HR Pros, Put Your PR Pro Hat On When Layoffs Happen...

Times are rough, and there's a lot of uncertainty in the workforce with jobs being shed by the thousands every week.  It's a confusing time particularly when you see many organizations concurrently laying off and hiring. Check out this week's Workforce Recruiting article on mitigating the risk surrounding hiring while laying off, given concerns about potential discrimination lawsuits.

Best practices abound when it comes to layoffs, but the number one thing that HR pros need to take note of - particularly when you're both laying off and hiring at the same time - is getting your employee communications onto steroids and then focusing on providing as much transparency, for the decision making, as you can. Some basic food for thought: 

 

--Do you always play nicely with marketing or corporate communications pros? I know, I know. You think they are a different breed - they say the exact same thing about us though. Rely on your internal communications pros whose jobs are to craft sharp, crisp language. Partner where it makes sense to make sure the tone of communication is right for your employee audience, as well as the public. HR loves the ownership it has over certain issues - but layoff related communications are critical. Make the communication sharp unless you're okay with your poorly written layoff memo getting leaked and slammed.

--Know that layoffs will be blogged about, live-tweeted, Facebook'ed - ever more the reason to make sure your communication is sharp. For the uninitiated, check out the contrasting stories of Yahoo! and Zappos and how social media impacted the aftermath of the layoffs at each organization. Both tales show we're in a new era of transparency and outreach because of technology. Be ready. 

--It's impossible to completely control the messages - get out in front of rumors with clear communication and by being part of the conversation... both within the sphere of social media and in traditional forums. They will be out there talking about you/the layoffs/the reactions of being RIF'd or one of the survivors whether you engage or not - so be part of the conversation and then you can begin influencing the chatter where needed. 

 

It's a complicated time, and the issues get even more complex when organizations are trying to continue with programs to retain employees and keep them engaged and incentivized while financially staying afloat (by laying off or seeking a bailout or both...). My FOT colleague, Paul, wrote about the woes of Nortel the other day on his blog. They are laying off workers to reduce costs, severance packages for laid off employees won't be paid until after creditors are satisfied - and they are asking to still keep employee reward and recognition programs in place. Confusing, right? Kind of reminds me of the AIG and Wells Fargo debacles. And I'm sure many of you are navigating through this recession with what "appear" to be competing priorities as well - laying off and hiring, or a bailout while trying to still recognize or incentivize staff... it's all even more reason for strong, frequent and transparent communications.

But here's the real challenge for HR pros post-layoff - the communications strategy and holistic approach you take for conditioning the environment before, during and after the layoff? It shouldn't and can't stop there. HR pros can be better PR pros everyday through good times and bad... so don't stop communicating.

Editor's Note- Jessica Lee is an Employment Manager for APCO Worldwide, a global PR firm in D.C. Like most upscale HR pros, she spends half of her time on recruiting, the other half on ER, Training and OD.  When she's not hammering a candidate to determine Motivational Fit, she's thinking about the future of HR, and wondering how she can avoid using the job boards to fill the next spot in her organization...

Comments

[Hayli @ Rise Smart]

As a communications pro, I couldn't agree more. But one thing's certain - HR relations with employees (and especially corp. comm. folks) will be a lot stronger and more genuine if they seek help with their messaging all year long, not just in times of crisis.

[Mary]

Thanks for stressing that good communication is needed in good times, too. This time presents an opportunity for HR pros not only to step up and prove that they can in fact be PR pros, but an opportunity to identify weaknesses in their communications strategy so they'll be even stronger in the future.

[Paul Harrison, Carv eConsulting]

Great post - we've been advocating 'PR for HR' for several years in the UK. Getting employee communications right has never been more important

[Jennifer Benz]

Great post! And, absolutely, as others have commented, communication must be a year-round good-times and bad-times priority. Having a solid comms infrastructure and process in place will make it so much easier to do what's right for employees when bad news strikes.

[jessica lee]

thanks, all, for swinging by and for sharing the sentiments... it goes back to HR being reactive versus proactive. admittedly, i still have to work at not always reacting, but many are making progress in this area, and employee comms is just another piece of the puzzle.

cheers!

[Frank Viarra]

Great post. I've never understood why managers don't just go to the person and ask if they'd continue on for a smaller salary versus getting laid off entirely. Especially when it costs more to fire, then rehire and retrain someone...