How far in advance are you told the date and who you must lay off? Who assigns the duty you? Your manager? HR? Do you get assigned some training? Are you given a script? When do you set the meeting for and how far in advance? Etc.?
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It pretty much looks like a ham sandwich.
I am a manager who, sadly, has had to do this several times in the past several years here. I also have myself been displaced 3x in my career at other companies so I have experience on both sides of this event.
There really is no good way to do this. Even when someone says they were expecting it, the reality is still a horrible shock to most. There are some rare cases where people were ecstatic - for example, they were planning to retire in 6 or 12 months and the severance gave them a paid vacation until the date they were going to exit anyway But these are a small minority.
As others have detailed on this thread, you are provided a very tight script and set of rules about what you can or cannot say. I personally have been able to still show compassion, and I think that does go a long way - but some managers are just so freaked out themselves by the task that they can’t muster that up.
And, if you give ANY indication of this prior to the actual date - it is grounds for termination for the manager. You might think nobody will find out, but once the deed is done you just don’t know what the displaced person will do or say so as a manager for your own self-preservation you do not under any circumstances tip someone off.
Believe it or not, it’s done better here than most places. A s__t sandwich is still a s__t sandwich though.
About a month. You’re forced to attend lengthy preparation meetings if you’re the manager delivering the notices. And you’re given a strict script you have to stick to. It su-ks.
thanks to everyone who shared some honest feedback about this
I was given about a month and a half notice. Prior to that notice, I was asked to stack rank the entire team in a system, not via email. The stack ranking was based on the HR provided job competencies and proficiency level for each competency. I followed the rules and of course someone is at the bottom of the list. When I stack ranked, I was not told how many people would need to be displaced.
A couple of weeks later I was informed that I had to displace two people and the bottom two were the ones.
I was prepped by a central team that was not HR. I had to take two training classes and I was provided a script to read, or at least base the conversation on. When I delivered the news, I started reading the script but then veered off and said what I wanted to say, but still within guidelines. I was not required to read from the script but obviously could not say anything illegal or answer any specific questions.
After I delivered the news, the recipients could ask whatever questions they have but unless I knew the answer, the standard response was to refer to the packet you will be receiving later today via your personal email address.
Delivering the news was not easy for me and it was not easy for the recipients.
It’s horrific - the worst part of the job. It seems to be a bit different every time. Managers don’t get much say, if any at all. The last round, I found out when one called to tell me they were just displaced by conference call by my manager. More is coming…not getting much sleep at the moment. I expect to be displaced with part of the team this time and eventually expect my position to be eliminated entirely since it doesn’t exist at Chase.
My manager had several months notice that she needed to reduce head count. We worked together to develop a plan, what work would continue vs stop as a result of a smaller team. The displacements occurred 3 months later than what senior management had wanted, that was as a result of HR being backlogged and couldn't meet the original date. A script of key points that needed to be covered during the displacements were provided to the manager by HR. The displacement calls were scheduled that evening before the displacements happend. Managers with impacted employees was told the day before, but it was my manager that actually did the communication.
Can only tell about the stories I’ve heard from my friends in mortgage
Immediate manager isn’t a part of the discussion. Most likely doesn’t know until it’s been done
2nd level manager is notified generally with 15 minutes of the meeting to know that X number of employees under his/her umbrella are to be impacted.
managers don't tell you much. When I got whacked, the paperwork said another team member was let go too, but only stated their age and title.
I had to get a buddy still on the inside to tell me the other team member that was zz'd.
@xvq+1qRZLgAW thx for saying that
It depends on the circumstances, but generally I get notified the day before the victim does. I am provided with a script. Manager assigns, I generally don't talk to HR at all during the process other than informing them that the convo is complete.
It's Fing horrible. I see people post in here talking about how uncaring managers are in these meetings. I'm sure it happens sometimes with some managers, but I've had to do this a few times and they are among the worst days of my life. I hate it with a passion. I feel like part of my soul does each time and it takes a toll on my emotional well-being. It's not all roses and puppy dogs in the manager world either folks, and managers themselves are routinely S canned as well so we are just as likely to be a victim of this as anyone.
Usually the day of the event, they don't tell the managers much.
fyi, my mgr told me he knew 3wks before the Tues I was laid off.
Not sure if that's the norm...