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Post by Drew Holness on Mar 8, 2016 16:28:29 GMT
Hi everyone, with regret I have difficult and important news to share with you. I bring you all here today to announce some cuts in the work force. We lost the government contract due to budget cuts. Our current staffing level is predicated on having the government contracts in place. It’s always been very difficult to estimate future government spending. Due to budget cuts we are forced to make some headcount adjustments and realign our staffing level. These cuts will primarily affect a portion of the entry level and support staff; everyone affected has been notified already. I understand that not everyone will be happy with this move and I sincerely regret having to make this decision. I want to thank you all for your contribution to the organization and we couldn’t have been successful without any of you. All the affected individuals have been offered support counseling and resume writing workshops.
By eliminating some of these positions from future budgets; it presents us with a unique opportunity to become a leaner organization. Over the next 12 months we do not expect any additional cuts. I do encourage managers to have one-on-one with their direct reports to address any unanswered questions, rumors or concerns. Moving forward we will be doing more with less and I am confident that we will pull through this and meet all our challenges in the upcoming months. I have an open door policy but I would like to take a few moments and hear from you.
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Post by Admin on Mar 10, 2016 0:20:46 GMT
Drew,
I loved the fact that you reassured the remaining staff that there would not be additional cuts. I also loved the wording you used in your message. Very professional and articulate. My only thought / question pertains to the content of your message. Read the assignment and the circumstances. In this scenario you've not had time to figure out if cuts will even be necessary and if they are, who they will be. You only have 24 hours to be sure those potentially affected hear the news from you first - you've not had time to craft a plan, consider job reassignments, etc... You have the opportunity to re-adjust the messaging in part 2 of this assignment. Think critically and craft a message that makes sense in light of the short notice you have and inability to craft a concrete plan due to that.
Looking forward to Part II - Lori
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Post by Drew Holness on Mar 10, 2016 0:45:04 GMT
Part II on the way...
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Post by Drew Holness on Mar 11, 2016 0:47:16 GMT
Hi everyone, I have important news to share with you. All of what I’m about to share with you will be publicly released in a few days. I have been notified that we lost a large government contract due to budget cuts. Quite honestly, I want to applaud all of you for your outstanding work and commitment. The continued success of this organization is a testament of your hard work. I wanted you to be prepared for some potential realignment in the workforce. How that will look will be a lot clearer in a few days. My goal is to do whatever I can to avoid any cuts in the workforce. I will take this time to device a game plan and communicate it to you at the earliest opportunity. I realize that this news will bring on some stress and anxiety but we will get through this.
Informal presentations in the office break room- I chose this method and locations because I wanted lower the formal posturing of a conference room or auditorium and at the same time engage them in a relaxed atmosphere where we’ve had many other conversations about everything.
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Post by valerie on Mar 11, 2016 17:03:03 GMT
I like your second response Drew. It feels upbeat and motivational-it gives hope.
Your first response you were direct and honest. The message felt a bit distant to me:-) Our reading last week by Deborah Barrett discussed the notion of Emotional Intelligence which is the interplay of our own emotions and those of our audience, for your first message, how do you think your audience would respond to your message? I welcome your feedback.
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Post by Drew Holness on Mar 15, 2016 1:36:53 GMT
Honestly, Val I blew it last week. My EI should have played a role, my first stab at it was way off I didn't follow the instructions. Could have potentially fueled or caused contempt in the organization. I thought the foils in the presentations really addressed some good cautionary points.
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