Claire Logan, managing consultant in PA Consulting Group’s People and Organisational Change practice, provides her insights on communicating today’s difficult workplace messages.
Communicating alternatives
She begins by saying some of the alternatives to redundancy are, to some employees, less palatable than redundancy itself. As a result of these sensitivities, senior leaders tend to hold back communicating for as long as possible – an old-fashioned approach.
“They often feel guilty about what they’re communicating and believe the buck stops with them,” Logan observes. “Therefore, they often try to limit the number of people doing the communication to a very small group of senior people.”
These factors create a problem. When senior leaders think only they should be communicating, and wait until the last minute, it's difficult for other managers and front-line staff to understand what's happening.
Change of mindset needed
Logan first advises her clients to change their mindset. They must come to realize employees are more robust at handling change and uncertainty when they see the full picture. She says leaders should invest time upfront to develop a clear business case for an alternative to redundancies to communicate to staff, unions and representatives.
The communication approach must be as encompassing as possible and not just limited to leaders. “Some leaders are able to get the balance between empathy and clarity,” she says. “Sometimes that isn’t necessarily the CEO. Choose the right person for the communication, not the top person.”
Leaders still tend to hold the sensitive messages around redundancy alternatives at the top of the organization. “My advice is to move it down the organization as much as you can. You really need to have the team leaders in any community as on-message as possible," says Logan.
Restricting messages will disenfranchise middle management, and particularly the top talent – the very people an organization wants to retain and keep motivated.
Make the communication creative
Although the messages are difficult, communicators still need to be creative rather than letting leaders revert to 20 year-old approaches – for example, reading from a script. Logan describes PA’s recent work for a European government department wanting to reduce numbers without the cost of a redundancy program.
PA saved the organization about €150 million in redundancy costs through a program called “From loyalty to mobility”. In this program the organization was saying, “We’ve had a very loyal relationship, but now we’re asking you to think more creatively about your career. We need a new way to work.”
The government organization had tried to make headcount reductions and undertake change previously but many initiatives had fizzled out and long-serving staff and managers found it reluctant to take this one seriously. To convince those who remained unconvinced PA resorted to some unusual techniques.
Actors were hired to put on a play which contrasted a complacent employee with one who understood the need for change. This 1 hour play left its audience shocked but convinced. It showed that the employer empathized with their feelings about losing jobs and headcount reduction. "Targeting this type of awareness initiative not just at large groups but also with middle managers made this population aware that they also had a role to play in influencing their reports and supporting their teams," says Logan.
Thinking for the future
The current downturn is causing organizations to think more broadly. “We’ve been trying to get organizations to understand that they shouldn’t be just cost cutting or creating redundancies,” Logan says.
“It’s important to work with employees and find solutions with them.” Taking this approach might mean leaders need to be more explicit about the capabilities their organization needs in the next 5-7 years so that employees can make better career decisions.
Logan recognizes that many of these ideas aren't new for forward-thinking communication professionals. “What’s important with very tough messages is not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Don’t stop doing the good stuff as a communication professional.”
Maintain flexibility
Her advice at a practical level is to ensure communication structures will allow maximum flexibility as soon as messages are ready to go out. For example, to have a clear cascade process or the intranet standing by. Investing in basic structures means the leaders can be as flexible as they want in the future.
Communicators may also need some external advice, for example on legal aspects and to learn from other organizations. “There are many examples of where people have done things differently,” Logan says.
When advising leadership, she says to remember that decisions around redundancy and its alternatives are emotionally difficult because leaders have a history with the organization. They need to recognize this and look for support to cope with this stressful situation. “Being a senior leader can be a very lonely job,” she acknowledges. “Having a supportive communication professional, who can translate the words into an appropriate message, is a trusted adviser role.”
Trusted advisor role
The economic crisis is, of course, affecting some communication departments – with reported budget cuts, freezes and layoffs. But does the current situation show a ray of hope for the function? When communication was the "new kid on the block", communicators complained they were the first to be axed – a luxury the company could no longer afford.
While some leaders are still not communicating well enough – probably too busy trying to fight the next fire – the best leaders know communication is vital in maintaining employee morale during the downturn.
Most common communication channels
Communicators say face-to-face is still the most effective way of creating understanding and getting feedback, while intranet and CEO letters are useful "push" communication. The latter can be organized quickly in response to a crisis, or to drip-feed information about an unfolding business scenario and possible external media coverage.
Social media also has its place, but not all organizations are media-savvy enough to rely entirely on this channel. Even media-savvy organizations tend to use social media as a supplement to main communication channels.
