The pink-slip blues

Great piece in today's New York Times discussing the pain of layoffs from the other side of the table. In "Handing Out the Pink Slips Can Hurt, Too," Matt Cooper, an executive at a recruitment-outsourcing firm called Accolo, describes his experience in letting people go. The article is well written and sincere. Matt writes:

It was gut-wrenching knowing that a bomb was about to go off. I had hired and trained many of these people. We wanted to be as humane as we could in letting them go.

I don't think anyone expects people to feel sorry for an employer who has to do the laying off; obviously, it's much harder on the laid-off employees. But it's worth remembering that most of the time, the people doing the terminations have taken it personally, too, and are doing it as a last resort.

Managers and employers: the more you can convey this to the people you are firing, the less likely they will be to sue you.

Another important lesson from the piece:

We offered as much severance as we could, and the other executives and I told the remaining employees that we didn’t want to close the door on those who lost their jobs. We encouraged them to reach out to their ex-colleagues and keep in touch. Then we all got on LinkedIn and wrote endorsements for those who were laid off.

It cost nothing to write those LinkedIn references, except a little bit of time and thought. But I'll bet that those employees appreciated it.

Well done, Matt.

Comments

[Amy]

Jay, what a great post. I hadn't heard about an idea like writing references on LinkedIn, but you're right; if a company has great employees and has to let them go, taking those seemingly small (but in reality, really significant) steps to communicate that you do care about their well-being and success post-layoffs is huge.

It's a win-win: employees know they are appreciated, and the recommendations will help springboard their next career move, and for employers, it maintains good relations and keeps the lines of communication open for future opportunities (whether at that company or somewhere else). You never know where paths will cross down the road, and layoffs aren't easy on anyone, as you said. There's no reason not to do these things.

[Pat]

What a great idea...it says a lot about a manager/company that are willing to think out of the box and help the employees who are impacted by business decisions.

I will definitely share this idea with others.

Thanks
Pat