If you’ve ever let someone go, or been let go yourself, you know it’s a singularly painful experience. Even if you look back now and say it happened for a reason, it takes the benefit of time and hindsight to get there. We here at WorkTogether understand the difficulty of this decision and want to share our best practices when supporting clients through these conversations.
Oftentimes, we hear our clients ask about the ideal venue, amount of time, and specific phrases they should or shouldn’t say for these 1:1 conversations. That matters, of course, but the most important part of the process of laying someone off is the preparation that comes well ahead of the conversation. The goal of these conversations is to communicate details clearly and efficiently, and ensure your employees know where to go to get their questions answered. See below for our top 3 guidelines for letting someone go.
1. Be clear on the details, and make sure everything is in writing. Memories are faulty in emotional situations, and it never feels good to have to email a manager to ask when your last day might be. Ensure you have answers to the following questions, for each individual.
a) When is their last day?
b) When can they expect their last paycheck?
c) How will any outstanding pay like bonuses, reimbursements, accrued PTO, etc be handled?
d) What options do they have for health care? When does coverage expire, and what options are available to extend coverage?
e) Who is aware that these lay offs are happening, and what is the communication plan to tell the broader team?
f) Will there be opportunities to apply for new or open internal roles?
2. As much as we should be prepared for the conversation, don’t get stuck in the weeds. The former questions matter because they address core needs. Details like when and how to return tech, when employees will lose access to email, can come later and ideally in written form for ease of reference.
3. Be prepared to share resources about outplacement support and direct contact information for HR or benefits staff. Unless you work in HR, these may not be resources you’re familiar with so ensuring you have them readily accessible in the moment is essential. Better yet, directly introduce your employee to their representative, if not known, so you can track and support their questions. If you don’t know the answer, don’t “do your best,” to respond but wait, get the correct answer, and come back.
Employees feel respected and cared for when their needs are being addressed, so excellent preparation is your best pathway. Ensure that you’ve communicated what your follow up will be, and when other details may be coming their way but that doesn’t need to happen all at once. In our experience, planning for 15-20 minutes to share this information is best. Then, scheduling more time to answer questions, acknowledge the very human disappointment and grief, and communicate gratitude is recommended.
Looking for outplacement support for your team? Our experts can help! Schedule a consultation call with us to see how we can best support you and your organizational needs.
