Inside Redundancy: How HR can create positive outcomes from life’s toughest transition

Redundancy can be an emotional and sometimes traumatic experience, particularly if the process isn’t handled well:

54% of employees we surveyed found out they’d been made redundant electronically rather than face-to-face
44% said poor communication left them unclear as to why the redundancy was happening
28% said they received no career transition support at all

Without the right support in place, employee engagement has been seen to drop by up to 30% due to the subsequent stress and uncertainty.

But why does redundancy have such a profound and lasting impact on people?

Over time, our work becomes part of how we see ourselves. It gives us purpose, structure and a sense of belonging. So, when redundancy happens, people can feel like they’re losing part of who they are.

“Redundancy can feel difficult because work, for most of us, is part of our identity.”
– Sarah Hernon, Talent & Change Consultant

While redundancy is a practical business decision that has nothing to do with individual performance, employees will often perceive it to be a decision taken against them personally; resulting in a whole rollercoaster of emotions that leave them questioning their skills and self-worth.

As such, organisations are now looking for ways to better support the human experience of change – and are more often than not, turning to coaching.

How does coaching help people navigate change?

Coaching support creates a safe space for people to feel vulnerable, be challenged and find answers for themselves.

“The main impact is that people will feel heard.”
– Lisa Stone, Head of Coaching

When facing job loss, employees are generally panicking about what to do next – feeling anxious, sad and angry all at the same time. But in working with a coach, they’re able to build the resilience needed to work through these emotions and gain clarity on how their transferable skills can pave the way forward for them.

“It’s about helping people understand how their skills are valuable in different roles, functions and projects.”
– Sarah Hernon

Employees will often define themselves by their job title, rather than the skills they’ve developed in that role. And in a world full of so much change, where roles and functions are rapidly changing around us, being unable to see where you might fit in can feel disorienting.

A career coach can help employees step back from the job title itself and focus instead on identifying and articulating their transferable skills. Only with this insight can they begin to confidently map out a plan for navigating change and identify the next opportunity that is right for them.

95% of employees who benefitted from coaching support during change rated it as “exceptionally helpful”.
- Right Management leadership programme, 2026

However, coaching support often only comes into play once transformation is happening, meaning workforces are caught off-guard to begin with, and those who remain regularly feel ill-equipped to navigate their new environment post-change.

So how can organisations help their people throughout the whole process?

First and foremost, it’s about supporting the human experience throughout the entire redundancy journey – before, during and after change has taken place.

When working with employees ahead of implementation to future-proof themselves, we saw confidence in navigating change rise from 32% to 79%.
When career transition support continued throughout the process, 78% of individuals rated their employer more positively.
And when organisations committed to supporting their people post-change, engagement scores among those responsible for leading teams in the new environment rose by 7 points.
- Right Management leadership programme, 2026

“Transformation isn’t just a one-off event; it can be constant… and organisations must treat their people with kindness.”
– Lisa Stone

Only in preparing their people for transformation, supporting them through it, and remaining aware of the ongoing impact it can have after the initial process has taken place, can organisations drive a positive, human-centred change experience that leaves employees: