Valley Chai

Jason Calacanis of Mahalo has a great article on the right way to do the layoffs

living through the valley cycles since 1998, i’ve had the distinct displeasure of traversing many layoff situations. so much so, this time it actually is boring. at the risk of sounding like the wise/gray old man (that may be i actually am), here’s how i think it is best done.

but first, it’s nothing to be ashamed of, if one gets laid of. the new reality of workforce planning by employers and career planning by employees aren’t based on the old-world principles of loyalty and life-long association. this time, it’s more akin to a contract between two parties., a contract that can be terminated if it no longer makes sense. simple as that.

i have been personally ‘affected’ by layoffs - boy do i hate that word, call it what it is already. but every single time, i feel that i ended up in a better place doing better things. because i do believe that good talent always has a market, and the job you get during a downturn is always a better job than the one you get during a boom.

as a manager, that is the most uncomfortable thing you can possibly do. a strong working bond is severely and abruptly snapped. think of a kite whose string has been severed. everyone involved goes into a tailspin. with every employee that’s let go, a part of the person, the team and the organization leaves. not a hyperbole, but a fact.

the people that make the decision to have layoffs must first and foremost is to avoid those tailspins - at a company-wide scale, no less. the worst type of layoffs were those that happen every quarter, and happen without visibility. when one needs to cut, cut quickly, cut deep and cut clean. a shave here, nip/tuck there, will appear like a well-thought out sage/smart thing to do, but it doesn’t work. never has worked. it has wrecked companies and stuffed them into continuous mediocrity.

keep it wide open (no hidden cuts), respect the people’s emotion and take care of them in severence as you’d take care of them as an employee, if not better! the idea is to have them as your ambassador to the labor market.