Several times in my career, I have been faced with the responsibility of administering a reduction in force (RIF.) So many factors to be considered from the financial aspect as well as from the emotional aspect—-for both the organization as well as the individuals. As a Human Resources professional, I was always at the center of activities during a RIF. The trickiest part was doing a balancing act between maintaining personal, department, and company integrity, while showing as much empathy and compassion as possible for those employees who have already or will have lost their jobs very soon.
Many of the employees losing their jobs hadn’t prepared for such an event, either monetarily or skillwise. They are frightened and very apprehensive of what the future will bring. They’re looking for any possible advantage to help them find the next job. There’s a real sense of urgency!
Now comes the tough part. Occasionally one of these people would ask me for either a recommendation letter or some other sort of certification showing they had met some qualification that wasn’t in fact true. I felt very compassionate towards these employees who had given their lives to the company, and don’t for a minute think that that didn’t weigh heavily on my mind. However, I felt that I had to be true to myself and to the company. I couldn’t in good conscience lie or exaggerate an individual’s credentials, and this didn’t make me very popular with that person. That was something I just learned to live with. I tried always to be compassionate but frank with the employee when I explained that I couldn’t comply with his/her request.
You may think you’re helping someone out, but at what cost if you don’t give an accurate representation. Your integrity and your company’s reputation may be at risk. Plus, is it fair to the prospective employer?
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