As American companies seek more meaningful methods of downsizing, one San Francisco-based company is offering innovative programs to make the occasion more meaningful and fun.
“People are getting tired of the same-old, same-old, being handed a box and walked out to their cars,” says Molly Ripperson, CEO of Deadweight, Inc. She founded the company two years ago after her banking job was eliminated by a consultant who called her “Employee #443” during the entire process.
“Getting laid off shouldn’t be this awful, depressing experience,” she says. “Why not try to make it fun?”
Among the programs that Deadweight develops for clients:
- Singing telegrams – with singers surprising employees in their offices and performing a specially written song that both highlights their accomplishments and explains why they’re being let go.
- Innovative games – like fencing matches or three-legged races, with the losers getting laid off. Or, to add to the fun and excitement, sometimes it’s the winners.
- Animal delivery – utilizing trained dogs, cats, even pigeons to deliver the termination notice.
- Comedy nights – where a group of employees is taken to dinner at a local club, and the comedian works their terminations into his or her routine.
“We customize our programs to fit a company’s specific needs,” says Ripperson. “If you’ve got a terminee with celiac intolerance, then we’ll make sure her surprise going-away cake is gluten free!”
Unlike most of its clients, says Ripperson, Deadweight is actually adding staff – growing from 22 to 334 employees in the last 18 months.
