31/03/2010    
 
Yes. When employers are considering downsizing, pay reduction or other tough decisions, a communication strategy is the most integral piece to change management. The best way to lessen the blow to morale and productivity is to communicate early, frequently and honestly.

Start with developing a communication plan. This plan should initially assess how the company has reached this point. Review the different internal and external factors that are driving the company to make these tough decisions. Next, determine the main message you want to convey, who will initially communicate the news and in what venue. An ongoing interactive communication strategy should then be developed. Be creative and use several different communication methods (face-to-face, e-mail, Twitter, newsletters, online chats, intranet updates, focus groups, town hall meetings, etc.). A communication budget also needs to be allocated. Finally, consider what training and support your executives, managers, supervisors, leads and other key employees may need to implement the plan within this budget.

It is usually best to announce all of the bad news up front. Although this is an ominous undertaking, it allows everyone to more quickly adjust and move on. Employees need to feel that management is being open and honest with them, and the best way to do that is to figuratively—or better yet, literally—open the books.

I recall early in my career sitting in a conference room and watching in amazement as the company president started writing financials on the white board. He was laying out the specifics of the company’s currently bleak financial position. He explained his analysis of how the economy had affected us and our clients, as well as other internal factors that have negatively affected the company financially over the past few years. He explained that many of these factors were completely unexpected and others probably should have been identified and corrected earlier. In detail he laid out a real expectation of downsizing a significant portion of workers, a reduction in benefits and an increase in workload for those left to pick up the slack. As he laid out the strategic challenges ahead for the organization, I sat in shock. This was my first downsizing event, and I was a potential casualty. But instead of getting angry, I felt myself empathizing. I was amazed that he trusted us so much to share the exact financials of the past few years with the entire staff. I finally understood the pressures and challenges of our business and not just those of my individual job.

I do not attempt to lessen the devastation of the news: either we would be unemployed or buried in work. There was lost productivity as we leaned on each other for support, focused on self-preservation and grieved those who left. Morale was affected as layoffs began, and uncertainty peaked as we held our breath that no more layoffs would occur under the weight of a doubled workload. Management was everywhere, answering our questions with direct, honest information, providing follow-up FAQs and offering support when we needed to unload some emotional baggage. But what amazed me was that the business day after this initial rollout meeting, several of my co-workers asked me to join a brainstorming session where we came up with a list of cost-savings ideas to present to management. In the face of such adversity, we came together to make a positive impact on the company rather than stand around to condemn it. The executive team orchestrated an amazing communication plan that created a feeling of empowerment for the organization’s staff.

Additional resources on workplace communication can be found in SHRM’s Communications Toolkit.