While I haven't done layoffs, I have had to end our relationship with employees, in both cases the situation is very unfortunate.
From my point of view, there is no simple way to handle these situations but it is crucial to handle them in a respectful way, people are humans, and, while it can be hard for you to handle a layoff, the ones getting the harder time are the people affected by it.
I'd try my best to help these people in any way I can, for example:
1. Motivate people that were planning to leave to take one of those spots.
2. Try finding ways to refer them to other companies.
3. Help affected people to be polish their resume, practice mock interviews, write recommendation letters, etc. I have saw many people that don't know how to sell themselves, if they worked with you for a while, there is a chance you have some highlights they don't actually see.
4. If possible, keep paying their salary for a few weeks/months.
5. This could sound weird but give people time, I haven't announced end of relationships until the affected person feels comfortable, which means that these are still on the chat/repos/etc, this also helps because it is usually simpler to find work when you still are employed than when you don't.
I really hope I never get to deal with this.
P.S. I forget mentioning that I prefer being as transparent as possible.
From my point of view, there is no simple way to handle these situations but it is crucial to handle them in a respectful way, people are humans, and, while it can be hard for you to handle a layoff, the ones getting the harder time are the people affected by it.
I'd try my best to help these people in any way I can, for example:
1. Motivate people that were planning to leave to take one of those spots.
2. Try finding ways to refer them to other companies.
3. Help affected people to be polish their resume, practice mock interviews, write recommendation letters, etc. I have saw many people that don't know how to sell themselves, if they worked with you for a while, there is a chance you have some highlights they don't actually see.
4. If possible, keep paying their salary for a few weeks/months.
5. This could sound weird but give people time, I haven't announced end of relationships until the affected person feels comfortable, which means that these are still on the chat/repos/etc, this also helps because it is usually simpler to find work when you still are employed than when you don't.
I really hope I never get to deal with this.
P.S. I forget mentioning that I prefer being as transparent as possible.
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