Avoid any small talk. Get to the point. Don't debate. Don't discuss any issues of "fairness."3.The downsized employee should clearly understand that he or she is
being fired
and this will be his orher
last
day of work.4.Have Kleenex available.5.Be supportive and empathetic, but not compromising. Use silence to give the employee anopportunity to react to the news.6.Don't be defensive or argumentative. Don't be apologetic.7.Don't provide extensive justification for the downsizing decision.8.Do not try to make light of the situation by making jokes or trying to be funny.9.Remain calm and try not to display any emotion.10.If the employee becomes too emotional, suggest that he or she see a counselor. You may need torestate the message that he or she has been fired to ensure that the employee knows that thedecision is final and has been made at the highest level for the good of the company.11.The following are the four most common emotional responses employees have upon learning of theirtermination and the best way for the manager to handle them:12.Anger. The louder the downsized employee talks, the softer the manager should talk. Theidea is to diffuse confrontation, since the employee cannot have a one−sided argument.
♦
Denial. Just because a person has been told, "You're fired," does not mean that he or shereally hears it or believes it. The manager's role is to let individuals know the importance ofgetting their lives back together as soon as possible.
♦
Depression. This type of emotion should send an immediate warning signal. The personshould be referred to a human resources counselor.
♦
Hysteria. Both men and women are capable of overreacting to news of their termination. Forterminated people who begin to cry after hearing the news, have a glass of water handy.
♦
The manager who conducts the termination wants to hear a fired employee say, "Can I see youagain?" or "How much am I getting in severance?" Such comments show that the downsizedindividual is getting over the news and thinking about the future.13.Managers need to recognize the following symptoms during the meeting that may indicate theterminated worker could turn violent: expression of unusual or bizarre thoughts; a fixation onweapons; romantic obsession; depression; and chemical dependence.14.Request that the employee turn over his or her keys and other property of the company. Secure allaccess to the computers.15.Contact security immediately if any assistance is required to escort the terminated employee from theproperty.16.Offer the number of any services that may be of help to the terminated individual, such as temporaryemployment agencies, government assistance programs, out−of−state job banks, and a list of phonenumbers for nearby moving services such as U−Haul and Ryder Truck.17.
Let's All Hop in a Ryder Truck
Since making
Roger &Me
in 1989, I've listened to a lot of stories from people, strangers in the street, whowant to buy me a beer or a burger and tell me what happened to their American Dream.
Roger &Me
chronicled how the world's richest corporation, General Motors, destroyed my hometown of Flint, Michigan, byfiring 30,000 workers during a time when the company was making record profits. I filmed search to find thechairman of GM, Roger Smith, and tried to convince him to come to Flint so he could see what he had done tothe people there.Although Roger never made it to Flint, a lot of other people have. These days everyone, it seems, lives in theirown Flint, Michigan.The stories I hear are pretty much the same, with a few variations to allow for the pink−slipped brother whocommitted suicide, or the mother who lost her life savings when the pension fund went belly−up. I have heardso many of these stories that I can fill in the blanks before the sentences are finished. I find myself doing thisto keep from sinking into a deep despair.It is not pleasant when a homeless person actually
knows
you and calls out, "Hey, Mike!" as you are trying towalk quickly past him and his shopping cart. This happened to me on 46th Street in New York City in front ofthe Paramount Hotel. I was with a vice president of NBC and the producers of my show "TV Nation." Thehomeless man grabbed my hand for a shake and told me he, too, was from Flint, Michigan, but now lives hereon the street.
Moore, Michael − Downsize This!3
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