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America Back to Work: Massella Dukuly, Charter
How to Balance Transparency and Compassion During Layoffs
In this week’s episode of America Back to Work, Arnette Heintze is joined by Massella Dukuly, head of workplace strategy and innovation at Charter.
Massella brings her vast expertise in talent development, employee engagement, and organizational change to discuss the intricacies of workplace strategy and how companies can navigate the complexities of layoffs with compassion and foresight.
Key Discussion Points
- Overview of Massella’s background, including her MBA focused on leadership and organizational change.
- Her motivations for improving workplace environments, emphasizing the significance of creating workplaces where people can thrive.
- Practical advice for HR professionals dealing with reductions in workforce.
- The importance of not reinventing the wheel and being mindful of the methods used to communicate layoffs.
- Case study references, including a nod to the TV show “Succession.
- Strategies for HR leaders to build meaningful partnerships with stakeholders to manage layoffs more effectively.
- The role of listening and understanding the stakes and priorities of different organizational leaders.
- The critical role of authentic and thoughtful communication during layoffs.
- The importance of acknowledging the emotional and practical impacts on both departing and remaining employees.
- Addressing layoff survivor guilt.
- Suggestions for engaging and supporting the remaining workforce, such as creating spaces for processing emotions and clearly communicating changes in workload and responsibilities.
- Practical ways to extend generosity during layoffs, such as extending severance or health benefits.
- The need for transparency regarding the reasons behind layoffs and the steps taken to prevent them.
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S2Verify is one of the leading, privately held, pre-employment background screening companies in the United States.
Arnette Heintze is co-founder and chief strategy officer at S2Verify. Before establishing S2Verify, Arnette spent more than three decades working at the highest levels of federal, state, and local law enforcement.
He served more than 20 years in the United States Secret Service as a special agent and senior executive,—oØ where he planned, designed, and implemented security strategies to protect U.S. Presidents, world leaders, events of national significance, and our nation’s most sensitive assets, including financial infrastructure.
After retiring from the Secret Service, Arnette focused on building the growth and performance of innovative start-ups and SMBs. In 2004, he established Hillard Heintze, a globally recognized strategic security risk management and investigations firm.
In 2009, along with Bill Whitford and Jim Zimbardi, Arnette established S2 Verify with an approach and methodology that delivers fast, accurate, compliant, and affordable background screening insights crucial to better managing insider risks, threats, and vulnerabilities.