There’s arguably no workplace drama as memorable—or rage inducing—as a horribly executed layoff. (Better.com, anyone?)

Modern-day layoffs aren’t necessarily known for being thoughtful and compassionate. Practices like announcing mass layoff over email and locking employees out of their work computers (or buildings) have become commonplace—much to the ire of workers, who have gone as far as to record and post their layoff experiences to social media.

As layoffs have gradually ticked up this year, employers have had to be even more thoughtful about how such reductions are communicated.

Every organization’s best practices for layoffs will vary. But HR leaders at Starbucks, Eli Lilly, and Strava, speaking at LinkedIn’s Talent Connect conference this week, shared their advice for how employers can demonstrate inclusivity and compassion when letting employees go. Much of this hinges on employers leaning into their values.

Keep reading here.—PM

SAP SuccessFactors launched a new Career and Talent Development solution, which integrates with the entire SAP suite of platforms.

The new Career and Talent Development product allows employees to set career goals inside the SuccessFactors platform, aligning employee aspirations with business needs. The tool allows employees to explore different career paths within the organization, assess their readiness for those new roles, and leverages skills data and AI to help employees identify upskilling and learning opportunities to improve their readiness.

“It’s a really exciting time with skills,” SAP SuccessFactors president and chief product officer Dan Beck told HR Brew. “I think for a decade…we vendors have been under-serving the market with skills.”

Zoom out. With the help of new generative AI tools inside HCM and HR platforms, organizations are “under significant pressure” to become a “skills-based organization,” according to Stanford AI professor Kian Katanforoosh.

Keep reading here.—AD

In a gnarly game of “Would You Rather,” some employees admitted they would rather keep their flexible work arrangements than their partners.

Some 43% of US adults are more afraid of having to work on-site full-time than they are of breaking up with their romantic partner or getting a divorce, according to a LiveCareer survey of 3,853 respondents published earlier this year.

“Someone mandating me to go back into the office means I have less control over my time, and my time is directly equated to how I feel about my life, how I feel about myself,” said Jasmine Escalera, a career expert at LiveCareer.

She shared with HR Brew how people pros can navigate “sticky” return-to-office conversations.

Keep reading here.—MC