Welcome to Manager Tools. Today's topic, Layoff Communications Part 1, openly confidential.

Many managers are torn when it comes to layoffs. Most of us know that when they happen, they're probably inevitable.

But we also know that the thought, rumor, or knowledge of layoffs

is likely to create questions from our team.

Yeah, just a rumor of a rumor will induce fear.

So what are the rules about communicating about layoffs? What do we say when we're asked?

How should we say it? Can we lie?

Well, that's what we're going to talk about today.

Here we go. Oh, Man there are a lot of managers that just absolutely get torn up when it comes to

layoffs. Most of us know that when they happen they're probably inevitable right?

It's yeah she coming. You see it coming miles away and most managers understand

that layoffs are often a painful necessity, albeit a just a complete admission of failure on the part of management.

The whole failure thing I don't think a lot of people get. I think there's an anger at senior management and so on about the layoff and they forget that the layoff of the result of things that happen in the past, poor planning and poor forecasting and lack of lean focus and and of course some of us

contribute to it by saying we don't have enough people we don't have enough people

we don't have enough people I can't believe I can't get a rack and too many of us

don't worry about productivity and just think if we need more work done we should

hire more people and then of course when there's a layoff it's like well now we've

got too many people.

And, you know, we need a staff for a 10% downturn rather than staff for the peak,

which of course hospitals have known for years but but most large organizations haven't

figured out quite yet so yeah we could we could have a long conversation about

this particular topic that would that would be more I think more of like a leader tools type

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