Delivering Difficult News: The Art of Respectful Terminations

There comes a time in every leader's career when they must let an employee go. It could be the result of restructuring or that the individual is no longer the right fit for the business needs. Whatever the reason, planning for a termination meeting can cause anxiety and loss of sleep for even the most experienced leaders. What should you say, or not say? How will the employee receiving the news react? How will you handle the transition of the employee’s responsibilities? What security precautions do you need to take?

Frequently Asked Questions by Individuals in Transition

People leave their jobs for many reasons and, regardless of why, they all share a few things in common. Individuals in career transition face uncertainty and challenging circumstances that impact their personal, financial and professional life. These challenges hold true whether you are a CEO and or an administrative staff person. Here are a few of the questions we often hear from clients in transition.

Righting the Right-Size

The last few years have been tough for many Canadian organizations. Falling revenues and shrinking profits forced leaders to make difficult decisions about how best to reduce costs, boost productivity and ensure sustainability over the long term. In Canada and around the world, layoffs have been an unfortunate but necessary strategy to remain competitive.

Navigating the Journey After Job Loss

Maybe you saw it coming, or perhaps it came as a complete surprise – either way, losing your job is tough. For many, it can be a pivotal moment in the trajectory of their life. Will you choose to change your career path or seek a similar role to the one you are leaving? How will you avoid compromising your career goals in the face of financial concerns and the inclination to get back to work quickly?

The Personal Side of “Downsized”

Not to sound pessimistic, but sooner or later, almost everyone has to deal with the implications of being downsized. How people deal with it is as different as night and day. I’ve seen a wide and varied range of emotions and responses from those who experience job loss. How you deal with it can determine how quickly you turn-around and your ability to capture opportunities in front of you.

Structuring Severance for a Terminated Employee

When dealing with severance for an employee leaving your organization there are a number of issues to consider.

The first and foremost is consulting with your legal counsel  to make certain you know what is fair and required by law. Once you have determined how much you are offering then you have to consider how to structure the severance package. I have seen a wide range of severance structures while working with individuals who are provided career transition services, however they tend to fall into one of two main categories, lump sum or salary continuance.

Keeping the Focus: Leading to Maintain Engagement in Uncertain Times

Viewpoint by Anna Stuart, Vice President

Recent conversations with clients and colleagues – and the seemingly endless media litany of layoffs, closures, cost cutting – take me back to the early 1990s, which many of us recall from a perspective quite different from our current one. In that recession, many of today’s corporate and public sector leaders were employees, or perhaps frontline or middle managers. It is probable that their experience in that time has shaped the philosophy and values they bring to their current leadership roles.