Sometimes we are tempted to forego the hard discussions and let the information flow ‘naturally’ to the intended target. No matter how tempted you are as a company or an individual to do this, don’t! Here are some good reasons why.
Chaos
“Really, Tim is leaving the company? Why didn’t he say something? He must have gotten fired. Hmmm.. Maybe the company is closing. Why else would a senior manager leave?”
And then the panicking starts. This half-truth breeds more speculation until it becomes the truth – almost like secrets spoken into a Chinese telephone. If you have investors this can also spark frantic stock sales and pull out, if not and you are the owner you can imagine the troubles ahead if your key employees start heading for the door.
Some things are on a need-to-know basis, yes, but topics such as the exit of key personnel from a company should be handled professionally with the right message being passed to strategic individuals.
Mistrust
“I heard the company is downsizing and will let 20 people go”, says employee number one.
“Really? I asked HR and was told nothing like that will happen as the company is looking to expand”, employee number two.
And.. a few days later redundancy packages are issued.
Trust is paramount in any relationship – even those of a professional nature.
You don’t tell your fiancée you don’t want to marry him on the day of the wedding – unless you are the star of the Runaway Bride, similarly, you don’t tell an employee they are safe and then end their employment the day after. What you do in this case is that you totally alienate the employees left behind. The ones who had heard through the grapevine that there “are no such plans afoot”.
There is nothing about my company I would rather hear at the watercooler than from a well-structured email, newsletter, or even a short conversation. I want to trust HR to provide me with the facts, as they are, at the opportune time. I don’t want to ask anyone else. I don’t want to play Chinese telephone or to be scouting the hallways for someone who “may” know what’s up.
Be proactive, be professional..be smart.
Communicate with us like we are valued employees and when the time comes for us to provide honest feedback, we will..
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