When the crunch comes, most employers naturally worry about how they are going to break the bad news. This requires a balance between sympathy and detachment.
"It is better to avoid extremes," HR consultant Alan Fowler says. "Unfortunately a few managers enjoy being brutal when firing people because it gives them a sense of power. But just as bad is getting emotional and saying 'this hurts me as much as it hurts you', which is clearly not the case."
"People's reactions are very variable," he continues. "Some clam up through shock and surprise, and forget to ask practical questions which they really need to know the answers to. Others get emotionally upset: men as well as women will often break down in your office. And a few will get angry, and ask why them and not someone else."
Fowler recommends a two stage process that lets the individual down gently. "In the first you tell them you can't see any alternative to making redundant, but they may have ideas of their own, so let's talk about it later. If no genuine alternative emerges then you formalise it."
No one likes to be the bearer of bad news, but few directors of growing companies are likely to escape the business of making employees redundant at some time or other. Observing these few rules and principles can at least minimise the pain for all concerned.
