Leadership Viewpoint

A dear friend called yesterday to discuss her impending layoff. Caught in a sell-off situation, the facility where she works will be closing. It’s business, not personal, and intellectually she knows that. She will leave with over a year of income and benefits, so this could be a very good thing! Why then, was her emotional reaction one of terrible hurt?

Here’s how it was presented:

1. Many months ago, the employees were told of the plan to sell this part of the business.

2. In the meantime, the employees were told that nobody knew for sure what would happen to them. They were to keep working hard, since the new owner may want to keep them. They even met with the new owners repeatedly and oriented them to the details of the operation.

3. On Monday, December 18th, two days before the sale was to be legally final, the employees were taken offsite for an “announcement”. They were told about the meeting on the preceding Friday so they were tense and fearful by the time Monday came around.

4. It was a week before Christmas and the announcement was handled coldly. The representatives of the company that was selling the business treated the employees as if they were the new company’s problem. The new company representatives, who have no real connection to the employees, treated them humanely, but kept their distance. Nobody warmly thanked or recognized the employees for keeping everything running smoothly during the transition and for making the process work. My friend said that she had never felt so unappreciated.

As leaders, it is incumbent on us to plan these changes brilliantly. We have no responsibility if not to take care of our people – all of our people. Without them we are nothing. Instead, we too often entrust such important issues to HR people. By and large, they mean well, but they despise conflict situations. They want everybody to get along, so they are at their absolute worst in these tense, difficult situations.

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