215: It's (Not) The Most Wonderful Time of the Year For Layoffs

I want to say up front that I take full responsibility for this decision. I'm the founder and CEO. I'm responsible for the health of our company, for our direction, and for deciding how we execute that, including things like.

This, Twitter and Disney. And you can't forget Meta, all companies that landed in the news for this reason. Welcome to the Indestructible PR Podcast, where we use current events and tested media and PR strategies to help prevent or manage a crisis and build an indestructible reputation. Corporate downsizing well, welcome to fourth quarter 2022. How a company leader handles a layoff has a major impact on its future success, its reputation, because all eyes are on the leader, poorly managed. And that layoff is going to end up in the news. And if that layoff is on video, well, it's going to be all over social media. In the opened, I played a clip from Mark Zuckerberg. He runs Meta and he had to lay off over 11,000 workers. That layoff made the news because the video that he filmed for his employees leaked in the media. Not so much for Elon. His layoffs are leaking all over Twitter. So this week on the podcast, let's just do a quick discussion about layoffs during this time of year. Now, as you know, my voice is not in working order. It's not in fighting shape right now. So I'm going to make this podcast pretty quick because I don't want to have to have you suffer through listening to my lost voice. I was using it frequently this week and it all started with going out to a show on Saturday night. Someone who I met on TikTok of all places, came to Boston and performed. And let's just say I was using my voice a lot that evening. Ran a race on Sunday morning in New England. It was very cold, very rainy. And then I spent my Sunday at my son's soccer game. He had an all state soccer game and it was raining and I never even checked the weather, but I think it was the Hurricane Nicole making its way up the coast. So by the time it hit me, oh my gosh, it was freezing. And now you all have to suffer from the effects. But hey, his team won anyway. But I wanted to take a few moments just to talk about layoffs. I had posted a video on TikTok that I shared to YouTube about Mark Zuckerberg and about the leaked video of him laying off over 11,000 employees. And I noted the stark contrast to Elon Musk and how he laid off people. Of course, his layoffs and how he treats his employees is all over the news, and it's also in Twitter. Now, Zuckerberg, he was reported last week as saying in Business Insider that he handled the layoffs at Meta much better than Elon Musk. He said that the head of Tesla Musk needed more time to plan those layoffs. But as a leader, we're starting to learn that Musk doesn't take time to make a lot of his decisions. And then last week, Elon Musk gave Twitter employees a deadline to stay or leave. He said late last Thursday that those who stayed would be working long hours at high intensity. Could you imagine having to make that decision of being laid off or having to work long hours with this intensity right before the holiday break? So in this episode, let's discuss the tough decisions that require these tough conversations. So if you're a leader or if you work for a company that helps leadership, you're in the C suite. Let's just talk briefly about how do you manage these types of layoffs during this time of year? And we're going to make it quick again so you don't have to suffer through this voice. Okay, I'm going to give you five tips for how to handle it. One, you want to be clear about the situation right up front. Employees need to know that the layoffs are happening, but they also need to know why they are happening. Fourth quarter layoffs are painful. They're understandable from a business point of view. You're closing the books. It's fourth quarter. People understand sometimes these very tough decisions need to be made. So there's this reasonable expectation that people understand that. It doesn't make the news any easier to take. But hearing news is better than not. And that's one of the things that Mark Zuckerberg did differently from Elon Musk. Elon Musk isn't giving any answers to why he's doing what he's doing. But Mark Zuckerberg at least was explaining in that video what he did. And also it was very clear what the severance package was going to be. He didn't make that public. But just like the video, the severance package was leaked, and his employees on social media, you know, shared what that severance package was going to be. Two, you want to be respectful of people who are being laid off. You want to thank them for your work. You want to give them good references. You want to set them up as best as possible for the future. And that was one thing that Zuckerberg did do. Now, again, I'm not going to be a Zuckerberg defender. And certainly the post on TikTok about that video message that had leaked, someone had tagged me on it and they wanted my opinion on it. And I did share it with my Patreon as well. I certainly wasn't defending him as a leader, but I was just discussing the type of language that he used in that layoff. Not all of us can be Zuckerbergs. We're not running a meta. But you are running a business with employees. So even if you're not laying off 11,000 employees, you may be laying off 11 employees. The same rules apply. Number three, help those who are staying with the company. So you want to provide support, you want to provide resources to help them through the difficult time. Elon Musk certainly did that. I mean, he told workers what to expect. You're going to be working crazy hours and it's going to be a miserable environment. So I wouldn't advise anyone to do that. But he is telling people what to expect. But for the people who are going to stay at the company, there is going to be likely a lot more work on their plate. They're going to have to do more work. You don't want it to be brutal like Elon Musk, but you want to lay out exactly what is expected of them and also but some of the resources and support that you'll provide them. Number four, communicate regularly with your team. Keep everyone updated on the situation and how the company is doing. Certainly there's parts of it that are going to remain private, but employees want to know how things are going so they can manage your expectations. Even if you have employees who made that first round of layoffs, they might be expecting a second round that's coming. And especially through the holidays, they might be thinking, okay, they're going to keep the bare bones staff here and then I'm going to be laid off in the first quarter. Keep them abreast of the situation as best you can. And five, be prepared for questions. Have answers ready for employees who want to know more about the layoffs. That's what Zuckerberg did in a follow up town hall as well. You want to answer questions. Remember, answering questions is what manages expectations. So many people react and when they react negatively, so much of that negative reaction comes from fear. Do whatever you can to mitigate fear in any of these layoffs. And I know that's difficult to do, especially during the holidays. It's a brutal time to let people go. But keeping in mind that most people, whether they remain at your company or they're let go. The number one driving emotion is fear. In every podcast I leave one indestructible tip. This is your back pocket advice that you can easily remember that will help you build an indestructible reputation. When it comes to managing layoffs, remember these layoffs. It's as much about minimizing disruption as it is about minimizing distress. Distress is what causes the public, your employees, stakeholders, constituents to blow back on you, to create a mess for you online, to create conversations that are going to affect or damage your reputation. Anything that affects people you know is going to end up on social media. So let that be compassion. Let that be information, let that be sharing, let that be support. Because even though it's bad news, if people can frame the bad news around you being a good leader, well then that's half the battle right there. That's all for this week on the podcast. Thanks so much for listening. Bye for now.