Team Building Tips

If you are a good manager and you care about your employees, chances are that if you are faced with having to reduce your workforce, you are losing sleep about it. Contrary to popular belief on the part of some who are victims of layoffs, managers don't like having to tell people that their positions are being eliminated and that their last day of work will be today. In fact, for many managers, this is the most difficult meeting they will have in their careers.

Here's some advice for you if you are the "terminator":

Do your homework on the business need for the reduction.

It will be much easier explaining to an employee the reasons for the reduction if you are certain of them yourself and have thought them through in detail. Being able to talk about concrete revenue shortfalls or loss of significant business allows you to explain the reasons for your actions. Job or position elimination is easier for the impacted employee to deal with than being terminated for lack of performance. Just make sure that you are giving the correct reasons.

Do thorough upfront planning and analysis.

Choosing which roles will be impacted and deciding which employees will be affected are all decisions that must be made far in advance of the date of termination so that you can get HR and legal counsel to ensure that you are doing the right things from both an ethical and legal front. There are many laws within every country and state that protect workers. No manager will be up to speed on all of them at any given point. Make certain that you have good advice upfront.

Review the separation package and think through the messages you want to convey.

Although the actual meeting with the impacted employee will be brief, you will want to make sure that you can explain what is happening, the timing and the separation details. The better prepared you are with what you will say, the less chance for miscommunication. Remember, the employee will, in most cases, be surprised or even in shock, and he or she will not remember details. Make certain that everything is in writing, and give the package to the employee after you have explained the situation. If you have HR support, your HR partner can explain many of the separation details and spend additional time with each impacted employee.

Be prepared for emotions.

Telling an employee that the company no longer needs his service, are some of the most difficult words to utter. No matter how you say it or how convinced you are of the need for this action, telling someone, face-to-face, is still fraught with emotion--both the employee's and yours. Be prepared for a range of emotions from sadness, to shock to anger. There is not much that you can or should do if the employee cries or even pleads with you, except to say you are sorry it had to come to this or just remain silent. If the employee gets belligerent or violent, you must be prepared to call for support within your organization or the authorities if you fear that the employee might hurt himself or anyone else. Your emotions will also come into play, but try to remain calm and objective.

Do not enter into negotiation or debate.

Some employees may try to get you to rethink your decision. They may offer to reduce their hours or to take a salary cut just to stay on. Some may try to engage you in a conversation about how their performance is better than someone else's or ask how you could take action on them when they have had great performance reviews. Just remember, this is not the time for negotiation or debate. If you have analyzed the situation thoroughly and made your decision, you must stick to it at this point.

Tell the remaining employees of your decision as soon as possible.

Sometimes impacted employees will leave on the date they are terminated. Sometimes they will return to work for a transition period of days or weeks. In either case, allow the employee who will be leaving to go home once the meeting has been held. At this point, call a face-to-face meeting, if at all possible, of all the remaining employees and explain the reduction in force, whom it has impacted and the business reasons for the action. Do not discuss individuals. Explain that this is a very difficult time for the team and the company, and ask them to be supportive of the departing employees and to do their very best in their jobs going forward. Be prepared to answer the question about additional reductions. If you do not know, say so, but add that you and management will do everything you can to avoid additional workforce reductions. Be prepared for a drop in productivity over the next few days as the remaining employees process the news and try to adapt to work life without their colleagues. The more you can keep the communication lines open, the better for everyone.

Layoffs and reductions in the workforce are never easy, but you owe it to everyone to handle them in a professional manner and to acknowledge that you are not immune to the feelings of loss and change.

Elizabeth Black, http://www.changeforresults.com, providing independent, objective project-based support for human resources, organizational change management, training, communications, organizational and team challenges. HR assistance with workforce reductions for small and medium-sized businesses, a specialty.