Robyn Kern is a seasoned business writer who has written in the HR, education, technology, and nonprofit spaces. She writes about topics including outplacement, layoffs, career development, internal mobility, candidate experience, succession planning, talent acquisition, and more, with the goal of surfacing workforce trends and educating the HR community on these key topics. Her work has been featured on hrforhr.org and trainingindustry.com.
Letting an employee go is difficult for all parties involved, and there are right ways and wrong ways to lay an employee off. The process requires a fine balance of legal compliance and human compassion. After all, from an employee’s point of view, being laid off is...
Layoffs are expensive not only because of severance and legal fees but also because of lost production, reduced product quality, and the absence of skilled workers resulting from the workforce changes. Most manufacturing leaders understand this in theory, but few...
AI is everywhere right now, bringing new tools, bold promises, and mounting pressure to “do something” quickly. But for HR leaders, the real challenge isn’t the technology itself. It’s deciding where AI actually helps, where human judgment can’t be replaced, and how...
Manufacturing layoffs are among the highest-stakes workforce decisions a company can make. The ripple effects on operations, safety, employee morale, community relationships, and legal exposure can persist well beyond when the last notification letter goes out. Yet...
The Workplace Innovation Paradox A new study from INTOO conducted by The Harris Poll found nearly three out of four full/part-time employed Americans (74%) say they are expected to bring new ideas to improve things at work, such as creative solutions, fresh...
Think about the last time a project missed its deadline, a commitment slipped through the cracks, or a team member quietly checked out. More often than not, accountability—or lack thereof—was somewhere in the equation. Employee accountability is the invisible force...
Notifying employees of their layoff or termination is considered to be one of the most difficult tasks in business. Not only is the process riddled with potential legal landmines, but delivering what is often life-changing news to a colleague unearths feelings of...
Many organizations are focused on adopting AI tools. Others are still figuring out where to start. Either way, the real challenge isn’t the technology. It’s what happens to your people. AI is eliminating routine work and raising the bar on what performance looks like....
Good leadership is crucial in the modern, future-focused, dynamic business landscape. Leaders are not born; they are made through continuous growth, learning, and adaptation. Effective leadership is not a static trait but a constant growth, learning, and adaptation...
Layoffs in manufacturing bring unique challenges. Unlike layoffs in office settings, they can mean shutting down whole plants, breaking up efficient production lines, and letting go of employees who have been with the company for many years. These employees often...