Dear Leader,
Layoff survivors experience a 20% decline in job performance.
Being aware of this gap, you will avoid three collateral downsides of a layoff.
1.ย ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฒ๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฒ
News of the layoff can signal that your company is going through difficulties. This can cause uncertainty and hesitation to continue investing in your product or services.
And if the layoff cuts staffing, services may be delayed due to the lack of personnel. This can also lower customer satisfaction.
2. ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ
Like the โfriendโ waiting in the wings once they hear thereโs trouble in paradise, your employees are consistently being reached out to by recruiters.
The noise of a layoff is the perfect time for those recruiters to convince your best-performing employees to leave your company.
3. ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ
Extra responsibilities certainly increase for the ones who stay.
Thereโs an expectation that productivity needs to be maintained even if fewer hands are on deck.
The remaining employees often end up trying to complete not only their workload but also the work of the laid-off employees.
This can cause burnout, coupled with the emotional tax of their grief.
As a leader, you canโt eliminate all of the collateral damage, but you can intentionally take some preventative measures.
1. ๐๐๐๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ – to customers and employees that you are aware that the changes can cast a shadow of a doubt. The more transparent you are, the less both employees and customers are left to assume. This helps to instill trust and decrease fear.
2. ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ – Thereโs a saying that the grass is greener on the other side. That is not the case if you do your due diligence and tend to your own grass. When your team members feel like you care and youโve been intentional about creating a healthy work culture, they will be less tempted to have wandering eyes or have their ears tickled by recruiters.
3.๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ – Donโt leave the remaining staff to shoulder the burden of the loss. Acknowledge the difficulty of the loss and adjust expectations so that employees can feel empowered and supported.
Implementing these three tactics can help close the performance gap that happens post-layoff.