There are 2 blogs to this:-
1. How to handle redundancy as someone who is at risk,
2. Someone who is delivering the bad news (Part 2).
Being on both sides of the desk at one time or another in my career, I can confirm, neither is a picnic.
There are a ton of articles on the practicalities of what you should do if you are made redundant - like this great one . But what about the emotions, your mindset and how you should act.
1. Change your mindset
If redundancy is a certainty, swap your mindset from 'oh no, what am I going to do' - to ‘ok, I’ve got some choices’.
It is likely that the business has been changing for a while. Maybe your department has been losing momentum. These things never come about suddenly. You may be in the fortunate position to have a notice period or redundancy pay, or you have wanted to leave for a while. The tough thing here is that it is not your choice. But look upon this as you are being paid to leave a situation or job which wasn’t as good as it once was.
The people are always what keeps us at a place of work. You don’t have to leave these people. We are so connected that colleagues and friends are only a click away.
Keeping the positivity will take you into your job search, feeling like the top of the pile rather than the bottom will spur you on. I knew I needed a part time job to help keep Show/Girl alive in the pandemic - my positivity took 2 job applications and one interview to get the part time job I wanted and love. Try this blog
2. Own your news
Sadly redundancies are on the rise, there is a stat which tells us that they will happen on average twice to every person. It’s not shameful, it is businesses changing. When I was told my role was at risk. The first thing I did was tell my team. I didn’t want them to hear from anyone else. But I also needed the support. Why I would be winding down, not focussed and distracted. I then told as many people as I could and let them know that it was ok to tell others. I made my boss announce it to the wider team.
Why? It was my story, I certainly didn’t want anyone owning it for me, speaking in hushed tones or gossiping about me.
3. Plan your exit
I had seen in many companies, people just disappeared. No ceremony. Just an email Thursday afternoon telling people someone was leaving tomorrow and how they had been an asset- while the rest of us wondered what that person did.
The email (a piece below)I wrote and sent at 4.59pm on my last day to over 900 people I’d mostly never met (the UK distribution list). The email I sent got me about 30 emails. Mostly of people I’d never met saying how wonderful my exit email had been and they would follow me on social media, they might need me in the future, and suggestions of where I can pitch myself. I actually thought it was the best chance at a captive audience of 900 people so I should get the Show/Girl message out ! (Another confidence blog).
......The reason I wanted to send a message to you all was to ask you to be kind to people who are going through this process, personally and professionally. To remind those that are – this is not shameful and not because you aren’t good at your job. Embrace it, tell people about it and they will help.
To the ones we leave behind - get yourselves on Linked In and see if you are able to help anyone in your network who has hit a bump in the road. Don’t be afraid to ask someone if they are ok – we are all at home and some will be sitting with this news and will have no one to talk to. A friendly call will make all the difference – no matter how awkward it is.
Take care of yourselves, take care of each other and if you can find any way to share what I am doing next (search show girl coaching on all your favourite social media platforms) – please do and if you want to get in touch.
4. Don’t burn bridges.
There will be bridges you will want to burn. But you never have to see some of those people again. By taking control of your mindset, your news and your exit, you are holding the winning hand.
You are (most often) being given money to leave. You might want to tell people what you actually think. But where will that get you? “Phew I’m glad they have left, they really showed their true colours”.
You can be dignified. Perhaps opportunities will come up in the future, perhaps people will want to help you and reach out. Don’t leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth.
If you are being, or about to be made redundant and need to make sure you are creating that positive mindset, If you wanted to explore this with me or to ask more questions - book a free discovery session to see whether coaching is right for you. (and look here).
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Show/Girl does Pro Bono work for domestic violence survivors and most recent ‘pay what you can afford’ sessions for people who have found themselves out of work due to the global pandemic.
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