Listen to the dismissal of a CEO to 900 employees by Zoom 1:42
(CNN) -
How you let employees go is important to your company's reputation.
Think of the Better.com CEO, who just laid off about 900 employees in a very short Zoom call and quickly faced strong criticism.
No one will ever react positively to learning of your dismissal, be it because of financial problems or because of their own performance.
Therefore, it is up to the person breaking the bad news to be as thoughtful as possible about how they behave and how they treat people who are being fired.
The best practice is to always deliver the bad news in person.
If that's not possible and you must do it via video conference or phone call, you can still give it a human touch.
Here are some mistakes to avoid if you have to fire people remotely (spoiler alert: try to avoid a Zoom for a large group, or for that matter, an impersonal email).
1. Take employees off guard
Home is normally a person's safe zone.
So surprising employees with bad news while they're in the kitchen or within earshot of your kids or spouse is more personally invasive than doing it in an office.
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That's why it's considered best practice to give employees in affected departments - all team members, not just those laid off - a day or two in advance that you will set up short, one-on-one virtual meetings. to discuss upcoming changes and suggest they participate in the meeting from a quiet place.
Not all employees will suspect a layoff looming, but they are likely to anticipate some kind of serious news.
"You're setting expectations so that the employee isn't caught off guard," said Raymond Lee, CEO of CareerMinds, a virtual outplacement company.
However, if you fire just one person for performance-related reasons, Lee doesn't recommend giving any advanced signs of change.
"If there is a performance issue, there should have already been multiple conversations up to that point. Therefore, you only need to send an invitation to the upgrade meeting," Lee said.
2. Forget to practice with technology
Beyond rehearsing what you will say when you fire someone, make sure you have mastered the medium through which you will say it.
That means working on a short, clear message and practicing it with a hiring manager on the video conferencing tool or conference calling system you plan to use.
And make sure you know the security features of that technology so that no one can hack into your meeting, Lee said.
That means sending encrypted meeting notifications and blocking long enough for the meeting so that if it stretches out a bit no one can suddenly join in, he warned.
3. Not giving privacy to people
Everyone will react a little differently to being fired.
And they shouldn't feel exposed when they hear the news.
So if you have to fire people en masse via video conferencing, turn off everyone's camera so they can only see you, but not others, said Brian Kropp, head of human resources research at Gartner, a consulting firm. business.
"It's an incredibly emotional experience. Some people will have no response and others will break down and cry. Letting that happen on camera in front of others is disrespectful."
4. Trying to close employee access to the network too soon
Another technology concern: When layoffs are done in person, the IT department often disconnects the employee's computer from the company network while meeting with them.
"But if you're firing someone online, you can't cut their connection in half," Kropp said.
IT can't connect remotely to wipe the person's laptop in the middle of their conversation, or when employees have turned off their Wi-Fi.
Therefore, find out in advance with Human Resources and IT what the logistics will be to close employee access to the network.
You will also have to decide if and how you want to get your company equipment back.
"Some companies send parcels to their employees and ask them to send their IT equipment (for example, laptops) to the office," Kropp said.
Others tell them to keep it if it is older and the cost of collecting and storing it is not worth it.
If the business is still remote and access to the office is limited, employees will also want to know how they are supposed to retrieve their personal belongings.
Most companies tell you that an administrative assistant will pack your things and send them to you once the office building reopens, he said.
5. Not being honest and compassionate
The pandemic has made life more difficult for everyone.
Now it will be even more so for the people you are firing.
Be honest about the company's situation and the business reasons for the layoff, while at the same time explaining the sacrifices senior leaders and others are making, Kropp said.
"How companies manage the next five months will define their reputation as an employer for the next five years."
It's also critical to have a relocation provider, as well as a professional advisor or Employee Assistance Program counselor on standby by the time your meeting is over, Lee said.
With the employee's permission, those counselors can call that person, give them a chance to vent, and then start talking about next steps, Lee said.
"They are trained to help people move forward."
Layoffs