Post by Lauren Benatti on Mar 16, 2016 16:09:31 GMT
You are the CEO of Fedcap. Even though performance has been stellar, a 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 different stakeholder 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.
To the Director in Charge of the Division
Craft your message:
Hi (Director’s name). I called you in to meet with me because I have to share some bad news, and I thought it was important that you hear it from me. Due to some government spending cuts, we have lost a large contract in your division. This was in no way a result of the division’s performance, in fact, the performance has been stellar. This was due to outside factors that we cannot control. But, together, I am confident that we will get through this challenge. In order to hopefully avoid layoffs, I am asking for your help in realigning some job descriptions and responsibilities. While I can’t promise that layoffs will never happen, I am confident that by being proactive in the alignment, we will position ourselves in the best place possible. I will give you some time to absorb this information and process how the realignment could work. Can we meet again on Wednesday to review your ideas? I will bring my ideas as well, and we can formulate a plan together.
Share how you will deliver this message and why you chose this method:
This message would be delivered in person. I choose this method because I think it is always best to share news that will greatly affect someone’s working life in person. It shows the employee that you care, and that this information is important to you and the agency.
To the three supervisors who run aspects of the contract and who report to the Director in charge of the division
Craft your message:
Hi Managers. The Director and I have called you in to meet with us because we have to share some bad news, and we thought it was important that you hear it from us. Due to some government spending cuts, we have lost a large contract in this division. This was in no way a result of your performance, in fact, the performance has been stellar. This was due to outside factors that we cannot control. But, together, I am confident that we will get through this challenge. In order to hopefully avoid layoffs, we will be realigning some job descriptions and responsibilities. The Director will be asking for your feedback on how we can do this in the coming days, and then the Director and I will meet to finalize the plan. If there are any questions, now or in the future, please do not hesitate to bring them to me. My door is wide open to discuss any questions, thoughts, or suggestions you may have.
Share how you will deliver this message and why you chose this method:
I choose to deliver this message in person and with the Director. I would keep a lot of the wordings and information the same as the message to the Director, in order to have consistency. Also, I would try to “pass the torch” to the Director, telling the supervisors that they will be working with her to brainstorm on the realignment, as she is the direct supervisor. I would also remind the supervisors that they can ask questions as needed.
To the 75 staff who are employed by this contract
Craft your message:
Hi everyone, I called you all together to share some important news. As you all know, we have had a stellar performance this year. You all worked extremely hard and extremely smart, and the results continue to show in our outcomes. Thank you all for your dedication to our program and the clients we serve. Unfortunately, we have recently lost a large contract. This was in no way related to our performance, but instead is the result of government spending cuts. I want to reiterate that the loss of this contract is due to factors outside of our control, and not the result of poor performance on our end. The good news is, while we cannot control the government spending cuts, we can absolutely control how we react to them. We will approach this challenge the way we approach all of our challenges, by being proactive and coming together as a team. To be proactive, we are going to realign some job descriptions and responsibilities. I believe that this streamlined approach will help us avoid layoffs while continuing to service our clients. It will of course be challenging, but we will work through these challenges together, as a unit. You all continue to show enormous dedication to the work that we do and the people we serve. I am confident that that dedication will also help us to address any new challenges that arise due to this situation. I am hopeful that the measures we take to adjust to the loss of the contract will be temporary, as I believe we will continue to show our partners, stakeholders, and community how effective and successful we are at the work that we do. I wanted this message to come directly from me, and I wanted to share it with you as soon as possible. You can continue to count on me to be transparent, and to provide you with information as I receive it. If there are any questions, now or in the future, please do not hesitate to bring them to me. My door is wide open to discuss any questions, thoughts, or suggestions you may have. As a next step, I am scheduling a follow up meeting one week from today. At that point, I believe that we will be able to talk more concretely about the realignment of job descriptions and responsibilities as a team. Those that may be individually affected by this change will have individual meetings prior to the team meeting. Again, please do not hesitate to bring questions or concerns to me prior to the next team meeting. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication to our clients and department.
Share how you will deliver this message and why you chose this method:
I have kept my message the same from last week. I would do it in person, and after I spoke with the Director and supervisors.
To the Director in Charge of the Division
Craft your message:
Hi (Director’s name). I called you in to meet with me because I have to share some bad news, and I thought it was important that you hear it from me. Due to some government spending cuts, we have lost a large contract in your division. This was in no way a result of the division’s performance, in fact, the performance has been stellar. This was due to outside factors that we cannot control. But, together, I am confident that we will get through this challenge. In order to hopefully avoid layoffs, I am asking for your help in realigning some job descriptions and responsibilities. While I can’t promise that layoffs will never happen, I am confident that by being proactive in the alignment, we will position ourselves in the best place possible. I will give you some time to absorb this information and process how the realignment could work. Can we meet again on Wednesday to review your ideas? I will bring my ideas as well, and we can formulate a plan together.
Share how you will deliver this message and why you chose this method:
This message would be delivered in person. I choose this method because I think it is always best to share news that will greatly affect someone’s working life in person. It shows the employee that you care, and that this information is important to you and the agency.
To the three supervisors who run aspects of the contract and who report to the Director in charge of the division
Craft your message:
Hi Managers. The Director and I have called you in to meet with us because we have to share some bad news, and we thought it was important that you hear it from us. Due to some government spending cuts, we have lost a large contract in this division. This was in no way a result of your performance, in fact, the performance has been stellar. This was due to outside factors that we cannot control. But, together, I am confident that we will get through this challenge. In order to hopefully avoid layoffs, we will be realigning some job descriptions and responsibilities. The Director will be asking for your feedback on how we can do this in the coming days, and then the Director and I will meet to finalize the plan. If there are any questions, now or in the future, please do not hesitate to bring them to me. My door is wide open to discuss any questions, thoughts, or suggestions you may have.
Share how you will deliver this message and why you chose this method:
I choose to deliver this message in person and with the Director. I would keep a lot of the wordings and information the same as the message to the Director, in order to have consistency. Also, I would try to “pass the torch” to the Director, telling the supervisors that they will be working with her to brainstorm on the realignment, as she is the direct supervisor. I would also remind the supervisors that they can ask questions as needed.
To the 75 staff who are employed by this contract
Craft your message:
Hi everyone, I called you all together to share some important news. As you all know, we have had a stellar performance this year. You all worked extremely hard and extremely smart, and the results continue to show in our outcomes. Thank you all for your dedication to our program and the clients we serve. Unfortunately, we have recently lost a large contract. This was in no way related to our performance, but instead is the result of government spending cuts. I want to reiterate that the loss of this contract is due to factors outside of our control, and not the result of poor performance on our end. The good news is, while we cannot control the government spending cuts, we can absolutely control how we react to them. We will approach this challenge the way we approach all of our challenges, by being proactive and coming together as a team. To be proactive, we are going to realign some job descriptions and responsibilities. I believe that this streamlined approach will help us avoid layoffs while continuing to service our clients. It will of course be challenging, but we will work through these challenges together, as a unit. You all continue to show enormous dedication to the work that we do and the people we serve. I am confident that that dedication will also help us to address any new challenges that arise due to this situation. I am hopeful that the measures we take to adjust to the loss of the contract will be temporary, as I believe we will continue to show our partners, stakeholders, and community how effective and successful we are at the work that we do. I wanted this message to come directly from me, and I wanted to share it with you as soon as possible. You can continue to count on me to be transparent, and to provide you with information as I receive it. If there are any questions, now or in the future, please do not hesitate to bring them to me. My door is wide open to discuss any questions, thoughts, or suggestions you may have. As a next step, I am scheduling a follow up meeting one week from today. At that point, I believe that we will be able to talk more concretely about the realignment of job descriptions and responsibilities as a team. Those that may be individually affected by this change will have individual meetings prior to the team meeting. Again, please do not hesitate to bring questions or concerns to me prior to the next team meeting. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication to our clients and department.
Share how you will deliver this message and why you chose this method:
I have kept my message the same from last week. I would do it in person, and after I spoke with the Director and supervisors.