BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

For more than a year now, the headlines have been rife with news of employee layoffs and company downsizing. Just this week, former Internet giant AOL announced it will have to initiate up to 1,000 layoffs after voluntary buyouts failed to achieve the workforce reductions needed to meet the revamped company’s staffing goals. During the past two years, ubiquitous coffee giant Starbucks – after 16 years of solid growth – had to let go more than 18,000 of its workers.

While the pace of layoffs has fortunately slowed from the highs of 2009, the federal government just reported that the U.S. lost another 85,000 jobs in December. Experts predict there will be some continued layoffs in early 2010, with conditions beginning to improve later in the year.

No company wants to face the tough task of letting employees go. But, as has been the case since the Great Recession began in the fall of 2008, layoffs often are an unavoidable consequence of market forces. As such, leaders must ensure that their organizations are ready to face these challenges – and do so with as much compassion and transparency as possible. As with any tough communications task, there are some basic tenets to follow when a company has to implement – and explain – layoffs to both internal and external audiences.

First, create a detailed plan. An announcement about layoffs must be handled with precision, so that internal and external communications work in tandem, rather than against one another. A successful plan will ensure that employees hear the news from you, not from the media. The most effective way to do this is to make the announcement first to employees, then immediately to the public through the news media. This way, you control your message to both inside and outside audiences.

Next, train your managers. They will need to know what to say and how to say it. Provide those on the front lines not only with the logistics of a layoff announcement, but with specific talking points to be used in all interactions with employees. This will ensure that all employees are hearing the same thing at the same time – and hearing it the right way.

Next, ensure a process that takes employees’ dignity in account. The best way to inform an employee that he or she is on the layoff list it to do it one-on-one, face-to-face. Be prepared to offer all the information employees need about benefits and services offered by the company, including job hunting and referral services.

Finally, don’t be afraid to over-communicate. By all means, be open and honest. Make company leadership available to hold all-hands or large group meetings about the layoffs. Smaller groups meetings can be held afterward to discuss how layoffs will affect specific divisions or departments. It is as important to communicate forthrightly with those remaining with the company as it is with those who are leaving. And remember to use all company communications channels to explain why the action was necessary and what the next steps will be.

Michael Konczal is a Senior Vice President at Levick Strategic Communications, the nation’s top crisis communications firm, and a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog. Connect with Levick on Twitter: @Levick.