Corporate Lay Offs Require Sensitive Communications

By Shakira Brown - http://www.branding4newbies.com
Many business owners are facing laying off employees for the very first time. How you layoff your staff will have lasting effects on the perception of your business. Because of this, you must handle the dismissal of your employees with care.

Although there is no “good” time to layoff an employee you must prepare accordingly. Have a statement ready to give your employee in person and individually. Do not e-mail the notice of dismissal to your staff. Talking to the employee privately and having a clear conversation regarding the state of the business and your reason for letting the employee go is the best approach. If you feel you can give an honest and complimentary recommendation, offer to write a letter of recommendation for the employee. Showing that you are remorseful will go a long way.

Timing your lay off may not be easy. My suggestion is to avoid holidays. A lay off in close proximity to major holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas can create ill will in the marketplace. With blogs and websites setup for angry employees to blast employers, gripes from an angry employee can out live the rough economic times and permanently damage your firms reputation and possibly make it difficult to hire employees in the future. For example, laying off staff the week before Christmas will look extremely insensitive and create ill will internally and externally. There is no best time to lay off an employee, but you must identify a time that will not create ripple effects.

The most important part of your communication strategy for your lay off is communicating the bad news to the rest of your staff. No matter how large or small the business, employees will be shaken. After you speak with all of the laid off employees, have a town hall meeting with the rest of your staff. Plan this event in advance and have it within hours of the lay offs. Explain why the lay offs were necessary and let them know whether additional cuts will be expected. In addition, inform your staff of other cost cutting measures and empower them to come up with ways that your business can save money.

Recently, I heard of an instance where a manager sent an email memo to her staff sharing the names and departments of individuals laid off. This is not only an invasion of privacy, but it also puts a “face” on your lay offs. By providing names, this will allow your staff to ask questions and find out more about those who were let go. With names in hand, the employees can create rumors and add a different element to your lay off. Although they may find out the names of those let go on their own, there is no need to assist them in the process.

Sensitive communications is vital in getting through a company lay off. After your initial conversation with your staff, invite them to reach out to you or managers directly with specific questions. Let them know that you are concerned about them and that you are there to provide answers to any of their questions. Until the company is in better financial standing, plan a town hall meeting once a month, to provide updates and to allow employees to share what is on their minds.

Seize the opportunity to communicate with your employees. You may find that beyond these rough economic times, regular open forum communications may help your business. Sharing a consistent and positive message will help prevent a culture of fear and panic in your business.

About branding4Newbies
Branding4newbies (http://branding4newbies.com) is a full service consulting firm providing marketing, communications, branding and web strategy services to small and emerging businesses. Branding4newbies.com is an award-winning marketing and advice blog for entrepreneurs. Our team of professionals provide quality services at competitive prices to help support the advancement of small businesses nationwide. Our services include, but are not limited to: web strategy & development, graphic design, public relations, marketing, collateral material development, advertising, content development, search engine optimization, reputation management and business strategy. www.branding4newbies.com

Alcatel Lucent Allegedly Lays Off Employees via Email

When you fire employees via email it is information that will spread quickly. Unfortunately, I learned that Alcatel Lucent allegedly laid off some of its employees via an email. I actually met someone who was one of four Alcatel Lucent employees in New Jersey allegedly emailed that they were being let go on January 25. It was simple, they arrived at work, logged into their computer, checked their email and learned their fate.

Obviously, this is not the way to handle a lay off. Perhaps it is a cultural difference in the french company Alcatel and the american employees of Alcatel Lucent in New Jersey. Maybe it is standard to inform employees in France that they will be unemployed via email, but that is not the case in the United States.

I heard that all of the employees retained a copy of the alleged ill-fated email which is why this is a bad idea. Anything electronic can go mobile quickly. The employees receiving the bad emailed news can hit forward and send it to everyone in their department or the company. The worse case scenario is that the disgruntled former employees start forwarding the note outside the company. That is when the company at fault loses control of the situation causing a public relations fiasco.

A business should never provide negative news via electronic communications. In certain circumstances an email might be a solution to get important news out quickly. But there are few circumstance that should cause individuals to find out they are losing their jobs via an emotionless, remorseless email.

Emailing company news is only appropriate when it is not unique to an individual. Sometimes company news about merger and acquisitions can come via an email or letter and then later followed by a company-wide live meeting. Most large and small organizations handle individual employee news with care. It is unfortunate to hear that such a useful and effective tool such as email is being used to handle sensitive company business. Do yourself and your company a favor, dissemminate company and employee news with care.

Thanking Past & Present Employees is the Best Marketing

I recently learned that a major online brokerage firm, that acquired another firm two years ago, mailed bonus checks to PAST employees that were given packages due to the acquisition. Many employees of the brokerage firm were given significant packages to stay on through the transitional period before being laid off. The firm has now awarded the employees that stayed on during the transitional period with bonuses because they helped to increase productivity and revenues.

I find this gesture extremely important to the overall branding and marketing of the firm. Anyone who had ill-will due to the lay-offs will now feel very good about this company. The letter they sent was quite nice and thanked the former employee in the form of a $1500 gross check. How many companies share their success in the form of money with former employees? This is brilliant marketing and branding!And a great public relations tactic.

This holiday season, consider sending small tokens of appreciation to employees who left on good terms. Remind them that your company is good and cares about its people. It doesn't have to be a large amount of cash, as that could hurt a small businesses, but think of sending them holiday cards. If you can afford to splurge on a gift card, send them a $15-25 gift certificate thanking them for their service and helping your company become a success. The word-of-mouth on this will be tremendous. I have chosen not to mention the name of the firm above, however, former employees will be happy to share how wonderful your company is.

Can Your Small Business Handle Telecommuting?

The Wall Street Journal ran an interesting story today about how companies are accomodating more telecommuters.The story highlighted companies that are hiring employees right out of the gate to fill managerial roles as telecommuters. Small business could benefit from having full-time telecommuters.

Employees who telecommute are usually more productive (I know I am) and the WSJ cites that companies can save money on office space. Also, to make a small business attractive to top talent, a telecommuting program could be leveraged for advertising available positions. If finding the best people in your industry has been a problem, promote telecommuting in your advertising and marketing campaigns. Telecommuting is often an amenity larger companies have a perk and to be able to offer it at a small business will make working at your company much more attractive.

Fortuntately, there are business productivity providers that provide solutions for companies wishing to implement a strong telecommunications programs:




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