Maintaining a Kind Company Culture During Layoffs
Layoffs are a necessary part of business, but for the employees being let go, it can be an extremely painful experience. When your company is facing layoffs, it's important to remember that your workforce is in crisis mode and needs support. You'll want to show compassion by being open and honest with your employees and ensuring that they have all of the resources they need through this challenging time.
The impact of layoffs on morale
When layoffs occur, it can be a difficult time for employees. Many people worry about losing their jobs and what will happen to them in the future. This can have a negative impact on your company culture, destroy employee engagement and crust business innovation.
A Harvard Business Review article noted that nearly three-quarters (74%) of employees retained after a layoff saw their productivity decline after it, while 69% said that the quality of their company’s product or service deteriorated.
It’s important to keep an open dialogue with your team throughout the process, so they know exactly what is happening, when it's happening and why it's happening. You don't want your employees feeling like they're in the dark or that there is any level of uncertainty about their future at work.
It's also important to remember before making any decisions about restructuring or downsizing that some employees may be feeling very anxious about whether or not they will still have a job in the near future--so this isn't necessarily an ideal time to act as if everything is normal around here!
Recognize that your workforce is in crisis mode
In the wake of layoffs, your employees are in a state of shock and disbelief. They will be anxious and feel insecure about their job security and feel the loss of trusted colleagues and friends.
These feelings are normal, but you should understand that each employee is different — some people may be more upset than others; some may take longer to recover and move forward.
When communicating with staff, there are two things you want to keep in mind:
Be transparent with information as much as possible—it’s important that they know what’s going on so they can plan accordingly (e.g., if there is no way around it, let them know that they might need to start looking for other work).
Listen to their concerns—there could be several ways how this could impact them personally or professionally.
The power of honest and open communication
There are several methods for open communication with your employees during a layoff. Here are some of the most important principles to keep in mind:
Timely and transparent communication is essential. You don't want to leave your team hanging wondering what's going on, so make sure that you communicate quickly and regularly about any changes that have been made or are coming up. It may be helpful to prepare a press release before layoffs begin to outline your company's strategic plan and the steps you're taking moving forward, including the rationale behind any layoffs necessary for achieving these goals—if there are any.
Be honest with both yourself and your staff about why certain employees need to be laid off at this time, as well as which individual employees will be impacted by it. Letting go of an employee who has been part of an organization for many years can be challenging; however, it’s important not only for them but also for their coworkers (who may feel guilty if they find themselves still employed). Being open about why someone was laid off shows respect toward those leaving as well as those staying behind
You should also explain how this will affect people at all levels of the organization. The more information that employees have about what’s happening during a layoff, the better they can cope with the situation. The less information offered by management, however well-intentioned it may be, can leave employees feeling confused, stressed out and even angry because they don’t know what their future holds or when they should start looking for another job.
Layoffs are hard, but making space for employees' emotional needs will help your company keep their humanity during the process
When layoffs are imminent, it's important to maintain a kind work culture. We talked about communication, but remember to have empathy. People will be full of a variety of emotions and if you can see this experience from their perspective, you will be able to create solid support strategies for the team leaving and the team staying.
It's also vital that you provide them with support during this time so that they can bounce back stronger than ever! Here are some tips on how to do so:
Have a plan in place before the layoffs happen. You don't want to scramble for resources once people start losing (or quitting) their jobs—you need to be prepared from the beginning so that everyone knows what's going on and the impact to other employees, customers and the business is manageable.
Create a weekly or monthly meeting where people can come together over lunch to discuss their feelings about the layoff process — what it means for them personally, how they're coping with their emotions during this stressful time and so on.
Be prepared for emotions during the process by providing an open forum where employees can voice concerns or just talk about what's going on with them personally (e.g., "I'm really worried about my future"). This is especially important if someone is struggling with substance abuse because it gives them another outlet besides drinking or drugs for dealing with their emotions without feeling out of control at work (which could get dangerous).
As a leader experiencing a layoff, it can be difficult to maintain a kind work culture in the midst of it all. Staying connected to your teams, being transparent and remembering that you are dealing with real people experiencing a wide-range of emotions, will help you and them work through the process.
