How to conduct layoffs in a hybrid environment

Hypothetically, let’s say your employees are on a hybrid schedule, and you need to conduct layoffs. When do you do it: When they’re in the office or virtual?

Well, at Stellantis, parent company of automaker Fiat Chrysler, nearly 400 employees were laid off last month on a “mandatory remote work day,” CNBC reported in March. This isn’t a common practice, according to Michelle Seidel, founder and principal consultant at Milestone Results Strategies.

HR Brew talked with Seidel, and author and leadership consultant Cy Wakeman about best practices for HR pros navigating layoffs in a hybrid org.

Back to basics. Not sure whether to conduct layoffs in-person or remotely? Consider your current exposure to employees, Wakeman told HR Brew. If you engage with your employees in the office, then your layoffs should be done in the office. But if you engage with your workforce remotely, then virtual layoffs make sense.

When delivering the news, think about how you would want to receive it, advised Wakeman. “It’s really back to the basics on this stuff. It’s very simple, but hard to do,” she said. “When you look at the language, people are like, ‘We’re experiencing a reduction in force.’ When all employees want to know is, ‘My job is ending when?’”

Be clear and concise with all layoff communication, she said, and welcome employees’ feedback on what HR can do to help them. “It’s not about you in the moment, leader or organization, it’s about the other person,” Wakeman said. Ask employees, “Given this reality, that is disruptive to you and your career goals…what is one thing I could do today that would help you through it? Or, what is one thing I could do that would show my respect and care for you?”

Humanity above all. Seidel told HR Brew that companies should avoid impersonal mass layoffs at all costs and focus on supporting the impacted individuals.

“[Mass layoffs] are tempting because they’re efficient and easy in the short run, but there is a long-term impact, and potential negative implications for the headlines that go viral,” Seidel said. HR should walk into each layoff with context about who the employee is and how long they’ve worked at the company, and they should also reach out to their manager beforehand to learn more about the employee.

Wakeman agreed with this approach, adding that HR pros should always be accompanied by the employee’s manager. Having a familiar face in the room can be helpful during difficult conversations.

“Keep it human. You meet with people in person, and the person who meets with them…needs to be someone close to them,” Wakeman said. “Then, usually a hand-off to…another warm body that has some resources for [them].”

HR pros should think of layoffs as “consciously uncoupling,” she said, because “we’re breaking up with people at work too much like we’re breaking up with people online, and it’s really damaging…It doesn’t have to be traumatic for people, as long as they’ve got the support that they need.”

When reached for comment, Stellantis confirmed it will reduce “engineering/technology and software organizations by about 2% in the US,” company spokesperson Jodi Tinson wrote in an email. “These reductions will be effective on March 31, 2024. Stellantis will offer support for those affected including a comprehensive separation package and transition assistance.”