I Have Some Bad News for You…

I Have Some Bad News for You…

Giving bad news to your workforce is never good, but there are ways to make it less damaging to both employees who will feel the brunt of it and those employees left behind in its wake, says Julie Freeman.

Freeman is the president of the San Francisco-based International Association of Business Communicators, a professional organization committed to enhancing the quality of business communications.

“First of all, it’s important to recognize the sensitivity,” Freeman says, especially when it comes to what she considers the hardest news to deliver—namely job cuts and benefits reductions. She says that before the announcement, you should reflect ahead of time on employees' potential concerns.

For example, if a company is doing layoffs, a natural question may be when it’s going to happen. Also consider if there will be any way to soften the blow with severance packages or continuation of benefits. “So, step number one is thinking through what the attitude of employees is going to be about it, and how can I address their concerns,” Freeman advises.

To gauge employee reaction, the announcement can be made first to a small group of trusted employees, but Freeman says a human resources team that truly understands its workforce should be able to figure out on its own how the company will likely react.

Delivering bad news in the most sensitive way possible, Freeman argues, is more than a matter of moral behavior. There are practical ramifications from handling it clumsily. For instance, she notes that a company that has announced layoffs will occur slowly still wants the workers in the affected department to be productive in the meantime, and doesn’t want to worry about them sabotaging the company somehow.

Lastly, Freeman says a company’s rough handling of an already difficult problem may affect how the public, or its clients, perceive it. “An ex-employee has an enormous power, if he or she is disgruntled, to bad mouth the company,” she explains. Freeman points out that while this was always the case, today’s technology, including blogs, e-mail, and the relatively easy creation of personal Web sites, makes an angry ex-worker all the more powerful in turning away future business from the company behind his or her wrath.

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