Be Ready for the call (2 of 2)

It's one thing to have a client requesting reductions in their advertising spend...perhaps disheartening. It's an entirely different, depressing matter to have a client reduce their agency fee.

Some agencies make the decision to take the income hit and proceed with their teams intact, knowing their profits are being eroded. Most, though, make the tough decision to cut staff. It's an even more difficult, stressful decision to make if you aren't prepared....

Leaders and managers should always have a grasp of top performers, client favorites, business-critical functions and areas of efficiency. Having that intimate understanding of your business helps you make quicker, more dispassionate (very important), more informed decisions.

If you get the call and decide to make the cuts, here's a few points to go by...

-Understand what's absolutely key to your retention of the account...what do you do above all else that keeps the account at your shop? Ideation? Mass distribution? Effective social marketing? Whatever it is, surround, protect and defend it at all costs.

-The best players play. You need the best people you have to stay around. Not the most tenured, not the nicest, and not the genius who's impossible to work with. The best people you have to perform the tasks most critical are who you must keep. To do otherwise is to put many more people and their families at risk by not delivering good work.

-It's unreasonable for the client to expect the same performance with less capacity...unless you identify systems and processes that make you more efficient. Often times urgency breeds innovation.

-Position the opportunity to those who remain. Those who are left will think they "made the cut." While thankful, they are likely to be shocked, depressed, anxious or all of the above. You are placing more responsibility on the shoulders of those who are left. Tell them this is an opportunity not only to perform at extraordinary levels, but to earn a place of respect from both the client and agency leadership. It's a tough, real-life exercise that can position them for future success.

I've been in numerous management meetings at previous agencies (prior to layoffs being announced), and have heard countless thoughts on how to break the news gently to the team. Look, no matter how you slice it, pad it or spin it...layoffs suck. It's a horrible, traumatic event to those affected. Be upfront about it with your team...but be just as upfront with yourself and your superiors about what needs to be done in order to avoid further damage.