Communicating Layoff Decisions With Empathy

I saw a post yesterday where someone found out they were being laid off when they got logged out of a system in the middle of a presentation. And another where the person's badge simply didn't work when they showed up at work that day. I think most people understand why layoffs are necessary. We may not like them, but we get it. We know that sometimes you need to cut expenses or you simply have a change in the skills needed, and we know that if you are the owner of the business, your job is to make hard decisions even if we don't always agree with them. But what I struggle with is the callousness with which layoffs are conducted. Layoffs can be done with care and humanity and it's a choice many are making not to do it that way. Some steps I would take if I were an executive navigating layoffs: 1. I would let my employees know they were a possibility as soon as the discussion began so they could explore new opportunities. 2. I would provide as many details as I could. Share potential numbers, which departments might be impacted, criteria being considered for who might be impacted. That way, people could assess their personal risk level and act accordingly. 3. I would make sure every employee got a human touch point talking through the layoff decision. No one should find out they are being let go because their email stop working one day. 4. I would provide strong financial support. Provide a severance package that accounts for the fact that many corporate job searches take 6+ months, and that unemployment covers just a fraction of lost wages. 5. I would support them with their next steps. Give them time to gather artifacts around their work, talk through what you'll share in references, offer introductions in your networks to help them land on their feet, provide job search assistance. And I would speak positively of the laid off employees externally to ensure that I'm not unintentionally making their job search tougher on them, The pushback I hear to many of these ideas is around risk. Risk that your top performers might leave when they hear about the layoffs. Risk that employees may be less engaged and motivated if they hear that layoffs are coming. Risk that employees may cause harm if they fear being laid off. From my perspective, that's just a risk executives should take. Your employees took a risk trusting you with their career; why shouldn't that risk be shared? But I also believe that a lot of the adversarial dynamics in the workplace stem from the lack of humanity. And if you treat your employees like humans who matter to the business, and you offer them transparency and respect, they'll offer that in return. Nothing is going to make a layoff feel good. But that doesn't mean they need to be cruel.

My script for layoffs used to begin with: “This isn’t the right fit because…” 15 years later, my script begins with: “Today is your last day at the company.” That’s also where the script ends. I used to think explaining the reasoning behind letting someone go would help. Instead, it made things confusing - and worse, it overlooked how emotionally jarring this news can be. Now, my message is clear and concise. I give the person space to absorb the news, and I focus on their needs: -What’s their severance? -How long will they be on health insurance? -How do they wrap up their work? Then, I offer to meet again the next week for a follow-up discussion, once they’ve had time to think. I’ve laid off 25 people across 3 startups. Every conversation was hard. But over-explaining and focusing on their mistakes just made it worse. That original script wasn’t about them; it was about me easing my own discomfort. Now, I focus on the person receiving the tough news instead. Layoffs are always painful - don’t make them harder than they already are. Our job is to ease their burden, not our own.

My mentor once told me to quit HR the day I could terminate someone without feeling a pit in my stomach. And I believe the same goes for all people leaders. Letting someone go should never feel easy. It’s a moment that carries weight—for the individual, the team, and the organization. Unless someone has caused intentional harm, it’s normal to feel uneasy, to lose sleep, to sit with the discomfort. Because delivering the news that someone’s employment is ending is a big deal. It’s not just a transaction—it’s a conversation that requires #CandorCourageAndCare. Yet, how you handle this conversation matters just as much as the decision itself. Here’s how to do it with clarity and respect: 🔹 Get to the point immediately. Don’t dance around it. Start with: “I need to have a difficult conversation with you. Today will be your last day.” Then, share the necessary details. 🔹 Don’t apologize. As a leader, you represent the company. Saying “I’m sorry” can come off as insincere or confusing in this moment. 🔹 Prioritize next steps. Once someone hears they are losing their job, their focus shifts to security and logistics. Be prepared to discuss severance, benefits, and transition details—and follow up in writing. 🔹 Keep it brief. A termination conversation should last no more than five minutes. Once the decision is made, dragging it out only adds unnecessary pain for both parties. Tough leadership moments define us. The question is: Will you handle them with clarity, empathy, and respect? What’s your take—what else should leaders remember when having these conversations? #Leadership #HR #PeopleFirst #CandorCourageAndCare #WhatMattersMost #ItsAllAboutRelationships

Layoffs aren’t necessarily the problem. But how we do them IS. Beth Kowitt's piece in Bloomberg News last week hit me in the gut, but not because the stories are surprising. They’re painfully familiar. Tone-deaf scripts. Confusing timelines. CEOs outsourcing empathy to AI. If layoffs are inevitable (and yes, sometimes they are), then how we handle them should be where leadership shows up. Instead, we’re seeing a dangerous slide toward what Harvard Business School's Sandra Sucher calls “moral disengagement.” A few things I’ve learned from doing this the hard way: 1. Communicate early, often, and in plain language. If you wait until you have all the answers, you’ve waited too long. Silence creates fear. 2. Leaders NEED to be visible. Not just in an email. On a Zoom. In a room. Saying hard things out loud builds trust even when it’s uncomfortable. 3. Dignity is not a 'nice to have.’ It’s literallyyyy the bare minimum. That means clarity around benefits, timelines, references, and support. 4. Don’t treat survivors like they should feel “lucky.” They’re carrying guilt, grief, and uncertainty. They need a path forward too. This isn't a call for perfection. But for the love of comms, let’s stop acting like people are the problem and start acting like they’re the point. Layoffs don’t have to be cruel. But good lord, they have to be human. Link to the article in the comments below:

THE LAYOFF CONVERSATION THAT ENDED WITH "THANK YOU” ON BOTH SIDES A founder client recently had to make one of the hardest decisions in business: laying off close to half their team. They were terrified about the fallout. How do you tell talented people their jobs are gone? How do you maintain trust with the team that stays? But ultimately, the laid-off employees ended up thanking them for running such a compassionate process. Some even said – genuinely – "I'm sorry you have to go through this—this must be really hard for you, too." HOW YOU, TOO, CAN GET THERE: GET CRYSTAL CLEAR ON STRATEGY FIRST Before any conversations, identify how you ended up there, what you need to do differently to prevent it from happening again, and exactly what the company needs to focus on to survive. Establish who has to go but also what work will stay and what will stop entirely. For the remaining team, clarify exactly what each person will focus on so no one feels overwhelmed by doubled workloads. PREVENT LEAKS Make sure nothing gets out before you're ready to communicate. Schedule all conversations for the same day. COMMUNICATE IN THE RIGHT ORDER First: Call an all-hands meeting with everyone being laid off and make the announcement. Be direct: "We have an unfortunate decision we need to make. We have to let all of you go for X, Y, Z reasons." Then immediately hold individual meetings for each of them with managers to discuss details. COMMUNICATE LIKE A HUMAN, NOT A ROBOT Legal will tell you to read from a script with corporate jargon. Don't say you need to "lay people off"—nobody talks like that. Memorize the key points, then speak in your actual voice. Look people in the eye. SUPPORT THE "GO TEAM" IMMEDIATELY In those individual meetings, lead with the severance package—that's what they're worried about. Offer to provide strong references and a list of companies that might be hiring if you can pull one together. REASSURE THE "STAY TEAM" Hold a separate all-hands with remaining employees. Address their fear that this will happen again and their concerns about workload. The difference between layoffs that destroy companies and layoffs that position them for recovery isn't only the decision itself—it's also the execution. What's the difficult conversation you've been avoiding that might actually strengthen your company? *** I’m Jennifer Kamara, founder of Kamara Life Design. Enjoy this? Repost to share with your network, and follow me for actionable strategies to design businesses and lives with meaning. Want to go from good to world-class? Join our community of subscribers today: https://lnkd.in/d6TT6fX5