Twitterverse is agog with news of Twitter laying off 75% of its workforce. This reduction in the force comes amidst a reported loss of USD 4M per day! Let that sink in (no pun intended). This moment brought back memories of the one time I had to let go of people due to financial reasons. I told myself then I would never find myself in this situation where I wasn't sure if I had done everything to make letting go of people the absolute last option. So these are my lessons learned.

Hire contractors for non-core business functions or capabilities

Big business investment was why we hired many accessibility experts and manual testers, even though we slanted toward automated testing. There was a big contract at stake. The plan was to cross-train the two groups to build at least two units of functional testers who could also validate the accessibility. At the time, accessibility tools for automation were nascent, so it seemed like a good plan. Unfortunately, we didn't win the contract. Therefore, we needed to figure out new projects for the group. After six months of trying different things and losing money, we decided to let go of half the group.

We can avoid situations like these by working with contractors for functions or capabilities that are not core to our business. It is better if the contractors are part of a consulting company rather than individuals. Consulting companies typically have other opportunities for their employees, and we terminate or freeze a contract rather than impact individuals. On the other hand, if the investment pays off, we can explore partnership opportunities and even hire some contractors into our payroll.

Release early, release often

We know it's hard to prioritize. Product owners want to try multiple bets simultaneously because it is hard to know which will pay off. This desire may lead to hiring a big team to start many things simultaneously. On the other hand, releasing early and releasing often makes it possible to have a smaller team that can deliver incrementally and pivot.

Develop a learning culture

When an organization is on a growth path to improving its skills and maturity, there are more reasons to retain people than to let them go. Unfortunately, there's no silver bullet to building a learning culture. Instead, we need communities of practice, learning programs, succession planning, and developmental goals, among other things.

With a learning culture in place, it becomes easier to assess how someone is progressing towards a role that can be more useful to the business than their current role. It follows that if someone is moving well towards their learning goals, it's a bad idea to let the person go.

Make front-line managers financially aware

Front-line managers view the business up close. They can alert senior managers when they are concerned about financial metrics for their teams versus what the CFO is tracking. For example, if they know the CFO is following Cash Flow, they will spread out their financial requests rather than stack them up all upfront. Their proposal will likely get approved in less time because of less to and fro with senior management.

Be careful as an employee

Being part of a company in a hyper-growth phase can have upsides and downsides. Consider the drawbacks and equip for the worst-case scenario. Preparing an emergency fund would be the minimum financial prudence that is necessary. Also, we should be open to lateral moves when they come by during our careers because they increase the chances of a longer tenure in the organization.