Our company isn't a big company -- we have maybe 30-40 employees and It seems like we're going to be laying a few people off to trim the fat...so to speak. Personally this is challenging for me because our company is so tight-knit. Anyone know about how to go about thinking about this and any advice...laying people off? IF you've been laid off before what do you think would have helped?
Don’t expect gratitude from the people you didn’t lay-off. Many of them will leave regardless
If you see future growth and you lay off now, it will be tough to scale again for you.
Also you lay off 10, other 10 will leave for low morale
Laying off 3/4 could be absorbable
Talk to an HR person or lawyer to have a good understanding of what you should and shouldn’t say to avoid getting sued (not joking). As a leader in the organization you need to worry as much about the people that are left as those being let go. They will talk and rumors are probably already flying. Don’t make it personal so it’s about the company going in a different direction, revamping processes or something similar. Nothing is going to help the people laid off and out of your hands at that point, so focus on people left and waylaying fears they might be next. I’ve had to lay people off and know you need be ready for anything. Be sure to have someone there to watch them clean out their desk and walk them out so you don’t have sabotage or stolen secrets/property to deal with on top of this major disruption. It will be an emotional drain, unless you’re a narcissist, so prepare for that too.
I would be very careful with the “escorting out” style lay-off. That’s somewhat expected at a big company, but it’s almost disrespectful on tight-knit teams. Have someone keep an eye out discreetly and be on-hand if someone reacts much worse than expected, but those rumors will follow your company forever if you treat the laid-off folks as potential threats on their way to being out on their ass. Any true professional in a small startup will understand and use discretion/not cause a scene over these things - it’s part of the territory. TL;DR: don’t add insult to injury. If someone acts nuts, it’s a very small world - they’ll have plenty of retribution to face in the form of not being hirable.
“Escorting out” doesn’t have to be military style but can tell you one time when I left a job for another my new boss expected me to bring copies of proprietary documents with me. Needless to say I didn’t do it (most was in my head anyway) and didn’t stay there long. People (employees and ex-employees) absolutely steal information, but you have to decide how valuable it is and steps you need to take to protect it.
I've been straightforward with my employees from the get go so when they were told to leave it wasnt a surprise and they know I did my best to give them clear expectations and help achieving them. Still friends with them to this day. Letting someone go when you havent been clear about things is where things get hairy imho.
Don't lay them off lol But honestly I think layoffs are just a natural part of working. It's a challenge that people face but I think any mature adult can understand it's probably not what you want and something that's mostly out of your control.