Love in the Time of Layoff

The Cold War had ended during the previous decade, sealing the downward spiral of the aerospace business where I started my HR career.  I had spent more than 3 years as part of an HR team charged with laying off nearly 5,000 people in a small and isolated city.  The repetitive finality of our work was wearing us down, and we were all tired.

So when Tom, the site HR Manager, took me out to the nicest restaurant in town to lay me off over lunch, it was at first viscerally a relief.  It was not my first visit to the Recession Rodeo.  I had been laid off by a non-profit a few years earlier after a major stock market flop eradicated their endowment:  the non-profit went out of business and I was unemployed for 8 months.  I networked with over 150 decision-makers during that time period, which resulted in one immediate job, and one eventual job:  the eventual job was working for Tom.

While it would be flip of me to recommend the layoff experience as an opportunity to cleanse the vocational palate and gain clarity regarding life / career goals and priorities, that experience without exception has consistently delivered gifts that I never expected in the form of career, mentoring, self-development and entrepreneurial opportunities.  I always gain skills and strengthen my ability to earn money for myself and my employers / customers.

Over a luscious and extravagant lunch, Tom, my site HR Manager, was far more upset than I was during the layoff discussion:  uncharacteristically so, as his usual demeanor was laid-back and affable in a typically reserved HR manner.  He then gave me an unexpected gift:  the gift of transparent authenticity.  "Headquarters unexpectedly told me that I had to cut another HR headcount," Tom related, his eyes suspiciously moist.  "While you're one of my strongest performers and promotable, you have the shortest service in the group.  I had no choice but to lay you off, Deb."

Tom was always a wonderful mentor and coach.  His first coaching to me was my nickname.  "You're definitely a Deb and not a Debbie,"  he advised me.  "Deb is more serious and commanding:  Deb you are."

I was a mix of emotions:  genuinely grateful for Tom's support and positive feedback in the moment of laying me off; and a bit anxious, given that Joel and I were planning to be married in 4 months.  "Tom, I'd like to thank you for your kindness, and your mentoring, it has really meant a great deal to me.  I'd like to be able to use you as a reference,  How can I help with transitioning my work in return?"  I replied.  Tom smiled for the first time during lunch.  "I'll do better than that," he said.  Let me work my internal company network and see what I can do."

I continued to work during my 60-day WARN notice period, while Tom reached out to his network in other divisions of our company.  A week before I was due to hit the street, Tom recommended me for another job locally in a different division, at a 14% pay increase.

And it happened because Tom and I stood up for each other, authentically.  Even at the time of layoff.

Recently, I have borne witness to another example of love in the time of layoff manifested in Peter, the Executive Director at Mediation Matters, in the form of authentic and transparent communication to the organization's volunteer community, paraphrased here:

Dear Volunteers:

By now, you all know that we absorbed a significant cut in our state allocation, virtually cutting our budget in half.

As a result, we have had no choice but to make some wrenching staffing decisions.

I have laid off both Heidi and Quent, effective Friday, April 28, 2011.  Both Heidi and Quent are amazing employees and exceptional human beings, and they will be sorely missed.  

This decision was almost certainly the most difficult of my life.

Peter.

Here is Heidi's good-bye email to us, paraphrased:

Dear Volunteers,

My last day is Friday and I wanted to take a moment and thank all of you for an amazing nine years.

I worked for Peter for a month before going out on maternity leave. Peter took a chance on me in 2006 and hired me back on with Mediation Matters and for this I will be forever grateful.

You all will always be very near and dear to my heart.

Thank you and I wish you all the very best!

Heidi.

As an HR practitioner, I strive to walk the talk authentically and with love, even in the time of layoff.  Peter, however, has taken that love to a new and even more authentic level.

More importantly, however:  for those hiring authorities who without exception screen out laid-off candidates:  how can you resist hiring authentic and passionate talent such as Heidi and Quent, who have been lucky enough to be mentored by managers like Peter, who will unconditionally and publicly stand up for them in the time of layoff?

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