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Let’s face it;  employee layoff sometimes becomes necessary for survival of the company, especially during bad times. Layoff is definitely not a pleasant experience for either of the involved parties. But layoff can definitely be made less painful for the fired employees.

Step 1:

Explain why  layoff is done for select group. Employer should base his explanation on the fact that the people who have escaped layoff are the bare minimum set the company needs to keep running. At any time do not blame the employees who were part of the layoff for the misfortunes of the company. A promise that the employees who have to bear layoff may be hired when company is in better shape also helps to restore the self esteem of the employees who face layoff.

Step 2:

Offer help in finding new jobs to employees who face layoff. An employer typically knows lot of other companies in the same domain and can easily refer employees who face layoff to its competitors. It may seem that you are giving away your intellectual property to your competitors by doing this. But the employee who bears the layoff can anyhow join any of your competitors. By referring him / her to a particular competitor you can actually minimize the damage that such a move could have otherwise done.

Step 3:

Ensure security of data and office belongings during layoff. People tend to behave irrationally if they are suddenly confronted with a layoff. The employer should ensure that data and other office stuff are not compromised with in any way during layoff. Though any self respecting employee will not indulge in such actions but you can never be too sure.

Step 4:

Keep the employee who face layoff on rolls for some months. This will give the laid off employees time to find new jobs without having a large time gap between two employments. The company may choose not to pay the laid off employees for this duration of time but this gesture sure goes a long way in creating a good name for the company.

Step 5:

Talk to the remaining staff who have survived the layoff. Seeing their colleagues facing layoff can be really de motivating. Hold a general meeting with all the employees and explain to them the reasons behind the layoff. These should be the same as in step 1, since the employees who survived the layoff will talk about these reasons to the employees who faced layoff at some point or another. Employer should also try to keep the existing team motivated.