If you had to lay someone off from their job, what sort of approach would you take?

the approach taken to laying someone off is usually very scripted due to legal issues. i’ve had the misfortune of laying people off, and am actually thankful i didnt have to craft my own approach to doing so.

As private as possible, quietly and directly with a reiteration the situation isn’t what anyone would like and the person was/is valued in spite of circumstances. For the person being laid off, it’s best to clear out quietly and quickly without a lot of goodbyes or calls to attention that make everyone else uncomfortable, all that can be done on personal time.

@VzzBzz it was a strategic execution for sure. They’d get called for a meeting and then IT would swoop in, change their password and lock the computer so they could fire off any emails after the fact.

If I had to carry out such a grim task, I would try to be a sensitive to their feelings as possible, having been through it before myself.

If they started to act aggressively or threateningly, then that’s when security gets the call.

never, NEVER, lay some one off without the direction and instruction of your HR department. And, unless you are willing to take on personal liabililty for how your carry the task off, do as you are told.

@avalmez HR isn’t my job. They can be the ones to break the bad news. I don’t want any part of that unpleasant but necessary and completely awkward conversation.

totally agree. but, unfortunately, anyone in a hire/fire position will someday find themselves in the tragic circumstance of having to give notice. in that case, never let your boss make you deliver the news without formal direction from the company…he could just be laying off responsibility and potential liability to you. know what i mean? i’m your advocate!

I wasn’t involved in the process. I’m more of the clean up crew.

and that can be as difficult as part of the process as delivering notice yourself. it’s tough, it’s unfortunate, but it’s a part of your role in any case. take solace that you only did what you had to do. best to you in dealing with this!

This something I dread, because I work security, and when the pink slips come, some people will NOT take it well. The way this economy is going its only a matter of time before I am called to escort someone out. I really hope they aren’t going to be violent.

I found I had a ‘talent’ for it when I was controller in a company w/150 employees (too small for an HR dept). I was a social friend with one of the bookkeepers who was losing her vision and we knew that the day was coming when she would have to leave. When it was time, I took her aside and we just started talking. I had all the information and contacts she needed for state disability. We both cried a little but after half an hour when we returned to our desks we both were satisfied that what had to be done was done respectfully.

A couple of years later the company was being sold and the new owners had their own plant nearby so our plant would be closed. There were reasons that the sale could not be made public until the papers were signed so when the executives called from the lawyers office, I was instructed to lock the safe and quietly box up their personal possessions. Somehow the word got to the men on the floor and I took a call from the foreman that they wanted to know what was going on and there was talk of walking off the job. I managed to calm things down so nobody walked but over the next month I had to let about 2 dozen of the office staff go without anyone getting angry or feeling disrespected. Since the one time in my life that I had been laid off it had been impersonal and designed to leave the employees feeling as if they weren’t individuals (yes it was a group firing)I knew I couldn’t do the impersonal bum’s rush.