Communicating change and redundancies to staff

While it’s clear that redundancies have the ability to adversely impact exiting employees; the flow-on affect across the entire workforce is less often considered. Organisational change and redundancies, when not handled correctly, can result in declines in commitment, engagement, and performance of those who remain – severely undermining the company’s overall productivity.

Change and downsizing, however, can present opportunities for growth, new directions, and an increased ability to adapt to new demands and changing circumstances faced by the business. By carefully planning an appropriate, detailed, and empathetic communications plan, the ability to realise these opportunities is safeguarded – through mitigating negative impacts to your staff and stakeholders. When people are empowered through opportunities to be heard, and they are given sufficient understanding of the what, why, and when, they tend to be more open and receptive to changes as they occur.

Here are People Solutions’ top tips for communicating change and redundancies through your business.

Be clear and transparent

Be as open as possible in your communications, while also keeping it clear and simple. Align the need for change with the company’s core values and direction; and clarify how the upcoming changes will help to stabilise the business or facilitate moving successfully into the future.

Understand how various groups or individuals will be affected, and make sure they receive the essential facts about what’s happening, how they will be affected, and any services, support, or training that may be available to them.

Clarify the situation around the possibility of redundancies. No one likes to feel like they are being kept in the dark, and providing employees with clarification about the possibility of further change will give them some confidence in their position, or the ability to begin preparing for any further changes down the line.

Communicate early and throughout

When it comes to communicating important information through your organisation, ‘the earlier the better’ is the general rule of thumb. Starting communications early in the process enables you to shape your narrative and messaging in a positive way; and to avoid negative sentiment developing among staff. Two-way collaborations with key stakeholders early in the process is also essential for developing your comprehensive communications plan that will reach all necessary stakeholders at the appropriate time.

Get the timing right

Any communications plan should have a clear, comprehensive timeline to ensure the right people are reached out to at the right times. Directly impacted employees should undoubtedly be informed before they have the chance to hear it from anyone else – so bring them on board as soon as is realistic. Line managers should aware and prepared before any changes or redundancies are announced to their subordinates. Sensitivity to concurrent communications is also advised. For example, company profit figures and redundancies announced in close proximity may fuel negative reactions. Also relevant in timing is the need to ensure stakeholders understand any project timings that may affect them and their team, i.e. what is going to happen, how they’ll be involved or affected, and when.

Use the right channels

Staff members facing redundancy should always be informed face-to-face. However, the method by which other impacted stakeholders are informed will differ and needs to be carefully considered.

Organisation wide communications should come from senior leadership, while team or department level communications may be better coming from management. The channels through which these communications occur will depend on circumstances around business size, geography, and structure. They should provide clear facts and direction moving forward; and should be designed to ensure they do not get lost in the general on-going communications of the business. Initial announcements may be followed up with more detailed written communications that provide further clarity to various groups. It should be made clear that management is open and available for any staff seeking further clarity, needing support, or wishing to contribute to the process.

Empower managers to cascade information

Following change or redundancy announcements, employees in all areas of the organisation may have questions, contributions, or want some reassurance. Management should be aware and prepared with pertinent information before any larger scale announcements are made. It’s also important for management to be empowered with the necessary skills and abilities for effectively managing their staff during times of stress or upheaval.

Be supportive and available

Employees directly impacted by redundancies should be sufficiently supported through the process, and remaining employees will also feel assured, through knowing that their colleagues are being provided with appropriate services as they transition to their next opportunity. Outplacement services are a great way to ensure exiting employees are sufficiently supported through the process of redundancy.

Management can also provide in-house support to exiting and remaining employees by being both visible and available, establishing a sense of solidarity with their staff, and by conducting themselves with compassion and understanding throughout the process.

Join the conversation

Particularly with large-scale redundancy announcements, there will invariably be informal information sharing and conversations taking place through social and other media outlets. This can serve as an opportunity to participate actively – clarifying facts and figures; and elaborating on discussion points on behalf of the business. Remember, you’re not there to suppress peoples’ right to an opinion, but rather, to ensure that representatives of the company are available to field questions and concerns.

We can help

If you would like assistance with managing and communicating change and redundancies to your workforce, training managers in how to support their staff during such times, and supporting leaving employees through outplacement programs, get in touch with our team today on 08 9388 0300.