A true story: my friend – let's call her Susan – is three days into a week-long vacation at the beach when she receives an urgent call from her boss insisting she return immediately. Alarmed and surprised by the news that her job is on the line, Susan quickly packs up, says goodbye to the beach-house and somehow manages to avoid a speeding ticket as she races back to the office. She rolls up her proverbial sleeves, ready to receive the assignment so important that it couldn’t wait or be assigned to a coworker. Instead, aforementioned boss says, “We have to lay off 20% of the workforce and unfortunately your position has been eliminated. As of the end of this meeting, you are terminated. Please clean out your desk and security will escort you out of the building.”
Can you imagine being called back from vacation? To be fired on the spot and asked to leave the building with a security guard? Sounds inconceivable, but it really happened.
Contrast that with another true story: Paul was working for a medium-sized startup that was bought by an international communications giant. Three years and 450+ million dollars later, the project was abandoned and the entire staff let go. But the usual questions, fears and concerns were immediately allayed. Not only would employees receive a generous severance package, they would also be paid the next two years worth of bonuses that they earned by meeting specific goals during the previous year.
Unlike Susan, Paul still felt positive about the company and their products. Not just because of the financial package (though that certainly didn’t hurt), but because the process was done with forethought, with respect, and with integrity.
And Susan? After being called back from a vacation to be fired on the spot, did she think twice about purchasing or recommending the company’s product? You bet she did.
We need consider our employees the same way we regard a potential customer. Given the right atmosphere, they can be our biggest fans and our best source of word-of-mouth advertising (stay tuned for our next blog post about the importance and power of social media). Our employees (present and past) can be responsible for significant sales and revenue. But treat them like Susan’s company did, and you will become fodder of comic strips and angry blogs posts. Who knows how many sales you will have lost or how badly your market reputation will have suffered.
Gone are the days when an employee worked 9-5 for 30 years at the same desk and retired on the company pension plan. Today’s hi-tech employee stays put an average of only 2-4 years before moving on, whether by their own choice or the company’s. For your sake, let’s hope that the bulk of your ex-employees identify with Paul and not with Susan.
Of course, it’s not just the parting of ways that can ruin a person’s attitude towards an employer. Honest, fair work practices throughout the employee lifecycle will make your employees feel more creative and appreciated, and will ultimately result in better productivity. Bad layoffs don’t just sour the ones who lose their jobs, but they also have a serious negative impact on the productivity and creativity of the remaining workforce. And fears or rumors of more cutbacks will replace an atmosphere of teamwork with cutthroat competition between co-workers.
Back to Susan and Paul. Years later, Susan is still completely disgusted by her former employer and doesn't buy or recommend any of their products. Paul, on the other hand, recently recommended his former company’s latest cell phone to a friend.
The company that is smart and takes the time to think of the human repercussions will succeed in today's socially networked world.
Have a layoff horror story you want to share? Post it here! Still have warm fuzzies for a former employer, even though you have since parted ways? We want to hear about that too. Of course you can also completely disagree with me on this subject – but as always, I am eager to hear why…
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Miriam Lottner, CEO of Tech-Tav, is a “single sorceress” and technical documentation innovator whose professional passion is helping her
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