December 11, 2008

I was browsing my usual technology blogs and obviously layoffs are a central topic on many of them. Tech is feeling the crunch just as most sectors are globally. Laying off people is never fun for managers - especially if the people also have personal relationships outside of work. If you run a small business, like I do, knowing your colleagues is the essence of being successful. The fact that I know what makes someone tick and get ticked off is an advantage when you are competing against a Fortune 500 that’s riddled with procedural red tape.

Valleywag exposed a brilliant piece of procedural paralysis in a report on Yahoo!’s layoff procedures. The fact that a technology firm built on innovation and nimbleness resorts to giving managers a “step by step” sequence of instructions on how to layoff an employee just makes me sick. I’d prefer being laid off over email vs. getting some robotic pseudo-empathetic rubbish from my superior before being walked out of the office. Hopefully, I’ll never have to experience it, but if I do, that’s how I want to go out.

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