Communicate Honestly at All Times

02/27/07

No downsizing can occur without some disruption and negative impact on the organization and its work force. However, a company can greatly reduce this impact if it communicates honestly before, during and after the downsizing process.

Let People Know Problems Exist
“A lot of employers hit people blind,” says human resources consultant Susan Heathfield. Employees who often didn’t realize the extent of the company’s problems suddenly find themselves pink-slipped for economic reasons. While it is true that workers no longer expect a company to guarantee them lifetime employment, they will not expect their employer to terminate them without fair warning. “Being downsized out of a job is going to be powerful no matter what relationship you think you had with the employer.”

To avoid blindsiding employees:

Tell them when the company is in trouble. Workers should no longer be viewed as children who need to be “protected.” They want to know if their jobs are at stake. A good rule of thumb, according to Heathfield: Tell people as much as possible as soon as information is known with some certainty. At any rate, avoid the “I’ll tell you only if you need to know” mentality at all costs.

Avoid blame, criticism, sarcasm, and lack of empathy. Communicate with employees in a positive, constructive manner at all times.

Tell the truth. All credibility will be lost if management insists that no further downsizings will be needed, only to announce another round in two months. Honesty, even if it reveals bad news, is always less harmful in the long run.

Go Beyond Facts and Figures
When communicating with employees —before, during or after a downsizing—leaders must avoid diluting the message in facts and figures. In the wake of a downsizing especially, management must, in consultant David Noer’s words, “lead from the heart, follow with the head.

Angry, depressed, and concerned survivors of downsizings are not interested in only hearing, for example, that “revenues came in under expectations for the last two quarters, leading to an erosion of our return on equity and hence the need to downsize.” They want to hear management say: “We’ll be honest with you: These are tough times for all of us, and we have no choice but to make the organization leaner and more flexible if we are to survive in the long run.”

Don’t avoid the financial details completely. The head must follow the heart. But numbers alone aren’t enough to convince employees that a downsizing was necessary and will be, in the long run, positive.

Effective Communication Tools
Human resources must take the lead in designing an effective communication strategy. When designing a communication strategy, Heathfield urges you to think broadly about the ways to communicate. Some of her suggestions include:

Hold company meetings.
Schedule one-on-ones, Publish a transition newsletter.
Use e-mail, intranet, and Internet resources.
Hold frequent department gatherings; post minutes and notices.
Use voice mail for messages.
Encourage informal planning sessions that are focused on forward progress.

Written communication—intranet postings or a transition newsletter, for example—are helpful to keep employees up-dated not only about the transition taking place, but also about all of the other details with which employees may be concerned.

A flood of paper, of course, is not sufficient. Honest communication in face-to-face meetings is more powerful and effective in addressing the anxieties and concerns your employees will have.