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Finally, if you are going to make a decision that will hurt people in your organization, you have to couple that decision with an explanation that is honest, direct, and compassionate. You do not just announce a layoff in a three-line memo, for example. You explain in a succinct and heartfelt manner the reason why the layoff is necessary. You give people time to leave or retire on their own, if possible. You discuss why alternatives are not viable. You must also provide some support in terms of serious career placement services, a respectful severance arrangement, and other evidence that you want to mitigate the adverse effects the organizational decision will have on individual lives. "You should always spend more money than you legally or contractually have to on these types of mitigating services," according to a human resources director at a major law firm. "It helps those who are displaced by the decision and it boosts the morale of those who are staying."
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