# Where HR Can Build the Most Trust from Layoffs

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hr-voices-7512407/where-hr-can-build-the-most-trust-from-layoffs
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hr-voices-7512407/where-hr-can-build-the-most-trust-from-layoffs.md
Podcast: [HR Voices](https://stenobird.com/podcast/hr-voices-7512407)
Published: 2026-05-05T12:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/d3ba0889
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/d3ba0889/962ad429.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/hr-voices-7512407/episodes/where-hr-can-build-the-most-trust-from-layoffs
Duration seconds: 1991

## Resource

Summary A CFO hands HR a layoff list. HR runs the numbers and finds it disproportionately skews toward employees over 55 and women in senior roles. The CFO says it's based on performance ratings. HR pulls the data and finds significant rating inconsistencies. The CFO wants to proceed. Now what? In this episode of HR Voices, host Rebecca Taylor sits down with Lizzie Garner, Chief People Officer at ClearChoice Dental Implant Centers, to work through this fabricated-but-deeply-familiar scenario about the moment HR has to decide whether to push back, proceed, or put themselves on the list. Lizzie brings a refreshingly grounded perspective rooted in having led more layoffs than most HR leaders ever will. She walks through why layoffs are actually the moment HR can build the most trust and value within an organization, how to reframe "going over the CFO's head" as "let's bring in another brain," and why she's never used performance ratings as the sole selection criteria for a reduction in force. She and Rebecca get into alternative selection approaches like last-in-first-out and full role elimination, why reminding the CFO of the cost of employment litigation is one of your most effective tools, and the practical scripting details that matter most in the actual conversation with someone being let go—including leading with "everything we discuss today will be emailed to you" because nothing else will register after that moment. If you're an HR leader navigating a reduction or preparing for one, Lizzie's toolkit approach and her steady composure will give you something concrete to build from. Timestamps 01:37 The scenario: the layoff order 02:31 Why layoffs are actually where HR can build the most trust 06:08 Getting involved before the list exists: selection criteria conversa…

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## Transcript

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