How HR can conduct compassionate layoffs, according to leaders at Starbucks, Eli Lilly, and Strava

There’s arguably no workplace drama as memorable—or rage inducing—as a horribly executed layoff. (Better.com, anyone?)

Modern-day layoffs aren’t necessarily known for being thoughtful and compassionate. Practices like announcing mass layoff over email and locking employees out of their work computers (or buildings) have become commonplace—much to the ire of workers, who have gone as far as to record and post their layoff experiences to social media.

As layoffs have gradually ticked up this year, employers have had to be even more thoughtful about how such reductions are communicated.

Every organization’s best practices for layoffs will vary. But HR leaders at Starbucks, Eli Lilly, and Strava, speaking at LinkedIn’s Talent Connect conference this week, shared their advice for how employers can demonstrate inclusivity and compassion when letting employees go. Much of this hinges on employers leaning into their values.

“It’s really easy to express compassion and be very people-focused when people and business are not…at odds in terms of what decisions we need to make,” Michele Bousquet, Strava’s chief people officer, told the audience. “So I think when you’re actually doing reduction is a prime example to reflect your values in every decision you make.”

Put thought into every decision. Generous support for employees impacted by layoffs, like a sizable severance package or outplacement services, won’t mean anything if an employer doesn’t put thought into how the reduction is communicated. Strava, which laid off 38 employees in December 2022, focused on holding one-on-one conversations with affected employees, providing them any information they need but also allowing them to talk about how they’re feeling, according to Bousquet.

“It’s not a mass email. It's certainly not deactivating people’s badges before they walk in the door, which we’ve seen,” Bousquet said. She also recommended not revoking laid off employees’ access to internal networks until the end of the day, so that they can say goodbye to colleagues.

“Even if it means assuming a little more risk as a business, it goes a long way in making people feel like human beings whose contributions were valued,” she said.

Be clear on what you can do. Employers don’t want to make empty promises to workers during any part of the employee lifecycle, and that includes during layoffs.

“Don’t over communicate, don’t over talk, don’t say things you can’t do,” Mark Brown, Starbucks’s SVP of talent and inclusion, told the audience. The coffee chain informed employees earlier this week that failure to comply with its return to office policy could face consequences including “separation,” according to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg.

Brown also recommended that those involved in the layoffs conversations make sure that the redundancy is not made to feel personal.

“Make sure you’re talking about a moment and not a person,” he said. “Meaning, it’s like, if you have reductions, it’s not about the person, it’s about something else. You have to have the right conversation.”

If you’re just showing care now, it’s too late. When layoffs happen is the exact opposite of the best time to demonstrate your values as an employer.

“In that moment, that’s not the time you start caring. You should have been caring before,” Eric Dozier, executive vice president of HR and diversity at Eli Lilly, said. The pharmaceutical giant last announced mass layoffs in 2017, affecting 3,500 employees. “As an organization, you have to make sure you’re living your values, so that when you have those tough moments, people trust you’re making the best decisions.”

In that vein, Bousquet also stressed that Strava is very careful to not call its team a “family.” The two have very different sets of rules, she said. While an employer may care about its employees and struggle with tough decisions like layoffs, at the end of the day, it’s all about the business, and if that is stagnant, it won’t be able to employ anyone.

“I always will say, ‘Every one of you is replaceable, ultimately, and you cannot act as though you aren’t,’” she said. “I think by laying the groundwork and being thoughtful about how you communicate, it can stay really compassionate, but also professional, which ultimately makes things that are painful less painful.”