Human Resources leaders would rather focus on talent acquisition and employee engagement, but layoffs can be a big part of their job, especially in an economic downturn. Letting people go is hard. Ultimately, the company is rejecting someone they had once encouraged to join the team. HR professionals must live with the fact that they are upending families, interrupting livelihoods, and derailing dreams.
Certainly, there is a right way and a wrong way to conduct layoffs. Cruelly laying off more than 900 people in a Zoom call was one recent no-no. In the modern workplace, HR leads with heart and treats people with dignity even and especially during these harder conversations and actions. Here is some help as Human Resources prepares for layoffs:
