A seasoned HR leader reflects on the times throughout her HR career when she worked with her executive peers to maintain wellbeing and performance amid a workforce in flux.

Redundancies are an uncomfortable inevitability in HR. Every instance is challenging, but the first tends to leave a lasting impression.

For Melissa Mason CPHR GAICD, that moment came early in her career.

“I was involved in a large-scale organisational transformation when the organisation entered voluntary administration. All the C-suite left, and I felt like I was left holding the baby,” says Mason, who is now the founder of Red Jacaranda Group.

The unraveling began when the CEO, CFO and Head of HR all resigned within months of one another. In their absence, interim leadership was flown in from overseas to address deep-rooted legacy project challenges. 

Soon after, the Senior HR Partner also stepped down – leaving Mason, who had just three years of tenure at the time, as the longest-serving member of the HR team.

“I found myself working alongside the newly appointed administrator’s general manager to wind down the business. Their role was just wrapping it up – and mine became ensuring compliance, transparency and dignity in exit for every employee,” she says.

By that stage, trust had long evaporated.

“Leaders had jumped from the ship before it sank. There was no empathy and no communication. Employees were blindsided,” says Mason.

She remembers sitting across from long-standing engineers – “wonderful, intelligent people, 15 or 20 years [her] senior” – who broke down in tears as she handed them their redundancy letters. 

“It was really impactful. I was delivering devastating news to people who gave their whole careers to the business,” she says. “I wrote my own redundancy letter. I literally gave myself the envelope. At the time I made a joke of it, but the reality was there was no one there for us.”

Mason adds that the timing of the redundancies compounded the hardship, as over 500 employees were notified, without warning, that their jobs were being made redundant just weeks before Christmas.

“I was really angry on behalf of the impacted people. Not only was I having to tell them that the business didn’t exist anymore and their roles are no longer required, but I also had to say, ‘And you’re going to have to wait for a few months for the job market to reopen.’”

Melissa Mason CPHR GAICD

The organisation’s governance failures made the experience even more sobering, she adds. 

“The redundancy bucket had been drained. All employees, including myself, had to apply through the government scheme to get the minimum entitlements under the NES. 

“Five years later, we finally received the additional amounts owed under the company’s more generous policy, once the administrator found some money left in the bucket.

“That was my first [redundancy experience]. It was a really tough time. In retrospect, I [think], ‘Wow, what a great learning opportunity.’ But at the time, it was devastating.”

Experiencing such a seismic shift so early in her career was both overwhelming and deeply confronting. 

“It taught me what happens when leadership fails to put people first. Whether you’re exiting people because of a redundancy, a performance issue or even serious misconduct, you need to walk people through the process respectfully and treat them as humans. That’s the big lesson I took forward.”

“I also wrote my own redundancy letter. I literally gave myself the envelope. At the time I made a joke of it, but the reality was there was no one there for us.” – Melissa Mason CPHR

From collapse to transformation

This early-career experience helped define the kind of HR leader Mason aspired to be. 

“I saw firsthand the damage caused by silence and avoidance in times of uncertainty, and I learned that integrity, empathy and clear communication are non-negotiable,” she says.

Those lessons proved invaluable years later when she led the people function at a different organisation while it was going through a large-scale merger and acquisition, affecting 2500 employees.

“The big difference this time was the Managing Director. He was brilliant. He understood the importance of open and transparent communication.”

Together, they focused on sustaining energy, engagement and retention during the transition period, says Mason.

Read HRM’s article ‘Sustaining your team’s energy’.

“We focused on reinforcing business goals, celebrating project wins, sharing lessons learned and maintaining a strong ‘business-as-usual’ mindset. We made a deliberate choice to prioritise wellbeing and be intentional with our connection with employees. 

“By investing in support and strengthening engagement, we maintained organisational stability and focus – continuing to deliver consistently and reliably across all client projects.”

The executive leadership team united behind a single mission: make the business the best it could be before the sale to give people the best possible opportunity. 

“It was such a strong, clear sense of purpose. We were bound together by that.”

At the heart of the approach was a “culture of care”, deliberately crafted to sustain trust through prolonged uncertainty. 

“We wanted to make sure care was real – not lip service. That meant focusing on wellbeing, building leadership capability and keeping communication deliberate and consistent.”

Key initiatives included:

• Leadership recognition – Leaders who scored above 85 per cent in the ‘My Manager’ index of the engagement survey were celebrated each year.
  
  “It wasn’t us [as an executive team] saying, ‘You’re a great leader.’ It was their people saying it,” says Mason. “We flew them into Sydney for a half-day of learning and networking, created promo videos to showcase their leadership and spotlighted their stories across the business.
  
  “Over three years, nearly every leader in our top three tiers joined the cohort. They were the ones who carried the messaging through the acquisition, keeping it clear and consistent for 2500 people. That’s what allowed us to jump from one boat to the other with minimal disruption.” 
• Focusing on performance – The organisation continued investing in upskilling managers in managing performance – particularly how to address underperformance “respectfully and swiftly”.
  
  “[This included] providing constructive feedback and reinforcing the importance of receiving feedback, ensuring our talent and succession plans were all in action with key development and career opportunities mapped for our leaders from the executive to frontline. We wanted to drive the people-first culture we’d built in the hope this would carry into the new organisation, regardless of who purchased us.”  
• Wellbeing support – A wellbeing series during COVID-19 focused on connection and self-care.
  
  “We wanted to flip the mindset from ‘I’m stuck at home’ to feeling empowered to care for yourself. We reminded people to get outside, connect with others and step away from their computers. It was about keeping energy and dopamine levels up.” 
• Consistent communication – Regular updates reinforced business goals, celebrated project wins and kept attention anchored on operational excellence.
  
  “Sales updates were brief and intentional – enough to keep people informed without overwhelming them. The point was to show momentum and success, not dwell on uncertainty.” 
• Reinforcing the value of DEI – during the sale process, Mason and her team also launched the organisation’s inaugural DEI strategy, to ensure the right cultural conditions would be set when new employees joined the organisation following the merger.
  
  “This was what fueled me to keep going –  knowing we were making a positive difference for our people. This passion and knowledge for DEI throughout the business influenced outcomes once we had been purchased by a buyer, such as establishing paid parental leave, commencing a ‘women leading’ program and signing a reconciliation action plan (RAP), none of which was in place for the buyer when we joined. This was a real win for the now 5000-employee business.”

Despite the turbulence, these measures helped sustain momentum. 

“It was an exhausting yet energising period. The turning point came when we secured three major contracts. That was tangible proof we weren’t just surviving, but thriving,” says Mason.

Following the acquisition, Mason transitioned into the General Manager, Talent and Capability role, focusing on equipping leaders to support teams through post-acquisition change. 

“The shift to a predominantly strategic remit was a welcome evolution, especially after balancing intense operational demands throughout COVID-19 and the sale process. 

“In this new role, I had the privilege of designing and driving initiatives that empowered leaders to support their teams through post-acquisition change. Being part of the solution – creating tools, frameworks and pathways for others to thrive – was very rewarding.”

Preparing yourself as a leader

To guide a large organisation through such a complex transition, Mason needed to be operating from a strong base of capability. She credits AHRI’s HR Certification Program with helping to shape her strategic mindset.

“Completing my certification prior to this period gave me a holistic understanding of human resources as a strategic lever – not just a support function. It reinforced the truth that when people outcomes are meaningfully aligned with business strategy, momentum builds, trust increases and positive results follow.

“I highly recommend the AHRI Certification program to any HR professional committed to bolstering their expertise and impact. It offers a well-rounded foundation that not only sharpens your strategic thinking but also builds the confidence to lead meaningful change.

“Supporting a business through change starts with understanding your own relationship to it – how you process uncertainty, manage your emotions and show up for others. You need clarity, composure and a long-term lens.”

Mason stresses the importance of personal sustainability during periods of seemingly non-stop change.

“We can’t just keep pushing. Like athletes, we need periods of rest and recovery. That means getting proper sleep, switching off before bed, knowing when your energy is depleted. 

“Sometimes it means being brave enough to say to your manager, ‘I need half a day off.’ High performers often think they can’t ask, but it’s essential.”

The same applies to watching over others, she says.

“When people are stressed, behaviours can shift. If you notice something’s off, take three minutes to ask, ‘Are you okay?’ You don’t need to be a counsellor – just showing awareness can make a difference.”

It’s likely that the disruption employees are facing will only accelerate in the years to come. For Mason, the key lies in empathy, consistency and purpose.

“It’s never going to stop – change is continuous, and it’s getting faster. The only way to sustain performance is to anchor yourself, look after your people and keep reinforcing purpose. Do that, and you can carry your organisation through uncertainty with integrity and care.”

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