Post by rreiter on Mar 11, 2016 0:32:49 GMT
DELIVERING THE NEWS
You are in charge of one of the practice areas at Fedcap. Even though performance has been stellar, your division just lost a large contract due to government spending cuts. This will result in the need to realign some job descriptions and responsibilities. You hope to avoid layoffs by making these adjustments and cutting expenses in other places but laying off some staff may be inevitable. You have to share this news with the employees as you’ve just learned it will be announced publicly in a day or so. Even though you haven’t had a chance to walk through the possibilities or figure out a plan you need this information to be heard from you and not someone on the outside.
Craft your message:
Good Morning, Team.
I wanted to speak to you all this morning for a couple of reasons. The first is to thank you. As your performance measurements have indicated, you have performed exemplary work for this program. Not only have you changed the lives of so many people, but you have set a benchmark for performance in this field. I wanted to recognize your excellent work. If nothing else, please accept my thanks. With that said, it is extremely hard for me to give you the following news. Unfortunately, we have lost one of our contracts due to cuts in government spending. What that means is that there will have to be some changes within our other contracts. I cannot say for certain what that will look like, but I, and the rest of Fedcap leadership, will be working those details out and let you know as soon as possible. I would prefer to have all of those details before meeting with you, but I wanted to make sure that you heard this news from me before any kind of public announcement. As your co-worker, I owe that to you.
How will this affect you? Well, what will likely happen is that many of you will have your job descriptions modified, and we will ask some of you to take on different responsibilities. I’m sure the big question many of you have concerns layoffs. I cannot make any guarantees about that, but we will do everything we can to avoid having anyone lose their job. I am sorry to have to give you this news; you deserve better. What I can tell you is what I know. I know that you are a resilient and dynamic group of employees, and I know that you have gone through many changes over the years. And I know that you have not only accepted those changes, but adapted and thrived. I know that you expect nothing less of yourselves in the face of this setback.
I will answer any questions you may have, but just know that we have not yet made many of the big decisions of this upcoming realignment. I promise to keep you informed as soon as decisions are made. Thank you again for your hard work and dedication.
Share how you will deliver this message and why you chose this method:
I would deliver this message directly to the staff in a group setting, in person. For me, it is important to be able to look employees in the eyes while delivering this kind of message. And it is important that they understand through your tone that you are truly sad about this turn of events and that you feel their pain and confusion. I also think it’s important to allow employees to ask questions, even if you do not have the answers, and also to allow them to vent. Staff may be angry or scared, so I feel that it is important to empathize with them and to let them know that you are in this with them.
You are in charge of one of the practice areas at Fedcap. Even though performance has been stellar, your division just lost a large contract due to government spending cuts. This will result in the need to realign some job descriptions and responsibilities. You hope to avoid layoffs by making these adjustments and cutting expenses in other places but laying off some staff may be inevitable. You have to share this news with the employees as you’ve just learned it will be announced publicly in a day or so. Even though you haven’t had a chance to walk through the possibilities or figure out a plan you need this information to be heard from you and not someone on the outside.
Craft your message:
Good Morning, Team.
I wanted to speak to you all this morning for a couple of reasons. The first is to thank you. As your performance measurements have indicated, you have performed exemplary work for this program. Not only have you changed the lives of so many people, but you have set a benchmark for performance in this field. I wanted to recognize your excellent work. If nothing else, please accept my thanks. With that said, it is extremely hard for me to give you the following news. Unfortunately, we have lost one of our contracts due to cuts in government spending. What that means is that there will have to be some changes within our other contracts. I cannot say for certain what that will look like, but I, and the rest of Fedcap leadership, will be working those details out and let you know as soon as possible. I would prefer to have all of those details before meeting with you, but I wanted to make sure that you heard this news from me before any kind of public announcement. As your co-worker, I owe that to you.
How will this affect you? Well, what will likely happen is that many of you will have your job descriptions modified, and we will ask some of you to take on different responsibilities. I’m sure the big question many of you have concerns layoffs. I cannot make any guarantees about that, but we will do everything we can to avoid having anyone lose their job. I am sorry to have to give you this news; you deserve better. What I can tell you is what I know. I know that you are a resilient and dynamic group of employees, and I know that you have gone through many changes over the years. And I know that you have not only accepted those changes, but adapted and thrived. I know that you expect nothing less of yourselves in the face of this setback.
I will answer any questions you may have, but just know that we have not yet made many of the big decisions of this upcoming realignment. I promise to keep you informed as soon as decisions are made. Thank you again for your hard work and dedication.
Share how you will deliver this message and why you chose this method:
I would deliver this message directly to the staff in a group setting, in person. For me, it is important to be able to look employees in the eyes while delivering this kind of message. And it is important that they understand through your tone that you are truly sad about this turn of events and that you feel their pain and confusion. I also think it’s important to allow employees to ask questions, even if you do not have the answers, and also to allow them to vent. Staff may be angry or scared, so I feel that it is important to empathize with them and to let them know that you are in this with them.