A rant on layoffs from someone who got laid off
Own them or don't call yourself a leader
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I don’t publish on Fridays, but I’m making an exception today to share my thoughts on layoffs.
This week has been brutal in tech across the US and India. Layoffs are happening everywhere in tech. It is the last resort in a corporate toolkit to ensure short-term survival and a shot at long-term growth. They are not evil. They are an unfortunate course correction mechanism. Companies with stellar reputations and unprecedented growth have had to them in today’s climate. One can argue that layoffs have been abused to undo a stack of bad decisions and compounding poor judgment of leadership teams. I believe there’s some truth to that, but we live in extraordinary times, which call for extraordinary measures.
When layoffs happen, companies don’t have to be demonized over them. No one enjoys doing them. CEOs hate them. The management teams and the boards hate them. Employees, of course, hate them. They don’t inherently mean companies don’t care about employees. Layoffs become a boogeyman for anti-capitalists, and that’s just dumb, and we don’t talk about that stupidity here.
Let’s accept layoffs as part and parcel of business cycles, amongst many other smart-sounding external factors and mismanagement despite best intentions. It is what it is. They happen! Life is unfair.
What grinds my gears is leadership not owning their difficult decision of laying people off. Again, I don’t consider them bad people for laying off! I do not believe they enjoy doing them. But, let's fault them if and when they fail to own the decision and take the necessary steps to minimize the pain, confusion, and uncertainty that inevitably flow from layoffs. The most effective levers for doing so are appropriate communication and post-layoff support to the extent a company’s financial situation allows them to.
I want to talk about the communications piece. Companies that rightfully get bad press for layoffs are those whose leadership teams failed to communicate well with their employees and lacked sufficient compassion. Having your immediate boss look you in the eye, share the news in the last 1:1 and have the CEO address the org and sign off on the company-wide email makes navigating them easier. Those are two basic steps every company should try to take. I understand that the former might not always be logistically possible. But there is no excuse for the CEO to not address the organization in a town hall or a company-wide email to explain the situation, say goodbye, and express gratitude for the departing employees. That costs the company a total of zero dollars.
Failing to do so is simply cowardice. Yes, it is hard, painful, and awkward to go in front of your org and say you have decided to lay off a significant chunk of the headcount. No one says it’s easy. CEOs are people too. They have emotions to deal with as well. They have the responsibility of the entire company on their shoulders. It’s a lot of pressure. Layoffs are hard for both employees and companies!
That said, it is the job you signed up for. The buck stops with the leaders in both good and bad times. If an easily foreseeable action can reduce pain and confusion just a bit, it is worthwhile to make sure you do it! A simple email can go a long way in treating employees with respect and gratitude at a time when their self-confidence has tanked. Is it hard for the leaders? Yes, that is the price of leadership.
Secureframe helps companies achieve fast SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI, HIPAA, NIST, and GDPR compliance. With their guided workflows and one-click integrations, Secureframe automates the compliance process so you can focus on your customers, closing deals, and growing revenue.
Click here to chat with their team. Mention “Sar” during your demo to get 20% off your first year of Secureframe. Promotion available through December 31st, 2022.