Secrets of a Chief People Officer - Why it pays to be kind, especially in times of cost-cutting/reallocation

It was a year ago in January 2023 when the technology market really felt the impact to its people from the downturn that started in mid-2022. Company after company announced staffing cuts, it seemed no technology company was immune. A strange time indeed, as many leadership teams admitted over-hiring as the cause for the lay-offs. Others used it as a chance to move on skills they no longer needed; it is a sad state of affairs when companies realise that lack of training and development causes them?to rush to acquire skills when they run out of time to develop their people. Other companies genuinely saw the lack of revenue coming through, which meant they could no longer afford roles. ?

I remember reading an article at the time giving statistics on the number of redundancies in certain technology brands set against the number of vacancies that the company was recruiting for. Some only had marginal difference between the two numbers! I studied for my degree in Human Resources in the mid to late-1990s, and at the time we were reading about lessons learned from the recession in the early 90s around the impact of cutting learning and development budgets and the short-sighted impact of this. Yet, this is still the same today... but that is another subject that I will write about another time. ?

As someone who has been practicing HR for over 25 years now, terminating someone’s employment by reason of redundancy is one of the hardest things because it is rarely the individual’s fault that the employment has come to an end. I remember the first set of redundancies I did, back in the early 2000s. I think I probably cried more than those I made redundant. These were people that I had grown to call my friends, and the telco/technology industry downturn mercilessly delivered at least three rounds of redundancies in one year. Yet, by having to do these redundancies I learned the importance of carrying out the process with care and kindness, and for that I thank them for how they helped me to grow. When I was learning how to do a redundancy process, I remember reading somewhere.. ?

• Keep it factual?
• Don't say you’re sorry?
• Focus on those that remain to motivate them
• Keep to the script......(amongst other things)?

Honestly, “don’t say you’re sorry?”, it just felt completely heartless when speaking to people you considered to be friends. I have to say, whilst there are some elements in this list?we must do (particularly to comply with a Country’s legislation), one of the biggest pieces of advice I give anyone doing a redundancy is to do it with care and be kind. Unless someone voluntarily wants to take redundancy, one must remember that within minutes someone’s purpose has just been snatched away from them with the words.. “your role is no longer needed”. Therein the person will go on an emotional roller-coaster as they come to terms with this and seek to find their next purpose. ?

For some countries, where it is typical that one leaves the company on the day the announcements go out, this feels harsh. I do respect that it?is the norm in those cultures, though I personally find it very difficult to do. What I have found over the years is that giving people the space and time to absorb the news does make for a better company alumnus. In some ways, the overly lengthy process that the UK requires?with large scale redundancies is harder (months in some scenarios), as there is an element of the unknown and a lack of confirmation?until the process is complete. If a company does have one to two weeks of time, then, from my experience, this helps someone go through the emotional curve that goes with the process. Outsourcing specialists can help here and are worthwhile in my view, if the Company can afford it. HR play a critical role in supporting that person’s transition, and we must do this with empathy and kindness. ?

As for focusing on those that remain, yes this is important. But what I have learned over the years is that those people will be watching how their team mates are treated. The values that leaders have and more importantly display in all situations are watched closely by employees. Over the past 6 months I’ve been researching Companies’ values, looking to see any patterns in the technology industry and whether these values can give an insight into the leadership of that company. I have started to see ‘kindness’ as one of the values starting to pop up. Indeed, over the past year, I have seen so many articles on this trait pop up on LinkedIn and associating kindness to being a great leader. This may be true, but this is only the case if we are authentically so. People will see through actions that are not authentic; that is one thing we can?be sure of.?

Unfortunately, with increasing reports of more cost controls in the technology sector, what I had hoped to be a ‘new year’, different to 2023, doesn’t seem to be the case with recent news of layoffs in both technology and also the banking sectors. As HR teams face these challenges, let’s hope they are also reading and sharing the articles on kindness and humility. Don’t read the old-fashioned text books on how to run a redundancy/layoff process. These are difficult decisions because they impact people, and there is nothing wrong with saying so. ?Don't get me wrong, I've not always got this right myself. One size certainly does not fit all, and even in the last year I judged the time someone needed to take on the news of their redundancy wrong. At least the relationship was there for them to tell me so, and for that I am grateful for the learning.

The impact on both the people, but also the reputation of the company can be huge if you get this wrong. You only need to look at the most recent announcement on Apple’s closure of the AI team in San Diego to see the effects of getting this wrong. Of course,?I don’t know the details, but what I do know is that this has been described in the press as ‘brutal’ and ‘disingenuous’. Their actions have been described as far from graceful, and the current social media trend of showcasing poorly managed layoffs has put Apple in the spotlight in the last week. ?

No matter how much technology is quickening to support and make business decision, we must remember one thing. ?We are not robots, we all have feelings and emotions, and no matter why a business decision has been?made, when it comes to layoffs try to remember to run the process with care, with grace and with kindness. And for those who are unfortunate to be made redundant, where this kindness is shown to you, remember that the person giving the message could have had sleepless nights preparing for that conversation. I have, sadly, had many of these during my career. Whilst there may be points to be made in these processes, if there is empathy shown on both sides it really does make a hard process just a little bit more bearable. ?