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• Technical Note | HBS Case Collection | October 2019 (Revised February 2020)

  A Framework for Interpersonal Skills Development

  Sandra J. Sucher

  Citation:

  Sucher, Sandra J. "A Framework for Interpersonal Skills Development." Harvard Business School Technical Note 320-040, October 2019. (Revised February 2020.)  View Details

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• Technical Note | HBS Case Collection | January 2013 (Revised October 2019)

  Guide to ISDL Reflections

  Joshua D. Margolis and Sandra J. Sucher

  Citation:

  Margolis, Joshua D., and Sandra J. Sucher. "Guide to ISDL Reflections." Harvard Business School Technical Note 613-077, January 2013. (Revised October 2019.)  View Details

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• Article | Harvard Business Review | May–June 2018

  Layoffs That Don't Break Your Company: Better Approaches to Workforce Transition

  Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta

  Today layoffs have become companies’ default response to the challenges created by advances in technology and global competition. Yet research shows that job cuts rarely help senior leaders achieve their goals. Too often, they’re done for short-term gain, but the cost savings are overshadowed by bad publicity, loss of knowledge, weakened engagement, higher voluntary turnover, and lower innovation, which hurt profits in the long run. This article looks at better ways to handle changing workforce needs that make sparing use of staff reductions and ensure that if they do happen, the process feels fair and the affected parties have a soft landing. Most successful approaches begin with a philosophy that spells out a firm’s commitments and priorities, establish methods for exploring layoff alternatives (such as furloughs, retraining, and reassignments), and determine options for three scenarios: a healthy present, short-term volatility, and an uncertain future. As firms like AT&T, Michelin, Honeywell, and Nokia have learned, thoughtful planning helps organizations address workforce transitions and cope with a shifting economic landscape far better than layoffs do.

  Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Employees; Transition; Strategic Planning;

  Citation:

  Sucher, Sandra J., and Shalene Gupta. "Layoffs That Don't Break Your Company: Better Approaches to Workforce Transition." Harvard Business Review 96, no. 3 (May–June 2018): 122–129.  View Details

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