LinkedIn’s Lesson on Instilling a Deep Culture

The main story

As you might have already gathered from the news, LinkedIn laid off 6% of its employees last month across their sales and talent teams.

While it’s no surprise that a company so large and centered around talent solutions would be affected by Covid-19 layoffs, what was interesting to see was how it’s newly laid-off employees reacted to the news. Not a single employee (from the hundreds that I’ve seen appear in my newsfeed) had a negative word to say about the employer's decision.

Many not only empathized with the decision to cut its workforce but nearly all considered their time with the company to be the best professional learning experience they’ve ever had.

This immediately reminded me of how integral the off-boarding experience is to the overall employer brand. How important it is to treat your employees with the same level of care and excitement that you had when bringing them on to the team.

Not only will these employees always remember their experience, they will help carry the brand and voice of LinkedIn to the thousands of other professionals who will work even harder to join the ranks of the company.

Teachable Moment

The best leaders instill a culture of belonging so deep, that it will echo past an employees final day of employment.