Tips for dealing with letting staff go

There are usually rules about that because of liability, worries over disgruntled employees doing something bad, that whole drill.  It sucks.

I will certainly tell them as soon as I am allowed, but I am not sure when that might be.  It maybe need to be coordinated with HR, etc.  Also, we have a lot of people on vacation right now so it may be tricky.

I'm still looking for ways to dealing with knowing who will go, timing, telling, etc.  A little bump for myself.

We were there until recently.  Now they did the math and figured out how many had to be forceably sent off.  A smaller number than if we didn't have the retirements, etc, but some people nonetheless.

Oh, and how do I manage the workload once these folks are gone?  I'd be interested in that knowledge too.

So this may sound harsh, and I really don't mean it to, but as the manager/supervisor you have a responsibility to both sides, one to the employee to let them know as soon as you can, but importantly, you have an obligation as the manager/supervisor to protect the company/University.

How to deal with your knowledge that someone has to be let go, and knowing who that is, accept it as part of your role and DO NOT treat them any differently, by all means take the frustration you will feel out in the gym/pool/bike. 

It sucks, it's probably the worst part of management, knowing you have to downsize a team, for whatever reason.  I have had to let people go, make the decision of who goes, and who gets to stay.  knowing that and not saying anything is indeed tough, but it's a part of your role, and it's part of why you were chosen to be at your level I would venture.

good luck! 

Really great advice.

Well, really poorly at first, but it gets better.   Our company went through a downsize at the end of 2008.   I was in the recovery room with my wife after the birth of my 3rd child, when my phone rang and it was one of my team members telling me that they just walked out one of our other team members.  (decision was made higher than me, and carried out without my knowledge)

As a company, we cut close to 8% of our workforce.  Everyone struggles for a while, and then you start to figure out ways to streamline your processes and work more efficiently.  

In our division, we returned to the same levels of production 18 months later, but with 900 fewer people.   Of course, we were much more profitable. 

So, yes, it sucks at first.  It does get better if you stay focused on the work. 

Hang in there.

I've had to do this more than a few times.  Very good advice above. Have what you are going to say planned out before hand and don't waver.  Don't try to fill the awkward pauses with ad-lib talking.  Once you are done stand up and open the door.  They will more than likely get up and walk out.

It sucks, but it's business.

Just catching up on CoJ.  Hope this is going OK for you today.

I've had to let several people go over the years and its never a good experience.  Even when people really deserve to be let go its still not enjoyable.

The others have given far better advise than I could, so I'll just say that I'm thinking about you today.

Good luck!!

We went through cuts here a few years ago -- my husband was one who was let go.

At the time, we all knew something was going on -- it's impossible not to in a small place. Once people started to be called in for the "meeting," word went out quickly that it was actually happening.

With that in mind, I think the advice (if you really have to do it) you've been given is great. Be direct, kind, but clear.

If you aren't the one who has to do it, but do know who is going to be let go (as has been the case for me many times), you really can't tell them.

That being said, because the news that something  is happening is likely on the wind, you may be asked directly. I was. It's not appropriate, but in my experience, people will do it anyway because they are understandably stressed and wondering. Don't do what I did. I lied. I said, "I don't know." When in fact, I did know. After the person was fired, I went back to him and apologized for lying. He has still not forgiven me for lying. I shouldn't have lied. (And he ended up not being fired, so here we are. Four years later, still working together. Awkward.).

Faced with that situation again:

Person to be fired: "I have a meeting scheduled with the president tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. Am I going to be fired?"

My new, improved response: "I am not at liberty to give you that information." (Maybe not quite that robotic, but you get the idea.)

The above should be my response whether or not the person is going to be fired. Because that's the truth. I can't tell them.  Not just because it's not my job, but I'm not HR. There are procedures to follow, and I'm not in the procedural loop.

Sorry this got long.

What he said. You'll be left with the workload after people are gone so do whatever you can to keep the people that will help most in the aftermath.

I completely understand what you're saying.   I was clear that one person shouldn't go (and they agreed), but I am on the fence about the other two. I simply couldn't decide, the lists of plusses and minuses are so equal.   I WISH I could pinpoint the better solution.

This is where working in non-charter public education and dealing with teacher unions makes everything extremely easy.

In CA, you only really need to know 2 things.

Rule 1 - You cannot fire any tenured teacher unless they get convicted of a felony. This is important, we had to pay a rapist back-pay from the time of arrest to conviction because we fired before the conviction.

Rule 2 - If you do lay-offs, it is based on hire date. No critical thought about quality or effectiveness allowed.

The only down-side is thinking about what this system does to kids.