opportunities for people to share feedback and voice their concerns.
Engage your people: Engage employees in career conversations to explore untapped interests, talents and goals to help them further contribute to the organization. Encourage employees to take on new challenges and develop their functional and leadership skills to keep them growing and keep their skills sharp.
Final Thoughts…
- There’s no easy way to tell someone they are losing their job, but there are things we can do to minimize the negative impact.
- Employee separations should always be in handled in alignment the company’s values, brand and culture.
- It’s important for managers to come to the situation prepared and remember it is about the employee, having dealt with their own emotions ahead of time.
- Remaining employees want to know their colleagues will be okay and were treated with dignity and respect; this will allow them to feel more comfortable navigating change and moving forward as part of the new vision for the organization.
If your organization is facing the difficult task of implementing a reduction in force, we can help ensure that it goes smoothly, and that your departing and remaining employees feel taken care of. Reach out to us to learn more about our career transition services and our Leading through Change and Thriving through Change workshops.
