Feb 09
12
I have seen quite a few lists and articles out there about how to survive a layoff, but I’m not sure I’ve seen any with real practical tips on how to prepare for one. Once you’ve lost your job is not the time to figure out what you should have done before it happened and what the next steps are.
As much time as many of us spend at the office, it is very easy for us to allow much of our lives to become intertwined with our jobs. We make our workspaces our home away from home. But if you were to be laid off, would you have the opportunity to leave with everything you need? There’s a good chance you would not, as the day you are told will likely be your last day there. It is not uncommon to be escorted to your desk and given five minutes to pack personal belongings and then escorted to the door.
So based on my own experience, here are some things to think about and to take care of if you think a layoff is imminent. I have divided these items into four parts: saving essential information, employment expense issues, retirement and investing account considerations, and preparations for the next steps. This post will include the first of these sections: saving essential information.
As an employee, you have access to a great deal of information in the course of your work. Likewise, you leave quite a bit of your own personal information with your employer, especially on your work-issued computer. Here are a few items to make sure you take what you need and don’t leave behind anything you shouldn’t.
- Backup your contacts list from your work computer. If you are like I was, you track most of your professional contacts and even many of your personal ones in Outlook on your work computer. This is even more so if you have a BlackBerry or Treo issued by your employer connected to your work email. These contacts will be invaluable to you as you begin the search for your next position, so make sure you print a report of the contacts on your work computer periodically and bring it home. It is also a good idea to export the data to a backup file if you use a compatible email program on your home computer. Also consider bringing home any company/office directory in case you need to contact someone on the inside after you are dismissed. Former coworkers, clients, and other professional contacts are your first step at networking to find a new position, so don’t leave their information behind!
- Backup any personal files on your work computer. In addition to the numerous spreadsheets and TPS reports that likely clutter your work computer, there are probably many personal files on your computer as well. Make sure to copy these to a
- Delete personal files/emails/bookmarks. After you have copied all of the personal files you wanted and successfully transferred them to your home computer, go back and delete all of those files to keep them from prying eyes later. Also remember that your computer will likely be reused, so save both you and the recipient of your computer some embarrassment and delete your bookmarks. At one of my old clients where I was issued a computer for their office, the bookmarks still included various links discussing the treatment of genital herpes. Talk about awkward!
- Download copies of your online payroll records. Many companies now only distribute pay statements electronically, so you may want to go and download them before being laid off. These will be important if you need to prove your prior employment or the amount of your pay.
- Download copies of any relevant human resources policies. Does your company have published policies regarding layoffs and severance packages? It may be a good idea to review and print those policies while you are still an active employee. Armed with this information you can know what you are supposed to get in terms of severance and can challenge your employer if you are offered less.
Parts 2-4 coming in the next few days…
