And be sure to have the meeting where you talk to the staff members 
being laid-off:

1. Privately, away from other staff.

2. In a neutral location. A conference room or meeting room. Instead of 
your office.

3. Make sure several staff are there for the meeting. Yourself, of 
course, but if possible the Museum Director. Or at least another member 
of management. This extra person will help document the meeting. This 
will help avoid filing of complaints or lawsuits from truly disgruntled 
employees. That way you have your witness to the meeting. Unscrupulous 
future ex-employees might, for example, rip their shirt and claim you 
got physical with them. Then it is your word against theirs.

4. Having a few people from management at the meeting does several other 
things. It shows a united mindset. "We all came to this decision, even 
though it is unpleasant." It gives the staff member a chance to ask 
questions of most of the people they might consider asking. And it shows 
respect for the staff member. You took time out of your busy schedule to 
come down and talk to me.

5. Have any terms discussed during the meeting written out on paper 
before the meeting. Include anything you are doing or not doing. Such 
as: staff member's last official day, what amount of severance you might 
be offering, if they have a museum membership will it be honored for the 
rest of the year or not, check list for museum property- keys, data 
cards, computers, passwords if they have their own account, etc. Make 
sure you sign it and they sign it and both of you get a copy. Since they 
are part time it is a bit easier as you probably don't have to worry 
about vacation hours, retirement accounts, etc.

I have been places where, when positions were eliminated, staff were 
told that today was their last official day, they did not need to come 
in any more, but they would be given two weeks pay, and they could use 
the two weeks to begin their job search; where staff were told a month 
ahead of time that their position was to be eliminated on a certain date 
and that would be their last day of work; and where staff were told 
today is their last day, goodbye, good luck, please leave now.

Whichever you decide to do, just make sure you are consistent and organized.

Patrick

Gayle wrote:
> The downside of giving them the book is the mindset that says if you 
> can afford to buy me a book, why not keep me on a while longer and pay 
> me instead.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* "Grevin, Fred" <[log in to unmask]>
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Sent:* Wednesday, February 4, 2009 11:20:38 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [MUSEUM-L] Layoff Survivors
>
> Deb Fuller makes a very important point, with her comment on my 
> suggestion to give each laid-off employee a copy of "What Color Is 
> Your Parachute?"
>
> Deb said: While that again sounds like a good idea, it is still a 
> little insulting. "And now for some lovely parting gifts."
>
> While my perception would have been more along the lines of "here's 
> something tangible to help me out", it is obviously possible that some 
> folks could interpret it differently.
>
> So Deb's point, to me, includes "every person is different; treat each 
> one as an individual".
>
> Thanks, Deb!
>
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-- 
Patrick McQuillan
Education & Outreach Specialist
IRIS
1200 New York Ave., NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20005
Tel: 202-682-2220
Fax: 202-682-2444
www.iris.edu

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).