Communicating redundancy and bad news

Directors and managers, sometimes have to tell people, what is for them, bad news.

At times you will have to make tough decisions: to make people redundant, close down plants, move services off shore, move manufacturing facilities and shed unprofitable customers.

Of course, you will need to plan these changes carefully. You will need to comply with statutory requirements and contractual conditions. There are statutory redundancy periods and notice periods to comply with. There may also be consultation arrangements with unions and worker representative groups. In some countries this will include a workers’ executive, in others the union, or a workers representative panel or group.

Some employers will stick with statutory minimum terms for redundancies. Others may decide to offer preferential terms to all or particular groups of staff.

You may decide to establish a programme of counselling, job assistance, or support for any people made redundant. Some organisations help their ex-employees start new businesses, enabling them to become or move to suppliers, customers, and competitors. Such employees will continue to be ambassadors for your company, whether you employ them or not. How you treat them, will be reflected back on you as an organisation.

Questions:

• What statutory or compulsory arrangements do you need to make?
• What contractual obligations do you have?
• What are you doing to help and communicate the help to these people?
• How are you ensuring that those people who leave remain ambassadors for your company?

While attention is paid to those being made redundant, you also need to talk with the survivors. These survivors may be relieved they are still in a job. They may simply fear that they will be included in the next round of redundancies.

On occasion, when people leave an organisation quickly, with no notice, those who remain are asked not to contact those who have left. I do find this strange, but it is not totally unusual. In one case, employees were explicitly asked not to contact those that had left. It is almost as if the management were saying, “Those people are bad and you are the survivors. Do not mix with them”. In reality, these people were probably your friends and they will remain so after they have left.

You will have selected a number of key people you are keen to retain. If you handle the redundancies poorly, you may disenfranchise them as well. Handle this badly, and they will simply leave when they are ready, on their terms. Some of the survivors may feel embarrassed that they still have a job.

The message is simple. Pay attention to the messages and signals you send out to both those who are leaving and those who remain.

Questions

What about the survivors?

• How will you manage the message to them?
• How will you make sure they do not leave at the soonest opportunity?

Phil Jones

Author

Communicating Strategy