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Rethinking Your Approach to Onboarding & Layoffs: How to Show Employees You Value Them with Amy Davies
The way Amy Davies described her layoff was like a scene from a movie. After years of feeling like a trusted employee, she was walked out into a monsoon.
Funny enough, the same organization called her about another role a few months later.
That was only one of her experiences. Amy has been laid off, been the only person on her team to survive a layoff, and had to deliver the news and lead people through those changes.
Today, as founder and CEO of First30, she helps organizations support employees from onboarding through exit.
In this episode of Career Transition Perspectives, Amy and I discuss how those experiences shaped the outplacement program she built, First30’s expansion into onboarding, and simple actions that help employees feel valued.
We also explore her focus on helping organizations get employees using new technology as intended, and how her Coffee N Law podcast gives HR professionals a resource to revisit when employment law questions come up.
Handling Layoffs: Communication & Working Notice
Layoffs are difficult for all parties, from the people losing their jobs, remaining employees, and the leaders delivering the news. Employees are scared about what comes next, while leaders are often still figuring out the changes themselves.
People may not know what to say, what they can say, or how to explain decisions that are still being made.
“As an employer, the communication is often the part that fails first.”
Amy describes two approaches to layoffs.
The “amputation approach” is abrupt. Security comes to your desk and without notice, has you return your badge or company property, and walks you out.
The badge can mean more than access to a building. For people whose careers are a big part of their identity, handing it over is symbolic of letting that part of their identity go.
The best approach is giving working notice.
Giving as much notice as possible gives employees time to wrap up their work, say goodbye to colleagues, and start using outplacement support before their last day.
It also shows employees who remain that their colleagues were valued and that the organization is helping them move forward.
Amy cautioned that people can hold on to a difficult layoff experience for months or years. I added that even after someone has moved on, the reviews they left don’t disappear and can make future candidates second-guess working there, well beyond the layoff.
Building Outplacement Support Around What People Need
Amy received outplacement support herself. It was helpful, but she felt the coaching was formulaic.
“I felt compelled to build the program that I would have wanted to take in that situation.”
While developing First30’s program, she interviewed dozens of people who had been through outplacement to understand what they wanted from the experience.
One of her priorities is making sure participants understand the services available to them. Many don’t actually know what outplacement is.
From there, the support depends on where the person is.
Someone who arrives with three interviews lined up might need mock interview practice right away. That could include working through how to answer a question about why they left their last employer.
Others are still processing the layoff or figuring out what they want to do next.
I shared an example from my experience working with someone who reached the resume stage before they were ready for it. They were still processing the layoff, never mind knowing what roles that resume was going to be targeting.
With First30, the support that comes first depends on what the person needs, rather than following the same sequence for everyone.
How People Prefer to Receive Outplacement Support
Amy brought a perspective from her customer research in the telecommunications industry to outplacement.
Watching TV online once required connecting equipment and navigating a complicated setup. You had to lean in to get it working. She anticipated more people would cut the cord once it became a lean back activity, where they could simply sit back and watch.
She applies that distinction to how people receive career transition support.
Some take a “lean forward” approach. They want to explore the platform and work through resources themselves.
Others prefer a “lean back” approach, where they want information brought to them.
Sending people the resources they need accommodates that preference, instead of relying on everyone to log in and find them. For some, having to navigate the options adds to the overwhelm during an already stressful time.
First30’s Expansion Into Employee Onboarding
People initially thought First30 was an onboarding company, mistaking the name for being associated with the first 30 days of employment.
It was fitting that the business would expand into that work. With a team in place to run the outplacement side, Amy has been able to spend more time on onboarding, retention, and technology adoption.
She describes First30’s onboarding platform as helping with the experience side of joining an organization. While an HR information system handles processes, the platform helps new employees understand what they need to know, get engaged with the business, and succeed in their jobs.
It’s an area where she sees a need. Employers want people to be productive and engaged. Proper onboarding is critical to that goal.
Creating a Praise Culture at Work
When I asked about simple changes organizations could make, Amy’s answer was:
“Say thank you in the moment, when it matters.”
She also mentioned being kind and not yelling at people at work. Seems simple, but sometimes the most effective things are. We can’t underestimate the value and impact of basic human decency. These types of actions affect how people feel about the organization they work for.
Amy was clear that a praise culture doesn’t mean everything is sunshine and roses. Organizations still need standards, and people still need constructive feedback. The goal is to give employees the best chance of succeeding in their roles.
These ideas are part of her second book, Creating a Praise Culture, which she is currently writing.
Rebuilding Confidence After a Layoff
The positive impact of courtesy toward one another tied back to the outplacement program. An objective of the first meeting is for the participant to leave with something positive about themselves.
That could be helping them recognize their credentials and how they could help an employer, or pointing out that their presence will serve them well in interviews.
The feedback gives them something specific to feel good about at a time when their confidence might be low.
Beyond the obvious resume, interview prep, and finding their next role, the early stages of outplacement in particular involve helping individuals recognize their value and rebuild their confidence.
Coffee N Law: An Employment Law Resource for HR
Supporting employees also means navigating employment law questions, including situations HR professionals might not encounter often.
Coffee N Law is a podcast that grew out of webinars Amy ran with employment lawyers, in which hundreds of people attended and asked questions during the Q&A.
She wanted the podcast to feel like sitting together over coffee, and to make a complex subject easier to understand.
She prioritizes what she calls the “kitchen table issues” for HR, including layoffs and terminations, workplace investigations, parental leave, and performance reviews.
Amy has built a library of episodes on a range of employment law topics that HR teams can use as a starting point if they come up in their organization.
The conversations also introduce employment lawyers who can provide legal counsel, and end with a “spill the tea” segment, where guests share an interesting, funny, or sometimes unsettling story.
Helping Employees Use New Workplace Technology
Technology adoption is an area Amy wants to spend more time on over the next few years.
Organizations invest in tools expecting to save time and improve how work gets done. Realizing those benefits depends on employees using the technology as intended.
“One of the biggest barriers to a new behavior is the old behavior.”
Most organizations can’t turn off their old systems and ways of working overnight. Introducing something new means asking people to change their habits.
Amy’s approach includes focus groups with employees. She explains how someone outside the organization can pick up on things its internal team might not see. Speaking with employees lets her dig deeper into what’s happening and why.
From there, she can help employees use the tools for their intended purpose and get the efficiencies the organization paid for.
Two Priorities for Employers Handling Layoffs
I asked Amy what she would change or standardize about how organizations handle career transitions.
She believes that the absolute best thing an employer can do is give working notice.
The second thing is to give your employees outplacement support.
Give them that leg up and show your remaining employees that you’re not an organization that just discards people.
When you have to eliminate someone’s role, do what you can to set them up for success in whatever comes next.
Watch or listen to the full episode of Career Transition Perspectives for more of Amy’s perspective on outplacement, onboarding, workplace appreciation, Coffee N Law, and technology adoption.
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