Layoff Expert Offers ‘A Kind Word’ to Worker, Helps the Boss Avoid Liability

Some employers laying off workers take what Kate Wendleton terms the surgical method--ax the employee in 15 seconds or so and then escort him or her to the door.

But the New York-based outplacement company for which Hall serves as a co-director takes a different approach. The Five O'Clock Club not only suggests that managers "say a kind word" when terminating workers, it offers clients a brochure that provides specific, lawyer-approved phrases to use when doing so, reports the Washington Post in a Sunday magazine-length article about the the work the company does for law firms and other employers.

For example, a manager might tell "George" that his contributions are appreciated, or empathize about the loss of his job being a difficult experience.

At the same time that the business tries to encourage workers and coach them to move on and find new--and perhaps even better--jobs, however, it also tries to protect the boss from liability, the article notes.

"The outplacement coach can redirect anger or anxiety away from the organization and ... encourage them to sign their severance agreements so they can get on with their lives," explains a brochure the company provides to those in charge of layoffs.