No deje que los despidos afecten sus esfuerzos de DEI

Cada empleado que es despedido merece escuchar directamente del liderazgo cómo se tomaron las decisiones y por qué.

Nunca olvide que las personas que se quedan con usted están observando cómo maneja la comunicación sobre los despidos, cómo trata a los empleados que se van y cómo apoya a los empleados después de que se van.

A medida que pasamos a las separaciones, es esencial recordar que la forma en que despedimos a las personas es tan importante como la forma en que las contratamos y promovemos.

Don’t Let Layoffs Undermine Your DEI Efforts
Corey Jones, Daina Middleton and Rebecca Weaver
c.2022 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp.
Corey Jones is co-founder of PrismWork, a consultancy focused on cultural transformation in the workplace. Daina Middleton is a collaborator at PrismWork. Rebecca Weaver is a consulting partner at PrismWork and is the founder and CEO of HRuprise, an employee advocacy and HR consulting firm.
From HBR.org
Over the past decade, many companies have invested more into diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. But layoffs are where the rubber meets the road for organizations claiming a commitment to creating inclusive cultures. How leaders and their companies navigate the economic downturn in the coming year will speak volumes. Here are some recommendations for leaders who want to establish layoff practices rooted in inclusion and belonging.

APPROACH WITH EMPATHY.

Employees are people, and letting people go is never easy. Whether you’re the CEO or a team leader, showing humility and vulnerability will convey that you’re not taking the situation lightly or only care about the health and welfare of the business. Demonstrating that you’re human will enable you to better connect with employees — both those who are leaving and those who are staying.

CONSIDER DEMOGRAPHICS WHEN DETERMINING WHICH ROLES TO ELIMINATE.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to determining who will be impacted by downsizing, decisions often occur at the top of the organization, driven first and foremost by cost-savings goals. By focusing on cost savings at the expense of inclusion, leaders risk undermining the great work they’ve done to build trust and connect with their employees, particularly women and employees of color.

Being intentional about deciding who gets laid off is not just about protecting the company from lawsuits — it’s also about maintaining an inclusive culture. Who gets laid off can have long-term unintended consequences for the people who remain.

If you’ve recently hired diverse talent to increase your pipeline and then decide on a “last hired/first fired” policy, you’re likely to disproportionately impact women and people of color. <a href=»https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/1973/01/1973a_bpea_freeman_gordon_bell_hall.pdf» rel=»nofollow»>Longitudinal research</a> reveals that Black employees have historically been particularly affected by this type of policy.

Another place leaders often turn to first to cut costs is reducing their contractors rather than full-time employees. According to a study done by <a href=»https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/12/15/racial-and-ethnic-differences-stand-out-in-the-u-s-gig-workforce/» rel=»nofollow»>Pew Research</a>, Latinos, Black people and employees from other excluded groups are much more likely to be gig workers and therefore more likely to be impacted when a company reduces its contractor pool.

DESIGN INCLUSIVE SEVERANCE PACKAGES.

Inclusion should be at the heart of your company’s severance offerings. Here are three key pillars to consider:

— Rather than just offering one to two weeks of pay per year of service, offer a base package and then consider credit for seniority on top of that. Employees who joined recently likely left good jobs behind to join you. They shouldn’t be penalized for business decisions.

— Offer a minimum of three to six months of COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) to help provide continuity for employees’ medical needs. Also consider allowing the employees to take their COBRA distribution all at once, which enables them to manage their finances based on what they and their families need.

— Offer the same severance package to candidates whose offers you have rescinded.

DON’T PLACE THE BURDEN ON THE EMPLOYEE.

Every employee who is laid off deserves to hear directly from leadership on how the decisions were made and why. They also deserve a one-on-one conversation to understand what support they will receive from the company. Make sure the wait between announcing that your company will be conducting layoffs and the subsequent one-on-one conversations is as short as possible. Ensure all information is provided in multiple formats and provide multiple avenues for former employees to ask questions.

If your workplace is in person, ensure that laid-off employees can get home without having to suffer indignities. If your workplace is remote or hybrid, make it easy for employees to return company equipment without having to pay out of pocket.

DON’T FORGET YOUR “SURVIVORS.”

One of the most common missteps is believing everything is back to normal immediately following the announcement. Never forget that the people staying with you are watching how you handle communication about the layoffs, how you treat employees who are leaving and how you support employees after they leave.

Each retained employee will have an individual process and timeline as they adjust to the new normal. Dealing with a workplace version of “survivor’s guilt” is common. In a <a href=»https://www.leadershipiq.com/blogs/leadershipiq/29062401-dont-expect-layoff-survivors-to-be-grateful» rel=»nofollow»>study by Leadership IQ</a>, 74% of employees who kept their job during a layoff reported that their productivity had declined since the layoff. Facilitating and formalizing ongoing communications will help rebuild trust. Encourage retained employees to connect with former employees, offer to make introductions, share LinkedIn recommendations and provide references.

When the downsizing process is over, leaders have the opportunity to reset the culture, making DEI foundational to the company’s future. We advise our clients to do the following after layoffs:

REFOCUS AND ALIGN AROUND A NEW PURPOSE-DRIVEN STRATEGY.

Sometimes, downsizing requires the company to focus on a refined purpose-driven strategy. Distilling the information and getting the strategy to a single page that aligns the entire team can help the organization move forward with renewed enthusiasm.

EVALUATE YOUR CULTURE.

Conduct a culture assessment to determine which areas require improvement. It’s likely not feasible or necessary to do a comprehensive culture overhaul, but conducting a post-layoff assessment can target specific areas to be addressed and help lay a path to the inclusive culture you’ve always wanted and your business has needed.

PARTNER WITH EMPLOYEES.

Having to “do more with less” comes with many real challenges, and leaders should engage employees to create the foundation for renewed enthusiasm and motivation. Don’t just tell them what to do — <a href=»https://hbr.org/2022/04/change-is-hard-heres-how-to-make-it-less-painful» rel=»nofollow»>invite them to participate</a>.

As we shift to separations, it is essential to remember that how we let go of people is as important as how we hire and promote them.