How to Tell Someone They’re Being Laid Off

by | Apr 21, 2020 | Business Planning

A man in a grey suit and glasses carries a brown cardboard box packed with office items, including a plant and a clock, in an office setting. Shelves with folders and binders are visible in the background. The box has "Global Investment Strategies" written on it, signifying he's been laid off from the company.

Laying-off an employee is probably one of the coldest tasks for an employer. It is likely to kindle mixed feelings, sympathy, anxiety, and sometimes accomplishment. Even if an employee’s dismissal is in the best interest of an organization, they may still feel guilty. What is the best way to convey the message to the employee? How can employers manifest the balance of being direct and compassionate? How to tell someone they are being laid off without showing any emotion?

Leading over a layoff is an unpleasant part of management that most people fear. Nevertheless, careers can get sidetracked if employees are not treated in a dignified way.  Employees closely watch how you handle the process. Even if he agrees or disagrees with the organization’s decision to lay off an employee, a manager has to fire them. As a manager, he has to do what is in the best interest of a company. Here are a few tips to tell someone that they are laid off respectfully:

Training: Managers and potential managers should be trained effectively and efficiently for handling layoffs. Training makes the task of dismissal less frightening.

Practice: It is advisable not to jump into this task in a flash and, most importantly, do not do it alone. It makes it legally sound if the dismissal news is delivered with at least one other person in the room. If nobody else, enlist someone from the human resources department. For practice, managers should envision possible real-world scenarios. Employees may cry or even may threaten. As a manager, you must be prepared to handle such a blend of emotions.

Logistics: The news must be delivered in a comforting setting, like a private and quiet office room. Well, there is no right day or right time to provide such news. But Friday is a viable option as it gives them weekends to cope with the news.

To the point: The script of dismissal news must be direct, no small talk, be direct and honest.

Even though an employee never imagines a day comes when he or she will be laid off, every employee, irrespective of the employer sector, must understand the worth of retirement planning. They must understand that proper financial planning can save them from facing dry days. The term job security sounds giddy, especially in the competition-driven private sector. So, what is the solution? The solution could be two-phased:

  1. Employees take charge and look for service providers that offer investment strategies that help them through their dry days with a financial income.
  2. Employers create employee-friendly policies wherein a fixed amount of their monthly salary gets credited to their future planning fund. Employers must devise several employee-friendly policies such as small business tax incentives, the ability to join multiple employer plans, and more so that layoff does not hit employees’ pockets hard and dry.

Global Investment Strategies can help both firms and employees to create retirement planning solutions. The Life Insurance Tax-Free Retirement Solutions and Life Income solutions can help people to protect assets and income.