How to Make Difficult Workforce Decisions With Empathy
CHRO Daily
How to Make Difficult Workforce Decisions With Empathy
Navigating the complexities of workforce management often demands leaders to make tough decisions. In this blog post, insights from a Founder and a CEO provide valuable perspectives. The first insight covers a recommendation to close a manufacturing plant, while the last explores pivoting teams to rental property maintenance. Discover seventeen expert opinions on the challenging decisions that shape successful organizations.
- Recommend Closure of Manufacturing Plant
- Realign Resources for Business Sustainability
- Partner with Shelter for Alternative Projects
- Restructure for Efficiency and Revenue
- Retrain Installers for Virtual Events
- Downsize Content Team During Budget Cut
- Shift Resources to Product Development
- Invest in Training Local Maintenance Staff
- Restructure Team Due to Budget Constraints
- Implement Rotating Schedule to Manage Costs
- Restructure Schedules to Handle Client Demands
- Reassign Team Members for Training
- Let Go of Developer for Team Dynamics
- Develop Hybrid Model to Avoid Layoffs
- Reassign Team Members to Specialized Roles
- Reduce Hours to Avoid Layoffs
- Pivot Teams to Rental Property Maintenance
Recommend Closure of Manufacturing Plant
In one of my CHRO roles, I faced the difficult task of working with the COO to recommend the closure of a manufacturing plant employing 200 people - a decision that remains one of the toughest in my career. The plant was operating at critically low capacity, and the business faced an existential crisis. Without decisive action, the company risked losing further market share to competitors who were outpacing us in marketing and R&D investments.
We determined that reallocating capital from the plant into areas driving innovation was essential to ensuring long-term profitability and sustainable growth. While the decision made financial and strategic sense, we were acutely aware of the human toll it would take.
To handle this transition with integrity, the leadership team, starting with the CEO, committed to transparency and compassion. We traveled to the site to deliver the news personally, ensuring employees could sit down with us to ask us questions. We even shared some of the alternatives we considered to help people understand how we arrived at the decision. We provided 90 days' notice, generous severance packages, and outplacement services to help workers find new opportunities. Beyond formal support, we leveraged our personal networks to connect employees with hiring managers at other organizations.
This experience reinforced a core belief of mine: while difficult decisions are an unavoidable reality in business, they must be approached with empathy and fairness. How leaders execute such decisions matters deeply - not just for those impacted but also for the trust and culture within the go-forward team.
Though challenging, the outcome validated the strategy. The reallocated investments allowed the company to regain competitive footing, driving meaningful growth in both innovation and market share. Still, I view this as a defining moment in my leadership journey - one that reminded me that people are at the heart of every decision, even in the face of tough business realities.
Realign Resources for Business Sustainability
One of the most difficult decisions I've had to make was during a period of restructuring when we had to realign our resources to ensure the long-term sustainability of the business. It's never easy when decisions impact the workforce, especially when you know the personal and professional lives involved.
In making this decision, I focused on three key factors: the long-term health of the business, the well-being of the employees affected, and the transparency of our communication. We ensured that we explored all possible alternatives first—like reassigning roles or upskilling employees—before making any final calls. For those impacted, we provided support, including severance packages and career assistance, to help them transition smoothly.
The outcome was challenging, but it allowed us to stabilize the business and set a foundation for future growth. It also reinforced the importance of being honest and compassionate during difficult times. While decisions like these are tough, handling them with empathy makes all the difference.
Partner with Shelter for Alternative Projects
Last year, I faced the tough choice of either laying off our renovation crew during the slow winter season or finding alternative projects to keep them employed. I ended up partnering with a local shelter to renovate their facilities at cost, which kept my skilled team intact and led to valuable community connections that brought us more business in the spring.
Restructure for Efficiency and Revenue
One of the most challenging decisions I've had to make was during my time running a telecommunications company. We were experiencing rapid growth, but our operational processes were struggling to keep up, leading to declining customer satisfaction. It became clear that we needed to restructure the company, which included laying off underperforming staff and reallocating resources to areas of the business that had greater potential for driving efficiency and revenue. This was particularly difficult because it wasn't just about numbers on a spreadsheet, it was about people, their livelihoods, and their trust in the company. To approach this, I relied heavily on my experience managing teams in high-pressure environments, both in the military and in business, and my MBA training in finance to ensure we made data-driven decisions. I conducted a thorough analysis of each department's performance, worked closely with team leaders to identify critical gaps, and ensured transparency throughout the process.
The outcome was transformative. The leaner team became more focused and productive, allowing us to implement streamlined systems that improved customer satisfaction and increased profitability within six months. While the decision to downsize was tough, the restructuring enabled us to grow sustainably and retain the trust of our core team by showing them the long-term vision. This experience reinforced the importance of leadership, clarity, and decisiveness when faced with tough choices, qualities I've carried into every coaching engagement since.
Retrain Installers for Virtual Events
When COVID hit, I faced the tough decision of either furloughing our entire installation team or finding creative ways to keep them employed during the trade show shutdown. I chose to retrain our installers to help with virtual event production and design, which not only saved jobs but gave us a competitive edge when in-person events resumed.
Downsize Content Team During Budget Cut
As a content manager, I once faced the tough decision to downsize a content team during a budget cut. The decision was incredibly challenging because it involved skilled, dedicated individuals. I assessed team performance, versatility, and project priorities, ensuring decisions were aligned with business needs. I also sought to balance the workload among the remaining staff to prevent burnout and maintain quality. Transparency was key-I communicated the reasons and offered support, including recommendations and networking opportunities for those affected. Though difficult, the decision helped stabilize the department, allowing us to refocus resources and maintain long-term success.
Shift Resources to Product Development
One of the toughest decisions I faced at Recharge Health was during an early growth phase when we had to shift resources from marketing to prioritize product development. It wasn't easy because it impacted team roles and some ongoing campaigns. We looked at the bigger picture by reframing the problem—our customer feedback and sales data made it clear that improving the product was critical to staying competitive. In the short term, the change caused some uncertainty, but we communicated openly about why it was necessary and how it aligned with our long-term vision. The outcome? Product development accelerated, and we launched key features that set us apart in the market.
Invest in Training Local Maintenance Staff
When managing our 150+ rental units, I faced the challenging decision of either outsourcing property maintenance or building an in-house team during a major growth phase. I decided to invest in training local maintenance staff, which initially cost more but created stable jobs in our community and resulted in faster response times for our tenants.
Restructure Team Due to Budget Constraints
One experience stands out about making difficult decisions that affect the workforce. In a previous role, I had to restructure our team because of budget constraints. The decision was about how to reduce staff in a way that would still maintain operational efficiency but be fair to those affected.
I started by collecting information regarding team performance, project needs, and individual contributions. It was not just about the bottom line but also morale and employee well-being for those remaining. I spoke with department heads to get an understanding of what skills were going to be required for future projects and that we would retain the talent needed.
After much deliberation, I chose a targeted layoff approach, focusing on jobs that were less aligned with our strategic goals. It was communicated transparently with the team about the need for such an action and support during the transition process, ensuring that those leaving received severance packages and job placement assistance, among other things.
It was challenging but led to a much more streamlined operation. The remaining team members appreciated the openness and support in a difficult time, which kept morale and productivity intact. It reinforced the thought that leaders should make careful decisions and communicate openly with others.
Implement Rotating Schedule to Manage Costs
Last year, I had to choose between keeping our full renovation crew during a slow period or reducing hours to manage costs, which would impact fifteen families. I implemented a rotating schedule that kept everyone employed with reduced hours and cross-trained them in different renovation skills, which actually made our team more versatile when business picked up again.
Restructure Schedules to Handle Client Demands
During the housing market boom, I had to restructure our team's schedules to handle increased client demands while preventing burnout - it was tough seeing my team stretched thin. After implementing flexible scheduling and rotating weekend shifts, we managed to meet our deadlines while maintaining work-life balance, which actually improved our property closing rates by 25%.
Reassign Team Members for Training
When scaling our property acquisition team in 2018, I faced the tough decision of reassigning three experienced team members to train new hires instead of keeping them in their high-performing roles. While it temporarily slowed our acquisition pace, this decision helped us build a stronger foundation, and within six months, our team's productivity doubled as the new hires became fully operational.
Let Go of Developer for Team Dynamics
Last year, I had to let go of a talented developer who wasn't meshing with our healthcare-focused culture, even though they had amazing technical skills. After carefully weighing the impact on team dynamics and client relationships, I helped them transition to a better-fitting role elsewhere, which ultimately strengthened our core team's collaborative spirit and improved project outcomes.
Develop Hybrid Model to Avoid Layoffs
During the peak of market uncertainty, I had to choose between maintaining our full staff or cutting back on our home-buying operations in Columbus. Instead of layoffs, I worked with our team to develop a hybrid model where we shared commissions on realtor referrals, which kept everyone employed while we adapted to market conditions and actually helped us discover a valuable new business channel.
Reassign Team Members to Specialized Roles
Last year, I faced the challenge of restructuring our client service teams when we noticed bottlenecks in our project delivery for plastic surgeons. After analyzing workloads and individual strengths, I reassigned team members to specialized roles—like separating SEO from paid ads management—which initially caused some uncertainty but ended up reducing our delivery time by 40% and improving employee satisfaction.
Reduce Hours to Avoid Layoffs
Last year, I had to decide between laying off team members or reducing everyone's hours when our land acquisition deals slowed down. After carefully analyzing our cash flow and team dynamics, I chose to keep everyone by implementing a temporary 20% reduction in hours, which helped us maintain our core expertise and allowed us to bounce back stronger when the market improved three months later.
Pivot Teams to Rental Property Maintenance
When our house-flipping projects were hit by supply chain issues, I faced the tough choice of either downsizing our renovation crew or finding alternative work to keep them employed. I decided to pivot some teams into our rental property maintenance division temporarily, which not only preserved jobs but actually led to expanding our property management services as a new revenue stream.
