HR teams tend to get a bad rap as the bearers of bad news within an organization. Be it disciplinary action or organizational changes, they often mediate between company and employee best interests. As a result, HR professionals naturally come face to face with some of the most difficult conversations in the workplace.

Don’t be caught unprepared when the time comes. Though it might be tempting to try to avoid these tough conversations, HR must embrace the same strategic mindset used for engagement initiatives and workforce planning. Take the time to understand the difficult situations you might encounter and be prepared to handle the reactions that follow.

In this guide, we’ll share four difficult scenarios that require HR intervention, tips for approaching them, and sample language you can use to say the things that may be hard to hear.