Employee Layoff: Prepare for Involuntary Separations with This Checklist

Employee Layoff: How to Prepare for Involuntary Separations

Prepare for your employee layoff with our best-practice checklist.

Trusted by Organizations worldwide, companies large and small

An Employee Layoff Can Tarnish Your Brand If Not Expertly Managed

The news of an employee layoff spreads fast – and sometimes furiously – through your organization, your customer base, and supply chain via word of mouth and social platforms. With this in mind, the best way to manage your brand’s reputation is to organize and prepare.

Our Checklist Steps You Through the Process

This helpful tool steps you through the fundamental phases of an organized employee layoff. We offer advice on the following critical planning phases:

Decision-Making – Review typical, upfront business decisions required to enable a smooth, compassionate process.
Planning & Preparation – Tips for developing severance packages, empowering your separated employees with outplacement coaching, and creating messaging that aligns with your brand promise.
Managing Notification Day – How to address the needs of separated employees as well as remaining staff.
Managing Recovery – How to lead recovery with an open communication plan.

For 30 years, IMPACT Group has served the needs of employers and their departing talent with compassion. Caring organizations offer outplacement. It’s not just the right thing to do from a humanistic perspective, it’s also the right business move.

HR Leaders Rely on IMPACT Group for Flawless Outplacement

“We’ve used other outplacement firms, many of them offer services by way of rhetoric. Unlike the others, IMPACT Group delivers a strong experience and high value, demonstrating that Grainger values all employees – including those who are leaving.”

Hank Galatz, Associate General Counsel at Grainger

“Foot Locker has used IMPACT Group’s Outplacement Services for several years. They have consistently provided a high level of service. They have been highly successful in helping our employees transition into new roles. We consider ourselves fortunate to have such a great partner.”

Brian Ziegler, VP Global Total Rewards at Foot Locker

“IMPACT Group provides highly attentive service to our people in career transition and to us as a client.”

Steven Kase, VP Human Resources at Vertiv

“I am so appreciative of IMPACT Group’s quick response. They made this an incredibly smooth process during what is an extremely difficult and busy time.”

Rachel Christensen, Director of HR at Hawkes Learning

An Employee Layoff Can Generate More Employee Alumni

Think strategically about how these alumni can support – or tarnish – your brand.

Outplacement is Critical for Layoff Success

As laid-off employees exit, emotions can run high. People sometimes feel undervalued, abused, and even disgraced. With more time on their hands, they may dwell on the loss in a way that’s emotionally unhealthy. Grieving job loss is certainly normal, but it’s important to deal positively with the loss in order to move forward. That’s what our expert and certified career coaches do. We help people move forward.

With Expert Coaching, Your Employees Can Explore an Array of Options:

Full-time employment Entrepreneurship Active retirement

Consulting & gig work Volunteerism Board opportunities

It’s No Secret: Our Outplacement Coaches Set Us Apart

Our coaches deliver services in 68 countries and 22 languages. We hire only the world’s best coaches. Coach performance and continuous improvement are always top of mind. At IMPACT Group, we know how to create and maintain a strong and consistent coaching culture where we share a common goal – helping people transform and transition.

We Support HR Through Employee Layoffs

Whether it’s managing routine separations or a large employee layoff, we have you covered. Our team can staff and support each of these phases of your layoff:

Succession Planning
Planning an Involuntary Employee Layoff
Managing & Staffing Notification Day Communications
Company Recovery

Outplacement Programs	HR Team	Exiting Employee
Career Transition Coaching
Executive Transition Coaching
Redeployment
Strategic Planning
Manager Notification Training

Program Participants Share Their Success

“The emotional piece was the hardest to deal with. It wasn’t just a job – it was my career. The compassion my coach generously extended to me during each coaching call meant more than the knowledge he provided.”

John, Consultant

“The sounding board that Regina provided was invaluable. She empowered me to stick with the process and work through challenges as I launched my business.”

Cynthia, Entrepreneur

“My coach immediately helped me with the emotional piece of my job loss. I had a fear of the unknown and was worried about leaving a company I had been with for many years. Her guidance had such a positive impact on me.”

Mariano, Job Seeker

Layoff in Your Future?

Start to prepare today. Get a copy of our checklist now, by completing the form at right. You can also learn more about severance packages and employee alumni by contacting us today.