Would you rather have your manager raise a job change over Zoom

[Anonymous]

…or in email? And should this conversation even happen yet?

I’m the manager of a mostly remote team, and I’m being forced to consider, and probably conduct, layoffs over the coming months. I have an excellent team. There is one person who, because of their situation (very part-time, lighter workload) and not because of their abilities or value, is at the top of the list. I’ve never had to do this before, so please be gentle!
1) Would it be OK to talk to this person beforehand to get a sense of whether they’d be willing to move to a contract position? (I know medical benefits are not an issue for this employee, FWIW.) As in, not wait to spring it on them once final decisions are made? And yes, I know you can’t replace a position lost in a RIF directly with a contract. This would be a different role.
2) If you were the employee, would you rather get a heads-up by email first and have time to think it over? Or would you rather get a Zoom invite and discuss it in person from the get-go?
3) Anything else I can consider to make this as humane and non-disruptive as possible?

[Anonymous]

Do not say a word. Do you have an HR department?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do not say a word. Do you have an HR department?

Of course. But I’ve had managers feel out the department before layoffs in the past to see if anyone is open to change before the axe falls. My husband, who works for a major corporation, was asked years ago whether he’d rather be laid off with severance or go half time. These conversations happen all the time, in my experience.

[Anonymous]

I would make sure HR approves of whatever message you convey. Personally, I would prefer a heads up by email and then time to process it before having a Zoom meeting. And if that is the route you go, make sure to say in your email explicitly that you are doing it by email so that the person has time to process it before you speak face-to-face.

[Anonymous]

You can't broach something like this over email. You need to do it live. And as others have said, you need get HR's okay before you say anything.

[Anonymous]

I am unclear as to what question is being asked and whether the employee is actually being given a choice. OP needs to make this clear to the employee. Is it "become a contractor or be laid off"? Is it something else? Do you just want to give the employee advance warning of a known upcoming layoff?