Letting People Go with Humanity

Several months ago, I was speaking with the CHRO of a large tech company who was planning for layoffs ahead. This CHRO, like most, was losing sleep over the action as most executives and leaders do when they think about the gruesome task of driving reductions in force. 

Letting people go is one of the times where a company knowingly changes their employees’ lives for the worse, impacting their life, livelihoods, and loved ones. This particular CHRO is someone I have worked closely with so I knew the personal agony that they were facing in the moment, and deeply empathized with the dilemma of having to make a business decision with significant human impact.

Our conversation was not about whether people had to be let go - that decision had been made for a variety of reasons. It was about how to let people go. What anyone who has been part of a layoff can attest to is how devastating the experience of losing your job can be, and how heartbreaking it is to deliver the news. Both are true at the same time. Leaders and HR professionals share the burden of this role - and people, all of us, bear witness to the effects personally or around us.

In most companies, a reduction in force is a high risk moment. There is the risk of workplace violence erupting because someone was not expecting an employment action and decides to retaliate. There is the risk of reputational damage because someone is upset about the decision and unleashes their anger on a public domain. There is the concern of theft, whereby someone takes property (intellectual or physical) upon their exit. And perhaps the worst human impact – there can be harm on human life, where an employee in their state of despair considers doing something that is harmful to themselves or others. 

The calculated risk of letting people go is weighted by the potentially devastating outcomes in mind. It is something that people in roles of responsibility for workforces think about all the time. It is the human element. 

In advising companies, we recommend avoiding layoffs whenever possible. ‘Regularly scheduled’ layoffs are typically a sign of ongoing mismanagement of priorities, headcount and resources. It then requires action to be taken on a group of people who are not otherwise expecting something to change. It is the ‘carpet pulled from underneath you’ feeling that happens far too often in the workplace. It diminishes trust and loyalty.

We often work with companies to help set performance expectations and conduct regular performance discussions, so that there are no surprises for those who are performing and not performing — and there is transparency about the business when it’s performing or not performing. I’ve never met a CEO who likes surprises. I’ve also never met an employee who likes to be surprised.

When we think about what it takes to let people go with a high-level of humanity, it sounds a little bit like an oxymoron. Is it possible to impact someone’s life unexpectedly and do it with a human touch to make the experience slightly better?

We would argue, yes. 

In my conversation with the CHRO, one of the things we discussed was the part of the layoff process that is the most dehumanizing. Having spoken to several friends who have been let go in the tech industry, the worst part was the experience of being cut off from everything and everyone you know at work. Given how much time we spend at work, these are people who may be core to our social circle, in and outside of the office. The embarrassment and sadness kicks in when we can’t write our own narrative and say our goodbyes. 

To their credit, the CHRO quickly explored the idea of waiting to cut off people's emails and instant messenger for 24 hours. In partnership with the IT department, they restricted access to files, but did not restrict access to people. They set clear parameters and rules, which helped to avoid issues. This allowed employees to bid farewell and honor the relationships that they built over the course of their career with the company that they are leaving behind, unexpectedly. 

This simple shift honored the human need for connection - and the need for disconnection and closure. It didn’t change the decision or outcome, but it made the experience slightly better. That seems like a way to bring a little more humanity to work and the workplace when we can. 

It also created a chance to have multiple discussions with impacted employees. Having overseen this process and advised companies through it, people never hear what is said in a moment where their life has changed. Some describe a moment like that as being underwater - you know someone is saying something, but you can’t quite make out what it is. 

Psychologists would say it is due to our brains experiencing cognitive overload. The information is too much. We stop listening or might have selective hearing. Our emotions overcome our judgment. We become paralyzed, or act without thinking.

When preparing for the exit of employees, one of the practices we’ve seen companies employ is script writing - often spearheaded by legal teams and partners who want to make sure the right words are spoken to avoid any risk. They choose to implement a process rather than creating a human experience - in a moment where the focus on a positive human experience might be the very thing that mitigates risk.

Leading with humanity in a moment where we are letting someone go requires empathizing with the impacted person(s). Consider what questions they might have, rather than thinking about all the information that the company needs to share with them. The truth is, most of the information that’s being shared is not being processed anyway, and there are ways to deliver the messages required at a later time. Rather, focusing on having a human conversation helps to ensure that people are treated with dignity and respect on what will be a memorable day in their lives. 

As a former CHRO, letting people go is by far the most awful part of the job, but it is also a culture making opportunity. It is the responsibility of the CEO and CHRO to ensure people are being treated with a high-level of dignity and respect during a reduction in force. It is a moment where the bar for leaders should be raised, where they are expected to lead with more humanity in a moment that matters. It is a time where considerations should be made not just for the people who are impacted and leaving the organization, but for those who are impacted and remaining with the organization. It is a chance to redefine performance and headcount management practices to grow steadily and responsibly to avoid future layoffs. 

In a moment where mass layoffs seem to be in the rearview mirror (for now), it’s time we raise the bar on how companies treat people not just while they are employed, but when they are leaving. We ought to define human-centered practices when we are not in the eye of a storm, that we can lean on when we as leaders need to make decisions and take action that impacts human lives in and outside of work. 

If we can help you build a more human-centered culture - today or in the future - reach out to us at hello@idealisadvisory.com . We’d love to help.