Supporting Employees Through Layoffs: Key Strategies for a Compassionate and Effective Transition

Layoffs are reductions in the workforce, also known as downsizing. This period is one of the most critical for both management and employees in an organization.

Several factors, such as economic downturn, inflation, and war, could cause layoffs. Demandsage recalls 2020 as the worst year for layoffs, with a record 41.7 million individuals in the United States losing their jobs after the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

While layoffs are not a new phenomenon in the workplace, they can have a significant impact on employees if not properly managed. This article will discuss ways to support employees during layoff periods.

Understanding the Impact of Layoffs.

The impact of layoffs is not limited to those who have been downsized, but also affects the remaining employees and the organization. Laid-off employees face challenges to their livelihood, self-esteem, sense of purpose, social status, and even difficulty maintaining relationships with former colleagues.

Statistics show that 61% of adults between the ages of 18 and 34 reported dealing with pressure and anxiety due to layoffs. Hence, the layoff process should be handled with optimum professionalism. Although layoffs may be unavoidable, organizations should ensure that they have measures in place to properly lay off staff, boost employee morale, and maintain the organization’s overall health. This structure should be concrete enough to promote well-being, motivation, and productivity across the organization.

Strategies for Supporting Employees Through Layoffs.

1. Transparent and Compassionate Communication

After layoffs, the most critical leadership responsibility is to maintain open, honest, and prompt communication about the workforce reduction. Surveys have consistently shown that communicating layoffs is a significant challenge for the C-suite staff. 

While this challenge is inevitable, misconceptions about the workplace, insecurities among employees who soon lose their jobs, and drastic withdrawal from job flow could quickly become the norm in the workplace.

The organization’s aftermath highly depends on how well the layoffs are communicated to the employees. Here are a few things to take note of during communication;

• Speak extensively on the reason for the layoff. The “why” behind the organization’s decisions can make layoffs more straightforward and help squash false rumors or insecurities about the reasons.
• Keep communication open. Ensure you listen to and respond to employee feedback, which can highlight concerns and questions before they become problems. 
• Encourage managers and significant contributors to re-emphasize your organization’s commitment to its goals and mission. 

2. Providing Emotional Support

After layoffs, providing emotional support for the well-being of your remaining staff members is crucial. During this transition, employee assistance programs and emotional support resources can help employees process their negative emotions following a layoff.

Recognizing that people will respond to the news in various ways, it is essential to demonstrate empathy and understanding. While some might be upset, others might stay composed. Providing your employees with a nurturing environment and showing compassion for their feelings is beneficial.

Showing empathy can be as simple as listening to the staff’s concerns and offering comfort and encouragement. Likewise, leaders can provide resources for mental health support, such as access to counseling services, mental health resources, or employee assistance initiatives.

3. Career Transition Support

After a layoff, the career-turn process has only just begun. It is usually an intense moment as employees seek to regain their footing, but it largely depends on the level of support they receive from the organization.

Laid-off employees must take stock, review their career journey, compile application materials, and organize themselves for further career opportunities, or rather, navigate their transition into the new work environment. The manager should also significantly impact the process following the layoff by offering or imploring experts to help them with the transition.

How to assist staff members following their termination:

• Send them a brief, sincere email (or a WhatsApp message) letting them know you’re available and willing to offer possible help.
• Offer to share their resume with appropriate connections and keep a lookout for changes in your network.
• By collaborating with nearby workforce development centers or reaching out to other businesses that may be hiring, you can also help individuals find new employment opportunities. 
• Provide valuable career resources, including career coaching, resume assistance, and interview preparation.
• Offer to write glowing recommendations for their LinkedIn page or enquire about the areas the employee would like you to highlight in your recommendation letter.

4. Maintaining Dignity and Respect

It’s critical to treat impacted personnel with dignity and maintain the respect they have always been afforded. Respectfully offboarding a worker after a layoff can facilitate a smooth transition and make it as seamless as possible for everyone involved. This entails providing workers with accurate information about their work benefits, severance packages, and other resources, including COBRA forms and employee assistance programs (EAPs).  

Every worker should have a private discussion with their manager, allow them to ask questions, and receive verbal and written notification of any transition help. Remember that the layoff has a cumulative effect on their family and future, so deliver the news with gentleness and compassion. 

Acknowledge the psychological effects of layoffs and treat them with dignity and respect at every stage of the procedure. By adequately addressing this issue as an organization or employing a professional team, you can prevent such individuals from posting unfavorable reviews and causing problems with both their own and the company’s reputations.

5. Create networking opportunities and introduce them to career training programs.

You can assist your laid-off workers by planning get-togethers or providing online forums where they can network with other industry experts for their career growth. It is one of the profound strategies to introduce them to new opportunities or even training programs that can upskill them.

Redundancies in an industry or a skill set can also result in layoffs; in these situations, such employees may need to acquire new certifications and upgrade their skills to remain relevant in the labor market.

You can extend support to laid-off staff by setting up job training or education programs to help them find new employment in related professions or migrate to new industries. Another part is helping them highlight transferable skills that are valuable in a new role in a different sector.

6. Help Employees manage survivor’s guilt.

Workers who endure a layoff may frequently feel guilty about making it through the ordeal. As a result, employee morale and productivity may suffer due to the persistent fear of job loss. In cases where layoffs are not related to employees’ jobs, the guilt tends to set in more. Whether you are engaged in laying off staff for the first time in your career or you have had a good relationship with them, it is expedient that you remain objective in taking the step.  

 “If you are Objective, you are liable to discard the feelings of guilt during and after the layoff process.” Moreover, If these feelings persist, do yourself the favor of speaking to a psychologist about it.

How to improve workplace structure after layoffs.

No matter how successful or well-managed, every organization will experience a layoff event at some point. Rather than affecting the organization, the critical company priority should be implementing effective ways to engage individuals and teams quickly and efficiently. After every success in laying off, prompt steps should be taken to rebuild the workplace culture. Here’s how;

1. Lead with Positivity

While layoffs are not easy and often painful, it is essential to move on with positivity. This should be done intentionally and more consciously because it significantly affects the atmosphere of the place. 

Rather than just sweeping things under the carpet with the expectation that the employees catch up; 

• Be intentional about promoting a culture of open communication
• Encourage teamwork among employees 
• Foster a good relationship between managers and employees.
• Encourage personal and professional growth at every level.

2. Clarify roles and responsibilities among employees.

After layoffs, employees may need clarification on how to perform their usual tasks. Start by allowing staff members to share their thoughts and experiences, especially those that are challenging. Likewise, you can help reduce employee stress by clearly outlining who will be responsible for what tasks when the layoffs are over. This approach might help people concentrate on their work rather than speculating. Giving employees a voice instantly improves workplace culture.

Identify areas where efficiency can be improved and eliminate low-priority tasks immediately. This will help employees concentrate on what matters. By outlining key responsibilities and providing a plan of action, you can boost confidence and lower stress levels while your organization fills in the gaps left by the reduced workforce.

3. Commit employees to training and development.

One of the most essential strategies for getting employees back on track is to engage them in training and reskilling. Offering your employees workshops, courses, and mentorship programs signals that you are still invested in their growth and that they are a big part of the company. Through Job Instruction training, staff members can be onboarded to new duties more rapidly, gain confidence, standardize new procedures, and position the entire company for success.

4. Encourage Collaboration

After layoffs, an unusual form of cohesion emerges among employees in the workplace. Friendship among coworkers has a greater impact on job satisfaction than does the relationship with one’s boss.

Encouraging employee collaboration can foster a culture of support and positivity in the workplace. Examples are:

• Promoting natural, non-cheesy team-building exercises
• Encouraging training and cross-functional cooperation
• Providing avenues for staff members to express their opinions and experiences, both good and bad.
• Creating training that is focused on groups

5. Provide employees with recognition and awards.

Systems should be put in place to recognize workers’ efforts. When given authentically, employee rewards and recognition are among the most effective strategies for boosting employees’ morale. 

Offering a financial incentive following layoffs may seem hypocritical, but there is good news: even praising staff members for their hard work can increase retention by 37%.

Conclusion

Any organization that experiences layoffs faces difficult and delicate circumstances. It is essential to address layoffs with empathy and expertise to mitigate their detrimental impact on workers and foster a more positive work environment following them.

To that end, establishing avenues for staff members to vent to managers and peers, as well as opportunities to offer support to their former coworkers, is a proven method for businesses to prepare for a more seamless layoff process proactively. It is crucial to create platforms for both colleagues who stay and those who are laid off to express gratitude and foster connections within the organization.

Remember that how you manage staff changes can have a long-term effect on your company’s future performance and the reputation of your employees.