What's the best way to lay people off? Findings from our survey of dozens of Comms and HR pros.

Sep 29

Overview

Our LinkedIn and news feeds are awash with layoff news. Something that isn’t talked about is how best to communicate about layoffs – whether that be to those who are being let go, the employees who remain, or other stakeholders.

We wanted to better understand how organizations have approached communicating about layoffs, so Shallot Communications sent out a survey to our networks of mostly other communications leaders. We received several dozen anonymous responses, which helped us better understand the landscape of layoff communications.

Below are our findings – and recommendations on how best to approach communicating about layoffs if you’re put in that position. We created this report because we believe that if layoffs must be done, they should be done right – in a way that respects all employees.

Key findings

There isn’t a silver bullet to how you communicate about layoffs – but there are a lot of ways to not do it. Here are the basics of what we learned from respondents:

Overview of companies represented

Of companies represented in the survey responses, 41% had 100-500 people, 18% 501-1,000 people, and several in the multi-thousand person range. Almost all respondents (97%) have sizable corporate workforces and a quarter of respondents have hourly populations.

Half had done one round of layoffs in the past 18 months, and 38% had done two rounds.

Of the companies doing layoffs, 48.5% let go of 10% or less of their organizations. One-third laid off closer to 10-20%, and 15% let go of 21-40% of their employees.

Typically, the work around layoffs were led by HR, with involvement from the CEO (or their office), legal, and communications. The most common approach to layoffs was coming up with company-wide messaging, having HR and/or managers deliver news of the layoff to impacted employees, and then having the CEO hold some kind of town hall to talk through what happened with those who remained.

The four most common tensions of communicating about layoffs

Across our survey, four areas kept emerging as the most hotly debated. In many instances, the choices made by organizations were driven by unique considerations, especially if you represent a Fortune 500 sized company vs. a startup. Here is what we heard:

Do you give a heads up that layoffs are coming?

Layoffs rarely come out of nowhere – executives are typically tracking their numbers closely and have a sense that cutting roles might be a necessary step to rein in spending. Given that, should leaders indicate that layoffs are imminent when talking to the company – either saying so explicitly or more indirectly by talking about a softening in company performance?

In our survey, there was a fairly even split among companies that indicated layoffs were coming and those that didn’t. More than one-third (39%) of companies didn’t give any sense to employees that layoffs were imminent, while nearly half of respondents said that executives had warned about the possibility.

In indicating layoffs are coming, employees are immediately on edge that their jobs are at risk. This can breed in-fighting and anxiety. And strong employees (whose roles might not be eliminated) might start looking for new jobs. One respondent shared – in response to the question ‘what didn’t work well’ in their approach to layoff communications: “Letting people know weeks ahead of time that layoffs were coming killed productivity and bred resentment.”

On the flip side, executives can build trust by sharing what they’re seeing. Several respondents wrote that they wished they had indicated layoffs might be coming so that employees weren’t so blindsided. One respondent said that the overall “no surprises” approach to communicating about layoffs went well, with leaders signaling many months in advance that restructuring was likely, so employees weren’t surprised when job cuts were made.

Who do you tell first?

Once the Board, executive team, and critical stakeholders are read in on layoffs, the biggest question we found was which subset of employees to tell first. Some prioritized reaching out to those who were let go first – and then telling the company that layoffs happened. And we heard the opposite – sending a company-wide email saying that some colleagues would be let go that day and then communicating with those who were being laid off.

By first communicating with those laid off, organizations could prioritize speaking directly with people who were losing their jobs, ensuring they felt taken care of as their job was eliminated. One respondent wrote: “We prioritized the experience of laid off employees first - we didn't send the all-company update until after we confirmed every single person had an in-person conversation. For some who were not impacted, they felt this was a shocking approach. But it saved the 92% of employees NOT RIF'd from panicking all day long.”

On the flip side, news of layoffs will inevitably spread across organizations, and it can be jarring to see colleagues suddenly drop off of Slack, be deleted from internal systems, etc. One respondent wrote: “We knew that our employees were well-connected to one another by Slack and that the moment layoff conversations started happening, everyone would know and panic would spread. So we were clear at the start of the day that several people would be let go that day, and that we’d host a meeting at the end of the day to share what happened.” This approach risks all employees spending the day panicking, checking their calendars for invitations from HR, but at least provides employees context about what is happening.

With either approach, every respondent recommended hosting company-wide meetings after the layoffs were done – giving executives a chance to share what happened, why, and what to expect next.

Nail down the details or share broad strokes?

In our survey, those happiest with their process noted that it was a fast (1-2 week) operation with involvement from communications, the CEO’s office, and HR. This fast timing meant there was less likelihood of a leak, though it required all-consuming hours of the work day to get the logistics and communication right.

For larger companies, that fast of a time frame is unrealistic – at least, if they want to be able to share details about the layoff (i.e., who is being let go, etc.). Most organizations will need to tend to IT and building access for impacted employees – but that can be done with a few hours notice at smaller companies. At large companies, hundreds of people need to be involved ahead of time – which means news of the layoffs coming will most likely leak to other employees and the press. Similarly, the decisions around who will be let go can be handled by a smaller team of leaders at startups; whereas at Fortune 50 companies, layers and layers of managers need to weigh in on what departments, job families, or individuals will be cut. At that point, news of layoffs will permeate every part of a company. As a result, several large companies (e.g., Meta, Amazon) shared news that layoffs would be coming – so that employees could hear from their CEO first – but without details of who would be let go. This means employees spent months knowing that job cuts were coming, but not knowing who would be affected – causing anxiety at most levels of these companies.

Move on or give time to process?

We saw some friction between how long (and sometimes even if) a company’s leadership should acknowledge layoffs in the weeks after they happened. In many cases, leadership teams wanted to go back to business as usual and not “wallow” in the layoffs. One respondent shared that their CEO didn’t want to be the face of the layoffs and was “too happy to say nothing … They were willing to make hard decisions but didn’t want to take ownership for them in front of the entire company.” In that organization’s case – and among respondents with similar experiences – their communications leader shared that “morale tanked.”

For the most part, respondents to the survey disagreed with this approach, with one writing: “[Our exec team] were quick to move on from the layoffs and act like nothing happened. There needed to be more acknowledgement.”

On the other end, several respondents shared that their companies gave the day off to those who remained since work wasn’t going to be done that day, and they wanted their colleagues to have space to process that co-workers had lost their jobs. And in many cases, leaders held town halls in the days and weeks that followed. One respondent recommended: “Have a clear post-layoffs plan so remaining employees aren't left feeling so shocked. Explain what was the issue that led to the layoffs, and how it's being fixed.” There is a risk of communicating too much about layoffs in the weeks and months after – almost reminding remaining employees too much about what has happened.

Recommendations for how to better communicate about layoffs

We know there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to layoffs, but at Shallot we have found – and our survey results reinforced – that there are general parameters we recommend when approaching communicating about layoffs.

Know your parameters early on - talk to your lawyers, ideally even before a final layoff decision is made, to understand regulatory responsibilities and what’s in and out of bounds around what you can say (to employees and external audiences/media) or do – and when. Consider which stakeholders need to know and in what order.
Run a tight, fast process. Have a strong project manager of the process (communicators tend to do this well) to ensure everything gets done. Tiger teams should include comms, HR, legal, CEO. And when things inevitably don’t go as planned, don’t panic. Pivot. The longer a maybe-layoff lingers – as the tiger team goes back and forth on details – the greater risk of rumors that they might be coming ‘any day’ tends to cause panic.
Agree on principles around layoffs. When values are agreed upon at the outset – for example, ‘tell employees first’ or ‘every impacted employee receives an individual conversation’– this helps streamline decision making and execution. And when the team tasked with executing the layoffs inevitably hits points of disagreement, these principles can help drive toward a decision, not emotions.
One respondent wrote: “Get really, really clear on who you are most accountable at each step of the game, and ensure the messages and tactics match the audience. We put a lot of thought into care for people and the experience of impacted people and it really helped us make good, clean decisions when we reminded ourselves that our no. 1 priority is impacted employees. Remaining employees were important too ... but their needs had to come AFTER.”
Bring communications leaders in early and have them engaged for the duration of the layoff process. The biggest thing survey respondents said didn’t work was that the communications team either wasn’t consulted or was brought in at the last minute. This resulted in disjointed communication across organizations and messaging that was more legalese than humane.
Comms serves as an ear into your broader organization. They can get a pulse on how people are doing and have the best sense of the appropriate tone and messaging for your organization. They’ll help you avoid sounding like a corporate robot.
Even more than that, communications can provide guidance on what risks come across as inhumane or tone-deaf. In many instances, they’ll be the ones pushing for better severance, better job-finding services, and letting terminated employees keep their laptops. Yes this might cost the company more in the short-term but it goes a long way in showing that your executives have humanity and are doing their best on behalf of impacted employees.
Sometimes the communications team will be brought in late – here’s what to do. If you’re the comms leader who is late to the conversation, don’t waste time fighting the process. Focus on the areas where you can have the greatest impact. Typically the best places to focus are: 1) Review talking points and written materials going out to impacted employees and remaining employees, 2) Prep leadership for tough Q&A and make sure they’re prepared to answer with humanity and empathy, 3) Put together an external communications plan to respond to the media if something leaks, and 4) Make sure the stakeholder sequencing makes sense. You can quickly map out the most important groups who need to hear from leaders and when – bring that knowledge to your leaders.
Communicate with empathy, not toxic positivity. You can’t ignore what has happened. Similarly, you can’t acknowledge it once and then not mention it again. Layoffs have many of the unpleasant similarities of break ups or deaths in a family … ignoring the discomfort or constantly spinning the situation only makes a leader less trustworthy.
We don’t recommend wallowing in the pain, but in the weeks that follow, leaders shouldn’t act like nothing happened. Acknowledge the layoffs – and the ongoing impact on the team – while also talking about your optimism for the future.
Use clear language, regularly, and share what you can/cannot divulge. Your executive and management team’s language will be parsed – make sure it lands and meets employees where they are.
- Strip out euphemisms. Instead of saying things like “recent changes,” “those who have departed,” “workforce reductions,” and “our shifting priorities,” use clear language like “layoffs” and “letting go of employees.” Using sugar-coated language minimizes what has happened and makes what you say less trustworthy.
- Two-thirds of the respondents said the reasoning for the layoffs involved needing to “reprioritize company resources.” Other common themes were a need to restructure and/or due to a softening economy. Where possible, use accessible and less corporate-y language to talk about the ‘why.’
- When people are overwhelmed and stressed, they don’t process information well. Don’t be surprised if you have to repeat yourself. Keep your messaging clear and simple and find different ways to communicate with your employees in the weeks following across all-team meetings, emails, and Slack messages.
- Employees want clarity on who was let go and why. And for legal reasons, you won’t be able to provide that clarity. But you can provide a sense of the size and scale, and what parts of the company have been most affected by the layoff. This level of clarity – whether these cuts are across-the-board or targeted to specific roles or business units – enables employees who remain to understand how their jobs will be affected and have a better understanding of the reasoning behind layoffs.
Frontline managers are the most important people to arm with strong communications. They’re tending to people’s sources of stress and are the ones doing the most important messaging directly to those leaving and with those who are staying. Ahead of the layoffs, hold sessions with these managers to ensure they know what they need to say and provide role playing to go over how to navigate tough conversations. Build forums to engage with frontline managers (e.g., meetings, private Slack channels) so that they can share what they’re hearing from employees and so that you can understand how these conversations are landing (and what messaging might need to be tweaked).
Look to the future – and clearly lay out where remaining employees should focus their efforts. Give people confidence with good news, pointing towards upcoming launches and business wins, but don’t belabor this or be tone deaf.
Similarly, the best way to turn the page in the weeks following a layoff is to give employees clarity on mission-critical work. Communicate how the company’s business priorities have shifted and any workflows that are impacted. For the teams that have had work deprioritized, make sure you communicate what these employees should work on. In the wake of a layoff, there is nothing more disconcerting than the fear that another round is coming … and those with more time on their hands will have reason to be concerned about when the other shoe could drop
Give your employees guidance on how to communicate with those who have been laid off. While organizations can’t name those who have been let go, they can provide clear guidance on how to talk to those who have been laid off. This should include recommendations about reaching out to these folks with offers to help them find jobs, notes saying how much they enjoyed working with them, and coming from a place of empathy. Need a resource to point to? Check this out.
Run a project post-mortem a week following the layoff announcement. While you ideally won’t have to do another round of layoffs, it is helpful to document what went well and what you’d improve in the future. And it gives those involved an opportunity to clear the air and directly address how to approach future complex work situations.
Even if this process goes well, no one will be happy. Because layoffs are painful.

Tim Granholm