Well helloooo,

How the hell are we already halfway through November??? 😲

Truly mind-blowing to think about, but I guess time flies???

In just a couple of weeks, it will be time for Mariah Carey to thaw and fulfill her seasonal obligation.

Before we get to Q&A - a quick poll! Is getting rid of titles a good idea? Vote here!

💡 Moving on to a good ol’ Q&A to start the day:

First up, how do you introduce performance reviews when leadership’s opening line is basically please justify your employment?

Then, an HR team of one asks how to get through laying off a third of the staff when they disagree with the decision and are already losing sleep over it. Genuinely the stuff of nightmares. 😭

Let’s jump right in…and if it’s your time to submit your own question, do it here if you want a chance to be featured!

And don't forget to join us for the advanced AI Live build! We're taking org charts to work charts at 1PM ET TODAY.

ASK AWAY

😓 layoffs & feedbackCopy anchor linkCopied

📣 Donna Griffin, Director of People & Culture @ Intelligentsia Coffee:

Gosh, who doesn't love a great "justify your existence" exercise?!?!?

Without having performance reviews, I might suggest starting with a 9-box exercise. It's a tic-tac-toe grid with the left axis being performance and the bottom axis being culture or potential or whatever you feel is most important.

You start with the the leadership team to place their employees on the grid. It's a low-medium-high scale. I send some guides and info beforehand (that I'm happy to share with you if you'd like). And here's how it works:

1. The leader places the employee on the grid. Maybe they're a medium performer but low on potential. They give a few sentences why the employee was placed in this location.

2. Then, the rest of the team gets to ask questions to understand or challenge the rating. I've seen employees move up, and I've seen them move down, based upon this conversation.

It's not going to be perfect. The goal is to get a snapshot of talent that removes as much bias as possible. Repeat this exercise every six months to help managers understand how they are developing and engaging with talent. Oftentimes, managers are shocked that employees in the lower left "L" are low potential/low performance, but taking up the majority of their time. The employees in the upper "7" are high potential or high performance and often get the least amount of time and attention, which is wrong. Those are your future leaders and stars, and they deserve MORE attention. Once managers see this, they start to change their behavior.

Anyway....that's my best advice. I'm happy to do a call to show you how it all works in real life with the tools I use so you can see if it will work for you!

📣 Alex White, Regional Director, HR @ Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club:

I think Donna makes some excellent points, and a 9-box exercise could certainly be a valuable tool, particularly as the organization continues to grow.

My only hesitation would be introducing a talent assessment before establishing some basic performance expectations, especially in an organization that has never had a formal review process.

Given the timeline, I wouldn't try to build a comprehensive performance management program by the end of the quarter. Instead, I'd focus on a few fundamentals: ensuring each leader can clearly articulate what success looks like for their employees, identifying meaningful contributions and opportunities for improvement, and incorporating some level of employee feedback into the process.

I'd also encourage a calibration conversation among the business leaders to help ensure employees are being evaluated consistently and fairly across the organization.

One distinction I think is particularly important is the difference between evaluating someone's performance and evaluating their value to the organization. They're not necessarily the same thing, and how we frame that conversation matters.

Above all, transparency is critical. Employees deserve to understand why this exercise is happening and how the information will be used. Nothing undermines trust faster than employees believing they're participating in a development exercise when leadership has something entirely different in mind.

The goal for this quarter doesn't need to be perfection. It should be establishing a fair, thoughtful starting point that leadership can build upon as the organization grows. Performance management is an ongoing conversation, not a once-a-year exercise or a box to check for investors.

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📣 Nikki Riedt, VP, Operations @ Conservation Colorado:

First, I encourage you to think more about what you mean by "decision I disagree with."

There is a difference between a decision you think is wrong, but is made by people you trust doing what they think is the best thing through a process that you have faith in. And a decision you think is wrong, made without a good process by someone you don't trust.

We cannot agree with our colleagues 100% of the time; that's unrealistic. So what matters is do we have faith in the process used to make the decisions and that everyone is acting in good faith.

I think what you need to do depends on what you think about that distinction and where this decision lives. Because if you don't believe in the people making the call, you probably need to start looking for another job.

I will echo what Josiah says about 'closing the loop.' So much of what spins us up and keeps us up at night is our brains trying to finish what we've started and that leads to being more anxious.

And then think about where you can have influence -- what can you control? Can you help shape the message? Can you suggest timelines and severance packages? Can you offer resources on finding other jobs or how to file unemployment? Find those places and channel your energy into making this as humane as possible and that will help everyone.

Good luck!

📣 Josiah Hernandez, People Operations & Recruiting Manager @ CW Financial Services LLC:

I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this, and I can't say I've been in this position. However, one thing that helps is separating the decision from the delivery. You didn’t make this call, but you do get a say in how humanely it’s carried out, and that part matters so much to the people receiving the news.

When I’m dreading a termination convo, this is what I do and what I might suggest- write your script, practice it out loud once with someone you trust, and then call it done. That way, when your brain starts looping, you can tell it the work is already handled. Find your people outside the org, whether that’s a community like this one or a therapist if you have one. And block off the day after for yourself- you don’t have to believe in the decision to be the reason it’s done with care. That part belongs to you and it counts.

📣 Stephanie Salzano, HR Manager @ County Excellence Federal Credit Union:

I'm so sorry you have to go through this. Unfortunately, I've had to deal with exactly that a few years ago. I ensured that before having the conversations, the CEO, COO, CFO and I were aligned regarding severance, timeline, etc. I was able to get approval for an outplacement service, to assist the laid off employees with their resumes and job search. I also ended up offering up my own services with helping each with their resumes, if they wanted it - as I also didn't agree with the layoff of an entire department. This partially helped me mentally, since I knew I was doing everything I could to help the employees.... then I started my own job search, since I didn't want to be next - and that helped my mental health greatly. Show less

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🚨 ON YOUR RADAR

🎧 Can someone explain why HR has to explain everyone’s stock options and still gets shortchanged on its own? I asked AJ Ayers about that + how to help employees with money questions without becoming their unpaid financial advisor. Check it out on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!

🕵🏾‍♀️ I’d like to file a missing persons report for the hours I spent chasing interview feedback. Join me for HR Therapy on Tuesday, Nov 17th, and we’ll figure out where the hell our weeks went. Come ready to vent and leave with one thing you can automate, hand off, or stop doing altogether.

👀 Is your job description catfishing candidates? If your new hire finds out what the job really involves on day one...that’s a plot twist HR gets to clean up. I wrote about how to fix the posting and assess the skills people will use in my latest article for eSkill!*

💰Pay Transparency matters (but it's also difficult). That's why I created this course. Join the Safe Space community to access it, plus everything else you need to stay ahead of the curve.

*This one is brought to you by one of my amazing brand partners

📝 RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Each week I feature a resource I love from the Safe Space library that I believe would be relatable to this week's newsletter topic.

This week, DEI is back in the spotlight. Check it out HERE ⬇️

🫂 COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS

In-person Meet-ups:

🎄CHARLOTTE AREA - December 4th, 5pm! Our first-ever holiday meetup is here and we’re getting crafty. Come hang with fellow Safe Spacers + your community manager Kat at PlantHouse in Charlotte to build your own terrarium or pour a custom candle. It’s on Safe Space 💅 Only 10 seats, so grab your spot 👉 here!

More December IRL meetups coming soon, stay tuned☃️

Must Attend Virtuals:

☕ November’s Virtual Coffee + Cowork on Nov 18th, at 1:00 PM EDT is now live! HR team of 1? In need of body doubling? Simply want to hang out listening to lofi beats with your fav community? Trust, it’s always a vibe. Come hang with your your ppl, grab your spot 👉 here!

FRIDAY FUN

🤚🏽hold up, plot twist!!! Copy anchor linkCopied

DID THEY??? DID HR DO THAT???

My biggest pet peeve is when someone can't take accountability and instead blames HR.

HEY NOW ITS FRI-YAYYYYYY.