CHAPTER 5

Employees and Contractors

It wasn’t long into my managerial career before I faced the need to deliver news about layoffs. Granted, this situation only impacted a few employees, but even one layoff can be difficult for a leader, and his or her team, to handle. The narrative can turn negative quickly, and, if the layoffs are not managed swiftly and carefully, the side effects can become grave and systemic.

How would you handle telling someone they have lost their job? And how would you tell the rest of the team? Maybe you have already been in these shoes. Or, if you are lucky, you have not yet had to face this possibility. The economy swings up and down, and, given enough time in one industry, proverbial blood will one day be on your hands, too, whether you want that responsibility or not. This is all part of leadership and business, for better or worse.

Chances are I will never forget the morning I had to personally deliver layoffs for the first time. Driving to work, I made a point of thinking through the decisions I had made in partnership with my executive team and with human resources. I thought about the values that factored into the decision-making process, and how I would best highlight these values in each conversation while giving each individual his or her deserved respect. Repeatedly, I practiced the words in my head while fighting back the heaviness in my heart.

The individual conversations went as well as possible. Gratefully, I had done the right amount of sifting through the options, justifying the decision with values clearly in mind, and preparing for the face-to-face notifications.

What did not seem to go as well were the days following those individual notifications. Yes, I had met with the other members of the team shortly after the individual notifications, to make sure everyone was aware of what was happening, and to address concerns as best I could. But there is only so much that can be said about how and why one individual’s employment is terminated, while another’s is not. And, in the absence of clear, candid, and consistent communication, the rumor mill runs rampant. That’s exactly what happened in this situation. Rumors flew. But then, a week or so after the layoffs, several team members approached me individually, and in confidence, to thank me for being accessible, responsive, and as transparent as possible during this challenging time. I drove home at the end of that week with a smile on my face, knowing that my words and actions do matter and do make a difference.

To this day, I find layoffs among the most difficult form of communication a leader must handle. You are handcuffed by all of the necessary restrictions governing employment law. Keeping morale and engagement afloat among employees, despite these very real hurdles, can be incredibly tough.

Leaders do the best they can in these situations, or at least they should. And that’s not just with layoffs, of course, but with all sorts of changes and challenges within an organization. For, without change, there would be no growth—and perhaps no survival, either. It is imperative for the organization that you personally embrace change, and know how to leverage the ART of responsible communication to keep employees engaged and productive.

Listen and Respond in Person

If you’re a parent or guardian, aunt or uncle, or simply know someone with children of their own, you know that there is no problem getting kids to talk. In fact, getting children to be quiet is usually the difficult task! Children are usually uninhibited and outspoken; they are usually very clear about what they need and want. What happens to us, then, between childhood and adulthood? Why is it so hard to have candid conversations at work, and in other aspects of our lives?

Of course, adults are not children. We have taken on demanding responsibilities, have assumed emotional burdens, and have gathered years of experience with being misunderstood, judged, offended, hurt, ashamed, ridiculed, ostracized, and ignored by others. The path from childhood teaches us much about ourselves, and perhaps even more about others. We learn to temper our thoughts and feelings, we learn to muffle our voices, we learn to keep our ideas and emotions largely to ourselves. This process happens socially and emotionally at the playground, day care center, school, house of worship, and, ultimately, at work.

As a leader, how can you go about undoing years of psychological and emotional conditioning? In her book Giving Voice to Values, ­Gentile (2010) notes that there can be great value in simply talking at work about topics that are traditionally difficult to talk about in the workplace. For example, has someone on your team battled cancer? With that individual’s permission, did you then talk openly with the team about what was happening? How the treatment might affect the individual and the work unit? What you all could do collaboratively to make this process as painless as possible for everyone involved?

As a leader, you have the power to open up natural dialogue, without having to make blanket decisions, declarations, or judgments (Gentile 2010). Simply by sparking conversation, you put others at ease, and help them feel more willing to raise their own voices. You demonstrate that you value hearing diverse thoughts and opinions, and that, regardless of the situation at hand, there is always time and space for candid conversation.

Of course, there is a time and place for group discussion, and for private conversation. Confidential, personal, and/or sensitive information is best handled face-to-face and one-on-one. Face-to-face communication is not always feasible, of course, but one-on-one communication usually is. A discreet phone call, when necessary, can be as personal and meaningful as a face-to-face conversation, especially when time and/or distance don’t allow for a personal meeting. Use your best judgment, but always, always, always try to personalize your approach when the message is of a sensitive nature.

Other information—especially straightforward information about project updates, meeting details, policy changes, systems issues, and so on—is usually most productive and even imperative to deliver via e-mail, to ensure everyone receives the same details and at the same time (Kupritz and Cowell 2011). Be careful, though. What you consider benign, someone else might consider controversial. A good rule of thumb is to rarely rely on sending e-mail as your only form of communication. Bundle that with personal interaction, group discussion in a regularly scheduled team meeting, and/or a presentation to a department or project team. Your goal is always to ensure that there’s an invitation for open dialogue, and that you have the opportunity to listen to feedback and respond in real-time. Your colleagues are people, not robots. They have very real and very human thoughts and feelings. As their leader, you owe them your time and attention.

Let’s imagine, for illustrative purposes, that there is a business reason to move people among cubicles, or perhaps even among buildings. This is a simple decision that could be communicated via e-mail, right? Yes. However, think of yourself and your own attachment to your office space. There’s a comfort and assuredness that comes with knowing those who surround you, and with being in a location that’s familiar. How about posting the same details to the company intranet, to make sure everyone knows what is happening, and is receiving the same message. That’s better, right? Perhaps. Still, there is a better way: tap your front-line managers to deliver the message, and to talk through concerns with those involved, either as a group and/or with individuals. The idea, of course, is to create time and space for dialogue. You want employees to stay engaged; therefore, you want their feedback, whether that’s positive or constructive. Either way, you are going to eventually need to address people’s concerns. Do that before the grapevine goes to work, or grumbling begins in earnest. Be responsible, and open up fruitful dialogue as early as possible.

Moving employees is a relatively easy challenge. There isn’t a great deal of sensitivity, nor is there much room for debate. What if your business fails an audit, though? How about if an employee is accused of sexual harassment? What if one of your company’s delivery drivers accidentally runs over and critically injures a small child while on his or her route? What if a violent storm damages one of your operations centers, as well as the homes of several employees who live near that center? Unfortunately, crises of all sorts can and do develop. Some crises may be addressed openly; others, like the audit or harassment case, typically come with legal constraints that prohibit open communication. It is your responsibility as a leader to know and understand what issues you can address openly, and then to foster responsible communication. If you don’t know your organization’s policies, or you can’t recall some of them, reach out to your human resources partner.

Rarely can you clam up altogether about a crisis. For most crises, in fact, the advice is to communicate quickly, accurately, and repeatedly with all stakeholders, including both internal audience and external audience, which encompasses news reporters (David 2011). You never want employees, vendors, or investors to find out about a crisis from news media, social media, or off-line word-of-mouth. You want employees to hear the news directly from you, or from another leader in your organization.

Is it always possible to prevent employees from hearing news from outside sources? No, not in this day of rapid-fire dissemination via digital technology. You and your leadership peers should do your best, though, to keep a clear, consistent dialogue going, both within the organization and outside of the organization. “No comment” is not acceptable. People have questions and concerns; they deserve answers. And, with employees, the more aware and engaged they are, the better ambassadors they can be for the organization. Arm them with information, and they can help spread the word, so that you don’t have to carry the burden all alone.

Suppose you are a senior executive for a holding company of entertainment properties, including a large and popular amusement park that draws visitors from across the nation and around the world. Your property offers a unique thrill ride similar to that of a competing park, yet the rides were designed and installed by different engineering firms. A tragedy happens at the competing park, but you and your fellow leaders determine there is no risk to your patrons, and continue to keep your own, similar ride in operation. Naturally, visitors and prospective visitors to your park have concerns, and questions escalate. Is it enough to post a short notice on your website, and perhaps push a similar message out to the public, via news media and social media? Absolutely not. ­Provide all of your colleagues with ample information, and offer guidance on how they should respond to visitors’ concerns and questions. One-on-one communication is the most powerful and meaningful form of communication, particularly in the face of tragedy. Treat your employees with respect, so that they, in turn, can demonstrate that same level of caring and attention to customers.

Foster a Dynamic Culture

We tend to think of employee engagement when a change or crisis unfolds. Whether we have paid employees sufficient attention before is not the question most leaders ask themselves. Their concern is this: What can I do right now to make sure people stay on task? That’s an awfully selfish approach to leadership.

One of the most important roles you play within your organization is that of cultural champion. You should be doing something, or perhaps even many things, every day to help shape the kind of culture your organization needs to survive and thrive long-term. Heading straight to your office, jumping in and out of meetings, keeping your eyes focused on a computer monitor, tablet, or smart phone? Those are not leadership behaviors; they are task-oriented actions that selfishly focus on your day and your own needs.

A cultural champion tries to make the work environment as dynamic as possible for everyone involved. This means actively engaging with people, to understand what they need and want in order to do their jobs better, and to feel more satisfied and valued at work. There is rarely a one-size-fits-all solution. You will need to use different types of communication methods with different people; remain open and authentic when doing so; and report back to them on progress made in specific areas of concern or interest (Tucker 2013).

You may or may not be familiar with leader-member exchange (LMX) theory. Traditionally, we have looked at leadership from the point-of-view of the leader, or of the follower and the environmental context. LMX theory, though, acknowledges that a leader has different relationships with different followers (Northouse 2010). Some followers are the out-group, or the ones whose relationships with the leader are based on little more than the employment contract. Others are the in-group, or the ones whose relationships with the leader have become more personal and ­dynamic. Your responsibility isn’t to ensure that every one of your followers becomes part of the in-group; in fact, that’s not even feasible. There will likely always be some out-group members.

You do have a responsibility, though, to avoid creating an environment where followers, especially those in the out-group, feel apprehension about raising their voices. The reality is that this sense of apprehension among followers has greater impact on LMX quality than your communication style or your communication competence (Madlock et al. 2007). What can you do to ease apprehension? Get to know each of your followers as a person, as best you can and understanding that for some workers, developing a more personal relationship with one’s leader is not at all desired. Still, you can work to become more aware of how each of your followers like to operate and communicate, and then stay mindful of these differences as you communicate. You may need to adapt your delivery in certain situations, or you may need to try a mix of communication methods to make certain that everyone in your team feels at least some degree of comfort with raising their voice.

LMX quality has a strong impact on employees’ satisfaction with interpersonal, group, and organizational/enterprise-wide communication (Mueller and Lee 2002). That means how you conduct yourself as a leader, day-in and day-out, impacts how employees perceive personal feedback, supervisory communication, co-worker communication, organizational integration, corporate communication, and the overall organizational climate. Their perception of you shapes their reality of nearly every aspect of interaction and information-sharing at work. What you do, and especially what you don’t do, does make a difference.

Consider this simple example. You like to exercise, and roughly one-third of your team likes to workout, as well. You may all take advantage of a corporate gym, or perhaps belong to nearby facilities. Regardless, being active is important to you, and to them. Naturally, conversations will happen about fitness regimen, nutrition, treating sore muscles, competing in local races, and so on. These simple, human connections start to create a special connection between you and certain employees. Other employees who do not enjoy exercise, or simply prefer not to talk about such parts of their life at work, don’t get to share these moments with you. They may seem small and insignificant, but over time they create a human bond. Some of your followers will feel more connected to you, and special; others simply will not.

Take to heart another example. You have children, and most of your employees do, as well. A few of the people on your team, though, do not. You can imagine what happens each time a baby shower is announced, or details of a youth soccer match are discussed. Most employees feel part of the in-group, but a few do not. Now, what happens when those with children regularly leave the office at or before the end of the day, to shuttle kids to and from day care, school, activities, and so on? And what if those employees without children are quietly expected to cover for those who are parents? Does your company have a work-from-home policy for parents with sick children? Or, are those parents required to take vacation time? These are just some of the many questions and ­issues that arise when we start to pay attention to the very real and very meaningful differences between employees. What if one of the employees without children happened to be primary caregiver to an elderly parent? Would that change things?

You no doubt have support from human resources and other areas to work through policy and policy implementation issues. Still, you should strive to responsibly communicate with all of your employees. That means making a concerted effort to keep an open dialogue flowing with each employee, regardless of differences. Acknowledge what each person values and enjoys, the responsibilities he or she has outside of the office, and the like. As Gentile suggested, just starting the dialogue is often the sparkplug for engagement.

This may come as no surprise but the energy and motivation you put into employee relationships has proven to have a positive, significant impact on work attendance (Mayfield and Mayfield 2009). Over time, the responsible communication you foster with each individual employee may also help improve productivity, performance, and retention, as well.

As you proactively work to foster a dynamic culture, you must also appreciate generational differences. We often talk about Millennials, for example, as having an attitude of entitlement, because they place high value on leisure time and personal rewards. Does this mean Millennials are lazy? Not necessarily. As a generation, they truly want work to be meaningful, and part of this sense of meaning involves being in a culture that is rewarding and fun (Schullery 2013). Does this mean you need to offer more incentive bonuses to employees, or host wheelbarrow races down the aisles of your office? However, you should again be in tune with differences—be they generational or otherwise. Adapt your communication approach and your leadership style as best you can. Most importantly, have honest dialogue with each employee about what is important to him or her. Generational, cultural, and other differences do not apply universally, after all. Don’t assume you know and understand; ask, or at least invite a conversation.

Finally, understand that employees may not appreciate your efforts to communicate more intently. They may find your behavior to be insincere or uncertain. In the case of corporate philanthropy, for example, employees tend to view corporate giving from a values-based foundation, but tend to resist corporate rationalization of strategic philanthropy (Smith 2012). What you might take from this example, should there be any linkages, is the importance of demonstrating a commitment to values. You might simply remind employees that you value honesty, and that honest conversation will not be met with resistance or retribution. They may not believe you at first, especially if this is not the kind of communicator you have been in the past. Assuming your actions stay consistent with your words, though, you should win more traction with employees over time.

Drive True Organizational Change

Keeping employees engaged is one challenge. Quite a different challenge is leading employees through organizational change, and truly driving that process. As noted earlier in this chapter, that leadership process begins by having employee conversations, especially ones with difficult topics or messages, in a one-on-one setting if you can, remaining calm, addressing the issues in question without passing judgment, and listening closely to feedback (Gentile 2010).

Indeed, the more you can do now to foster a dynamic, supportive climate should help dramatically when the time comes for organizational change, or when a crisis inevitably occurs. Continuous efforts by leaders to improve communication and ease employees’ apprehension have been shown to ­result in more positive employee behaviors and less negative employee feedback during times of corporate crisis (Mazzei, Kim, and Dell’Oro 2012).

Moreover, a culture with leaders that model and encourage positive behavior can influence how employees interpret traditionally “bad news” messages. Employees in this kind of culture are resilient and optimistic when “bad news” hits, and they tend to focus on organizational strengths, rather than whatever threat is at hand (French and Holden 2012). This positive mindset starts with positive, values-based leadership, and responsible communication.

You have learned a bit about how to foster a healthier climate for employee communication and engagement, even during times of crisis. But, what about actually driving organizational change? How does responsible communication play into this process?

Just knowing your personal values, and the organization’s values, isn’t enough. Nor is staying true to those values, and being clear, candid, and consistent in your communications. The reality is that, in order to truly drive change, you may need to orchestrate a series of conversations with particular allies and audiences, in order to secure buy-in and support (Gentile 2010).

Let’s say that your company, which has nationwide distribution, has decided to focus on its most profitable markets, and pull out of markets in the Upper Plains and the Southwest. All impacted employees will have the option to relocate, or to take a severance package. Sales, systems, service, and shipping teams will all need to revise workflows. You manage logistics for the company, and your job is to drive this change. It’s not just the two geographic markets, and the employees within those markets, who will be affected. Nearly every employee in the company will feel the changes, in one way or another. Can you simply work with a small cross-functional team to implement the change? No. In fact, you will need to talk candidly and confidentially first with leaders of each functional area, to ensure their support, hear their concerns, and develop plans that mitigate those concerns. Only then will you be able to ask for support, and for a dedicated colleague to serve on your project team. And, all of that has to happen long before you hold the first project team meeting.

As always, your responsibility is to foster responsible communication. That means keep values first and foremost in your mind, and the minds of those from whom you are trying to garner support. That means talking honestly about the values that are driving this decision, and how this large-scale organizational change will help bolster organizational values for the long-term. That also means making sure each step in the communication and change process involves dialogue, and not simply dictating of orders. You may have a very clear end game in mind, and you may not be able to waver from that end game. How you and the organization get there, though, is certainly open for interpretation. You have a responsibility to ask questions, to listen, and to remain adaptive.

Reflection Questions

Responsible Actions