Having been through it on the receiving end (was part of a whole office that was closed), there's not much you can say that will make it better, and generally, only things you can say to make it worse. Sorry. That sucks you're having to do that. But generally, I'lll offer up:

• Stick to the facts
• In general, I'd stay away from telling people how to feel. "This is not personal, it's business" for example. It feels pretty personal on the receiving end, even if you know it isn't. Well intentioned, but doesn't help.
• Be prepared to focus on the people who are not being laid off on your team. They'll have a lot of questions and wonder if they're next.

Good luck.

Don't dilly dally. Be direct. Be honest.

Given and received.
If HR isn't going to be there no way I would follow their script. Screw that. You haven't been laid off before so think about it would you want to hear a canned script? And from a friend ? If you had no say in who was laid off I would tell them. If it's not performance related and you would give them a reference tell them. Do not say this is hard for you. Keep it short but be genuine if you are that kind of person. I'm sure many folks would agree with HR and just process these numbers errr I mean employees and move on.

HR can't do their job and instead are making you do it? Sounds like you're doing them a favor

I'd be pissed HR isn't there and I'd make that known now. Yea that clues people in that there's a problem when HR shows up but just the same this is their job. Plus they're setting up a "he said, she said" from a disgruntled former employee for things you did or didn't say.

That aside be direct. Less is more. Company is going through layoffs. The facts on severance. Last day is X. What the company will do to help them transition.

Unfortunately lots of experience:

- give the news and be clear on the particulars (last day, what the severance looks like or "here is the paperwork, read it and let me know if you have any questions on it")
- specify what to do now with any projects or wrap up work / relationships
- tell them who or how to ask questions
- thank them for their contributions and wish them well
- never get into the why. Say things like these were hard decisions and I can't get into the specifics, and it won't change anything

From a behavior point of view, never make it about you (this is so hard for me!!! Is it, mother effer? You're not the one getting fired). Treat them with dignity if you can and how you would like to be treated. Never forget you are creating uncertainty and stress in someone's life.

First, DO IT EARLY IN THE DAY. don't waste their entire day ****ing around.

You should stick to the facts and do what you're told. If you have friends that you are having to lay off, be aware that you are not their friend and you will always be the guy that canned them. It's just the way it's going to work.

I have been on the receiving end of this. My best friend worked in IT, so He leaked it to us (always make friends with IT)

We got our papers. Got our 12 months severance, signed the forms about not suing them, and left.

At this point it's just a formality. There is no discussion to be had. Get on with it.

You cannot make them feel better. Just do your job, make it quick, and let them get on with their life.

It would be nice if you arrange a setup where they can tell folks goodbye. When we got canned, they tried to escort us out of the building quickly but i blew that off and went through the entire floor letting folks know what happened and that I was leaving. HR had to scramble for a manager escort…no clue why, but it made them nervous. I figured it was the last time I'd ever see or talk to those people, and it was. It was worth it…

Anyway, it would be nice to let them do that after you kick them in the nuts.

" Got our 12 months severance,"

Easy to walk out with a smile in that case. That's like winning a pretty big scratch off

Yes, BUT…

11 years of work and friends is tough. I'd rather have that. There was no smiling that day. This was during the oil downturn and many of those folks never really recovered and at the time, many didn't know if they couldn't even find work again. They'd give that severance back I think. For me, I was not a job hopper. I planned on retiring there. I wanted to be the loyal employee. It was a huge kick in the nads.

Keep in mind that the OP is removing someone's livelihood and means of feeding their family. People kill for less. Lots of emotion and uncertainty. I think treating it like a bandaid is best. Let them get pissed off at home with a beer.

I was let go after 5PM on a Monday. I was told the news in my bosses office. Most of the people were gone from the building when it happened.. It wasn't as embarrassing to walk back into my office and collect my personal belongings. Is there any way this can be arranged?

$30,000 Millionaire said:

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Unfortunately lots of experience:

- give the news and be clear on the particulars (last day, what the severance looks like or "here is the paperwork, read it and let me know if you have any questions on it")
- specify what to do now with any projects or wrap up work / relationships
- tell them who or how to ask questions
- thank them for their contributions and wish them well
- never get into the why. Say things like these were hard decisions and I can't get into the specifics, and it won't change anything

From a behavior point of view, never make it about you (this is so hard for me!!! Is it, mother effer? You're not the one getting fired). Treat them with dignity if you can and how you would like to be treated. Never forget you are creating uncertainty and stress in someone's life.

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All solid advice.

Especially the part about not saying **** about how hard this is. You can feel like crap, but save it for when you get home.

Also agree with the do it early in the day. Regardless of how long they have between the announcement and the actual last day, they are done. Don't expect expect anything from them after you announce it. You might get some help training coworkers but that is about it.

If you want to do something good, have a few recruiters lined up for them to reach out to and be willing to help them update their resume. Especially if they have been there for a while and are good.

AgOutsideAustin said:

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Given and received.
If HR isn't going to be there no way I would follow their script. Screw that. You haven't been laid off before so think about it would you want to hear a canned script? And from a friend ? If you had no say in who was laid off I would tell them. If it's not performance related and you would give them a reference tell them. Do not say this is hard for you. Keep it short but be genuine if you are that kind of person. I'm sure many folks would agree with HR and just process these numbers errr I mean employees and move on.

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I hear you but sticking to the script allows you to not get sued generally. I felt differently about this when I became manager. I've been laid off twice as well.

With that said, it was my first time doing it and it was't even a layoff. It was a fire. I stuck to the script because I hadn't done it before and wanted to prevent getting sued.

It felt ****ty but you have to do what you have to do. Layoffs are different but firing an underperforming person helps all the other people in your company.

Given and received this, in remote form online as well.

I can't stress this enough. Stick to the script. Go back to the ones you feel close (professionally or personally) and connect however you want as long as you're not doing it as a representative of the company. This helps cover your ass in addition to the company.

The last time I got laid off, it was a very dry and short meeting, my boss kept to the script and she couldn't answer a lot of questions but if these unfortunate ones are going to be eligible or encouraged to file unemployment, they may ask questions related to that. From my experience, getting some sort of verification that it was a reduction in force and not performance related helped with unemployment, and some may ask if they are eligible for re-hire. I would be very careful about volunteering that if you do not know. In my case, I asked because literally 2-3 weeks before I had my annual performance review and my boss basically laid out my path for the year, telling me she was going to lean on me hard because I was one of if not the best subject matter experts we had to deal with some huge clients we'd just signed and I was going to be a big part of the execution with those clients. So, yeah. Wtf. I was devastated and confused.

Turns out (found out a couple years later) that the reason I got RIFd was because I was home that week and not on a client site. The BoD/CEO had to layoff a certain amount in salaries across several departments...and I was home. Dropping me and a handful of others immediately because we weren't in front of a client that day was the reason.

You've been given the worst task a manager has and I do not envy you at all.

When I got laid off from ibm I was so pissed because they couldn't be honest with me.

I asked manager "so how many people were wrapped up in this lay off"
As he was literally handing me the paperwork that they are required by the Federal WARN act, he say with complete sincerity "layoff? IBM has never had a layoff. This is a workforce realignment action. This is something we are doing to realign the business"

"Ok, if you are going to show me that little respect. Here's my laptop, and just give me the **** you are required to give me as part of this layoff"

Agree to disagree if being sued is that big of a concern then HR should be in all meetings so their script can be adhered to. Put it back on them and the lawyers otherwise I'm going to have some compassion and not be a cyborg. I'm older now and having let people go and been let go I see it from both sides.

Best day of my life was when I turned my resignation to IBM 9 years ago.

As terrible as this sounds - but HR not being there makes me a nervous nelly in that, you're doing their job of laying off the folks and then they turn around and lay you off after wards.

Am i just being overly paranoid?

will there be a 2nd person in the room since HR won't be there? really strange not to have their representation on a layoff.

If you're delivering the news solo, stick to script. You can reconnect as friends later.

1st one is the hardest… until the 2nd or 3rd or 4th etc bursts into tears revealing TMI about a divorce, financial situation, health situation, etc.

Just tell them that you are getting fired as well and you are as mad as they are. Continue showing up for work and just make sure to change your phone and address. Easy as pie.

If it is 15 people, I would schedule a large meeting with all 15 and have HR there. I would then schedule a large meeting with all of the remaining team members right after. You are going to have to make sure they don't think anything else is coming and to continue to do business.

I would then probably allow each of the fires to schedule 30 min discussions with you later in the day and give them time to say goodbyes.

Make sure you have security at the building just in case.

Thanks for the responses.

One challenge is HR has decreed that managers have to be notified on one day, and their individual contributors the next day. So that is going to be leaving all of the ICs in a tailspin for 24 hours when they find out their boss is gone.

Another,multiple of my folks will be on PTO, including 2 over seas. Still supposed to make the best effort to reach out to them. Way to ruin a PTO.

The team is spread out across the nation, so all of these will be virtual. Have been advised to have the camera on which I plan on doing.

With no HR around, I definitely plan to stick to the script from a CYA perspective. Group meetings are also a no-go from HR's guidelines.

This sounds like Anna Kendrick's character in Up In The Air

Lay off the 15 people first.

Then you have mandatory meeting with the surviving employees. Let them know "this was out of my hands", "lost some good people", "we are done laying people off", etc.

If you don't have this meeting with survivors quickly, nothing will get done. They will just worry that they are about to be cut.

HR is setting you up for failure. There's no way you can share the news fast enough. By the time you get to #3 or 4, the word will be out. And everyone will be left wondering if and when they will be getting the call.

15 people is a lot to handle one on one in a single day for one individual.

Even if it's 10 minutes a person that's a lot of time.
And then you have to coordinate getting them all to show up right at their allotted time one after another.

And once word is out that it's going down, the entire team is going to be on pins and needles as one is done and then another and then another and everyone will be worried if they're next.

Sounds like a very difficult spot. I'd really want someone from HR there. And I'd stick to the script, it's all about avoiding liability and accidentally promising or disclosing something that can bite you in the butt later no matter how innocent/immaterial the comment was at the time.

birdman said:

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Lay off the 15 people first.

Then you have mandatory meeting with the surviving employees. Let them know "this was out of my hands", "lost some good people", "we are done laying people off", etc.

If you don't have this meeting with survivors quickly, nothing will get done. They will just worry that they are about to be cut.

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Nothing is going to get done regardless. Unless these people are all doing piecework, the day is done the second the second one is laid off.

The only way I have seen big onsite layoffs have been done "successfully" is having 2 meetings at the same time.

One is the group getting laid off. The other is the group that is keeping their job.

You break the news in each meeting, and excuse the survivors for the rest of the day. Ask them to be considerate and give the others some space. It is done quickly to make sure they are gone before the other meeting finishes. After the big meeting telling the other group that they are getting laid off, you have the individual meetings were you provide paperwork, collect equipment and discuss any packages.


I get HR not being there but I can't wrap my head around them not providing any protocols or coaching on the process.

A scripted virtual termination while on PTO.
Wow.

I was notified of a lay off via a mass email. Notified on like Tuesday and last day would be Friday. Then my boss dodged my calls and messages. When he finally called me on Friday the only thing he said was how mad he was at hr. Bro, you can **** yourself, you had the chance to call me or answer my call. Don't act like hr sent out an email and you had no idea