3 Ways To Support Layoff Survivors

So your company just went through layoffs, and that stinks.

According to Leadership IQ, there are some pretty grave unintended side effects of layoffs on survivors:

- 74% of employees who kept their job amidst a corporate layoff say their own productivity has declined since the layoff
- 69% say the quality of their company’s product or service has declined since the layoffs
- 87% of surviving workers say they are less likely to recommend their organization as a great organization to work for
- 64% of surviving workers say the productivity of their colleagues has also declined
- 81% of surviving workers say the service that customers receive has declined
- 77% of surviving workers say they see more errors and mistakes being made
- 61% of surviving workers say they believe their company’s future prospects are worse

BUT not all hope is lost.

If you can do these THREE things, you can rebuild the trust and optimism of your people moving forward (and no, it doesn’t involve dropping them in a remote location, splitting them into two tribes, then voting people off).

1. Remember Your People Are People

…And they just lost their friends — people with whom they were collaborating on a daily basis. And chances are good it was through no fault of their own, so those left behind are going to feel powerless and betrayed — that’s normal. But ignoring these feelings is failing to address the elephant in the room. Your people are going to have a hard time trusting you if you’re moving forward with work while the elephant keeps trampling their work. So your role as a leader is to address it. Acknowledge these perfectly human feelings, honor the contributions of their former colleagues, and encourage the survivors to reach out and connect with them. Added bonus: if YOU reach out to them and offer your support in their job hunt, you assuage some of the fears and rebuild trust of those left behind.

2. Be Transparent

Help people see why the layoffs are necessary. Paint a CLEAR, emotionally evocative vision of your company’s future because of the layoffs, and include the narrative that when things are good again, those people may be brought back. Open your door for questions and conversations. You’re probably going to have to go out of your way to take on more tasks so that your people don’t feel overwhelmed with all the new responsibilities they may have. And I pray to the downsizing gods that part of the layoff process included your c-suite and VPs taking pay cuts, because if you’re telling your people you “tried everything” and you didn’t, it’s going to create the kind of resentment that sends them out the door and makes you even more shorthanded.

3. Connect work to purpose

This involves getting to know each team member on a personal level so you can connect with them about their values and passions. Ideally, you’ll have already gotten familiar with these things before, but if not, it’s never too late to start. Once employees have had a chance to process their feelings after a layoff, you have an opportunity to re-orient them by sharing stories of how, together, you’re making a positive difference in the lives of human beings, and attaching that purpose to your people’s individual values.