One of the toughest jobs in this world is being the person who has to tell someone they no longer have a job. I am that person and I must admit there are occasions when it’s cathartic, but only because that person has been a cancer in the organization and letting them go will hopefully make that go away. This is especially true in a small organization of less than 25 people where one person is really a big part of the company. But when the layoff doesn’t pertain to a “cancerous employee” you find yourself in the position of letting a good person go and that’s an entirely different situation.
In an office that is small, friendships are created and nurtured over time thus making the departure even harder on the person who must leave and the staff who will remain. The person being let go, especially those who have next to no idea it’s coming, is summoned to maintain composure–and that my friends, is the responsibility of the person doing the letting go. Handling the layoff with compassion and understanding is a must.
There is another downside to layoffs: the effect it has on the rest of the employees. It is natural for everyone to worry if they will be next. Business owners must be candid with their staff and explain the circumstances surrounding any departure. Only then will the staff begin to heal itself and continue to work effectively.
With the economy speeding toward a self-fulfilling prophecy of a “recession is coming” there will be more layoffs before there are new hires. While the link to the article that follows talks about layoffs in larger companies I find a good deal of it also relates to smaller companies. Take a look and see if you share the same approach.
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/07/the_art_of_the_.html
