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HR party of one is brought to you by

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Bernie portal while some people request

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emotions for personal reasons many

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employees don't anticipate taking what

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they perceive to be a step back in their

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career that makes demotions tricky not

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only must you consider business needs

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but also the difficulties of reassuring

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someone while simultaneously asking them

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to step down from a role so in this

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episode of HR party of one will cover

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what demotion is why it happens and how

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to navigate it let's dive in what does

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it mean to demote someone first let's

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clarify what demotion actually means a

What Does It Mean to “Demote” Someone?

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demotion is a change in an employees

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position usually involving a reduction

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in rank responsibilities or pay some

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demotions may be in name or title only

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or someone may get demoted if they are

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no longer leading direct reports unlike

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termination demotion keeps the employee

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within the organization but it's a

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different role it's similar to

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redeployment a strategy used to retain

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important skills in individuals a

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demotion can be a redeployment if a

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manager or leader is moved to a role

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without certain responsibilities but not

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all redeployments are demotions

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demotions can happen within the same

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department or could involve moving an

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employee to a different department

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altogether they can be temporary or

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permanent and they are not always

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negative although many think they are in

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some cases they can be part of a

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strategic move to better align an

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employe skills with the organization's

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needs or to provide additional training

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and development opportunities let's

Common Reasons for Demotion

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cover some common reasons for a demotion

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demotions happen for many reasons it

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would be dishonest to say they are

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always positive reasons the way you

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approach them sets the tone for how

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someone responds first I'll cover some

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reasons for demotions that are easiest

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to frame positively then I'll cover the

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negative Maybe even punitive reasons for

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demotion first let's look at

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organizational

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restructuring sometimes a company needs

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to restructure its teams and roles this

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can lead to reallocation of positions

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and in some cases demotions for example

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small departments may see teams combined

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which reduces the need for multiple

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managers this demotion may come with a

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title change pay cut or both be ready to

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answer the tough questions and explain

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the business reasons but don't delve too

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deep into the nitty-gritty skill

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misalignment if an employee skills are

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better suited for a different role a

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demotion can help place them where they

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can be most effective let's look at an

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example Sherry leads a customer service

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team she's okay at her job but the

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nature of her role interfacing daily

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with unhappy clients wears on her which

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presents a poor examples her direct

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reports however she enjoys and excels at

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the more technical aspects of of the job

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designing workflows developing

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satisfaction reports collaborating with

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product developers and identifying areas

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of account growth Sherry's leader notes

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Sherry's performance and thinks about

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the company's growing need for an

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individual contributor who collaborates

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closely with marketing sales and product

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development on a technical level the

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leader goes to HR and offers a solution

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create a new role and invite Sherry to

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apply internally the role is an

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operations and opportunity specialist

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this person would streamline customer

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service Communications and feed

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statistical information to the teams

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that can build targeted campaigns around

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specific metrics a highly strategic role

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with no customer facing responsibilities

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perfect for Sherry and perfect for

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company growth Sherry applies Nails the

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interview with her fresh ideas and Keen

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perspective and gets hired she's

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technically demoted but she is much

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happier and more successful

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contributing to revenue growth and

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evolving her own skills so Sherry was

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demoted from a leadership position but

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effectively redeployed to a better role

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for her skill set not all demotions have

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a custom fit role at the ready but I'll

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cover those kinds of issues in a bit

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let's first discuss leadership training

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a demotion may be a step towards a

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higher position some people refer to

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these demotions as lateral moves to gain

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more skills and experience before a

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future upward move while not technically

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lateral a demotion can operate in the

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same way you may have an employee who

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will be an amazing director in about 5

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years until then they need to understand

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more parts of the company so they can

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succeed in the later role a demotion

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allows someone the time to absorb more

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information that can provide strategic

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Insight later on plus it encourages

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interdepartmental

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collaboration those are three reasons

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for a demotion that are easier to fr for

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an employee but what about the reasons

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that are more difficult to discuss like

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performance issues if an employee is

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struggling to meet the expectations of

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their current role a demotion might be a

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better alternative than termination this

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can provide them with an opportunity to

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regain confidence and improve their

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skills unlike Sherry this sort of

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demotion may not have a soft landing

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spot someone may be stepping down to

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work alongside people they were leading

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a power dynamic change that can damage a

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person's faith in themselves and

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destabilize a team it's definitely a

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time to kick in those HR soft skills of

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reframing and

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redirecting I'll tell you how in a

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second but I'll also link resources for

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soft skill tactics down below

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disciplinary actions in some cases

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demotions are used as a disciplinary

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measure for misconduct or policy

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violations this is the most punitive

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reason but it is important for an HR Pro

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to know when and disciplinary demotion

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is necessary in 2024 a United States

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Navy rear Admiral named Ronnie Jackson

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was demoted to the rank of Captain

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following a confirmed 2021 report about

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his inappropriate behavior as a White

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House physici the military and police

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forces have clear structures for

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demoting those who cannot abide by rules

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for ethics or conduct but what about in

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the business world the Motions for

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disciplinary action can ride the thin

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line between an appropriate response and

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an inappropriate response a high

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performing leader who has made mistakes

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with managing their reports can be

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demoted and moved to a new team to

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retain their skills and experience

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however an HR professional must be

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careful and ensure every detail of such

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situations are logged a demotion because

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someone tried multiple times to retract

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PTO or made careless mistakes is one

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thing if someone is mistreating others a

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demotion is not the correct course of

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action and can lead to hostile workplace

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environment suits or accusations of

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discrimination and harassment in

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corporate organizations demotions of

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senior leaders are indicative of deeper

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issues the public perception can damage

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in org's reputation and the faith

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employees have in their leaders which is

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why in many cases it is better to part

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with leaders who cannot conduct

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themselves properly rather than demote

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them in instances of sexual harass

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harassment or other egregious behaviors

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termination is a much more comprehensive

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solution than demotion how to demote an

How to Demote an Employee

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employee now that we understand what

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demotion is and why it happens let's

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discuss how to navigate the process

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effectively communicate clearly and

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compassionately it's crucial to have an

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open and honest conversation explain the

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reasons for the demotion and how it

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benefits both the individual and the

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organization be empathetic and

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supportive throughout the discussion and

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if the employee is upset allow them time

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to collect themselves document

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everything document document document

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you already know how to do this make

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sure to document the reasons for the

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demotion the discussions you've had with

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the employee and any agreed upon actions

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or timelines this helps protect both the

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company and the employee the Performance

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Management feature of an all-in-one H

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Like Bernie portal is perfect to Aid you

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in preventing life ability also if you

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have any reason to suspect someone is

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not performing well as a manager an HR

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admin can review the one toone meeting

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notes between them and all their direct

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reports to investigate Provide support

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and resources offer resources to help

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the employees succeed in their new role

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this could include additional training

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mentorship or regular check-ins to

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provide feedback and support keep

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check-ins private and Casual get a

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coffee together and inquire about how

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the trans ition is going ensure the

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individual can open up to you so you can

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provide support and fine-tune the

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demotion process as you go maintain

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professionalism treat the demoted

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employee with respect and

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professionalism remember they are still

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a valuable member of the team and your

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support can make a significant

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difference in their transition they may

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feel embarrassed at getting demoted and

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your attitude should set the tone to

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rebuild their trust and confidence plan

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for the transition Ensure the transition

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process is smooth for both the demoted

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employee and the rest of the team this

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might involve redistributing tasks or

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providing additional training to other

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team members additionally plan for how

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the leader will be replaced and prepare

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for potential issues if the demoted

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person disagrees with a new leader ideas

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demotions are largely regarded as a bad

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thing or a way for companies to begin

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pushing people out of the organization

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however demotions can be a great tool

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for development or an opportunity to

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retain amazing employees the way you

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handle and frame and emotion is critical

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to culture and compliance so check out

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the resources below to beef up your

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knowledge