It’s a nightmare. Yourorganization isn’t mak-ing its financial projec-

tions, shareholders arescreaming and rumorsare flying about potentiallayoffs. You attend meet-ings in conference roomswith blueprints on thewall, which reflect theempty offices of teammembers who havejumped ship before therumored layoffs. Withina few months, a massivereorganization takesplace. Mercifully, youremain. However, emptydesks are starkreminders of departedcolleagues.

You walk into workin the morning greeted byfaces that look as ifthey’ve been through awar. Hushed conversa-tions of twos and threesspeculate about thefuture. The survivors have to do morewith less, have reduced budgets and,although relieved to have made itthrough the layoffs, feel guilty at thesame time.

But wait — it gets worse. You’retheir manager, and the leaders of yourcompany want you to motivate thetroops to be innovative, resourcefuland turn around the business with farfewer resources. What do you do?

Managing beyond reorganization: A new challenge

First off, you’re not alone.Managers all over corporate Americaare facing a new kind of challenge —motivating employees who feel lessloyalty than ever and asking them todo more with fewer resources. Today,employees have less allegiance than inthe past because they have watchedtheir colleagues, often with decades of

experience, lose theirjobs. They fear it couldhappen again — to them.And they’re right.

At the same time,employees feel pressuredto perform at a higherlevel than ever withoutthe resources they had inthe past. Clearly, manag-ing the post-reorganiza-tion workforce requires aunique skill set that chal-lenges even the mostexperienced manager.

Establishing anemotional connection

This is the time forpowerful communica-tions and for conveying toemployees that while youcan’t promise them a jobfor life, you are offeringthem an opportunity tobe a critical part of astronger organization.The key to engaging

employees in the post-reorganizedcompany lies in establishing an emo-tional connection. It is paramount thata company’s external brand is alignedwith employees who support the orga-nization’s business objectives. An emo-tional connection between employeesand the corporation makes that exter-nal brand meaningful.

For example, our research for oneclient revealed the pride employees felt

Putting the Pieces Together: Managing Beyond the Restructuring

When It Comes Time To Do More With Less

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BY JENNY SCHADE

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about the unique heritage of their cor-porate brand. This pride formed thebasis of an emotional connection thatemployees felt with their now-strug-gling employer, and they very muchwanted to help the brand regain itsstature. There was a clear opportunityto engage employees to help get thebeloved brand back on track byappealing to their sense of pride inworking for the organization. Thisconnection was incredibly valuable toour client and virtually impossible forcompetitors to duplicate.

The employee experience duringmost organizational restructuringinvolves an unsettling lack of control.Many employees fear losing their own

jobs or at least sense uncertaintyamong colleagues. Productivity isdrastically reduced. In fact, theemployees we interviewed acknowl-edged that almost nothing gets doneduring a restructuring. It is thereforecritical for managers dealing with arestructured environment to helpemployees feel empowered in restor-ing success to the organization.

Recommended guidelines andinterventions

My agency has interviewed morethan 1,000 employees during reorgani-zations and recommended appropriateinterventions for engaging and moti-vating staff. While we work closely

with clients to design interventionsand communications plans that meettheir specific needs, the following gen-eral guidelines apply to many differentsettings.

These will be useful both to com-pany management and to the commu-nications professionals charged withconveying information about the neworganization to employees:

• Take a pulse check. Find outexactly what you’re dealing with — theissues, liabilities and opportunities(yes, there are opportunities). Whilethe corporate climate has been grim,many employees will acknowledgechanges in the organization that theyconsider inspiring. Identifying those

A survey conducted among jobseekers shows that supervisors are mis-handling the termination process,according to the Five O’Clock Club, aNew York-based career coaching andoutplacement firm.

In the survey, released in July,workers across a spectrum of industriessay they are unhappy with the waythey’re treated:

• 82 percent of the time, employeesreceived no positive feedback abouttheir time at the company, even thoseworkers who had been with the compa-ny for five years or more.

• 69 percent of workers say thatthey would not recommend the organi-zation to other job seekers, based solelyon how they were treated during the exitinterview.

• 74 percent of workers said that, intheir estimation, they could have beentreated more equitably and kindly dur-ing their exit interview.

In the survey, job seekers also gavefeedback on what they thought would

improve the termination process. Thefollowing are some tips that the expertsfrom the Five O’ Clock Club gleanedfrom the feedback:

Be honest:Tell the employee whatwent wrong. People are more likely tomove forward in a positive manner ifthey are given a reasonable explanation.

Be positive: Yes, a kind word helps. Be compassionate: Allow for a

decompression period. Let the employeehave some control over how he or she

leaves. If desired, let him or her finishtasks and make arrangements for keep-ing in touch with co-workers.

Be pragmatic: Have full writtensummaries of severance benefits pre-pared with as much care as the benefitbooklets handed to new hires.

Help them move on: Provide youremployees with outplacement servicesthat position them for the long run. �— Leah Elison

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SURVEY: Dismissing an Employee Has Lingering Negative Effects

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and focusing on them in early commu-nications will help you get on positivefooting quickly.

• To check the pulse, engage aprofessional researcher or facilita-tor. For a subject such as reorganiza-tion, you need a professional trained ininterviewing people about sensitivetopics to conduct confidential focusgroups or discussions. While it may betempting to ask your communicationsor human resources professionals to fillthis role, it’s worth the investment toretain a credible outside professionalinterviewer. After all, how likely is itthat employees will talk honestly aboutthe aftermath of reorganization withsomeone they know represents the cor-poration?

You need a skilled moderator whoknows how to help employees speakopenly while obtaining the input youneed to move the business forward.This isn’t a gripe session; it’s a work ses-sion designed to identify how to mobi-lize employees most efficiently.

In fact, our clients find that the ben-efits of the research begin as soon as thesessions are announced. Again andagain we hear, “I’m impressed thatthey’ve hired you to talk with us. Thattells me they do care.” Of course, it’scritical to also follow up on identifiedissues.

• Get some feedback on yourmanagement style. Include yourselfas a topic for internal focus groups orinterviews. Find out if people trust youand how you come across as a leader. Ifnecessary, get coaching to improveyour effectiveness.

Yes, the feedback might hurt for aminute or two. But hearing it will alsobe one of the most valuable experiencesyou’ll ever have. In our interviews forone organization, we learned that thefirm’s president was perceived as notcaring about employees and just push-

ing ahead with his own agenda. As aresult, his staff didn’t trust him. The rea-son for this perception? The executivedidn’t miss a beat after an employeeshared a concern but proceeded torapidly fire back his opinions. Wecoached this client to practice reflectivelistening, waiting for a moment andacknowledging what he’d heard. Hiscomments were much better receivedgoing forward, and he gained trustamong his employees.

• Use research findings to craftcommunications and key messages.One client had a corporate initiativealong the lines of “The New Phase,”which employees identified as synony-mous with layoffs. In fact, staff hadreferred to a laid-off employee as“phased out.” It was critical to under-stand this perception so that effectivemessaging could be developed as thecorporation moved forward.

• Don’t overreact to what youhear from employees. Although youare seeking employee input, keep it inperspective. A corporation is not ademocracy. You’re not seeking employ-ee approval on the new managementteam or company direction. You areexploring employee perceptions andchecking the pulse to determine themost effective ways to communicateinternally.

What you learn will be invaluablefor developing an effective communica-tions plan and presenting information ina clear, compelling way. A negativeemployee reaction to an initiative does-n’t necessarily mean you scrap the pro-gram. It indicates that you need to edu-cate employees about what you’redoing and why.

• Talk to the troops. Giveemployees an opportunity to voice con-cerns and ask questions through one-on-ones with managers, departmentget-togethers and town-hall meetings.

When addressing employees, bestraightforward. Begin by acknowl-edging that it has been difficult. Thankthem for their support. Tell them theyare valued and you want to hear fromthem. Then, and only then, tell themabout the “new” organization.

In addition, while it’s important toprepare for such sessions, don’t giveextensive PowerPoint presentations orread aloud from scripted Q-and-As.They create barriers to interaction withemployees and detract from the openand honest communication environ-ment that you want to create.

• Address issues honestly. Ifyou ask for employee input, summa-rize key findings and articulate yourplan to address employee concerns.Have senior management announcethe plan to get feedback from others.After hearing about findings fromour interviews, one managementteam member of an organizationstruggling with some serious internalissues announced to his employees:“I’m ashamed. How did we gethere?” When I heard him, I knew hewas going to triumph over the situa-tion. He was willing to deal honestlywith the issues and with his ownemployees to make improvements.

• Ensure that all supervisors inyour organization are making it apriority to both listen and talk toemployees (two-way communica-tions). An employee’s most trustedinformation source is his or her imme-diate supervisor. It’s absolutely criticalthat supervisors know that communi-cations are a priority for the organiza-tion. If you sense that a supervisorneeds communications training,arrange for it. While it’s a well-knownfact that managers often get promotedfor business reasons that don’t alwaysinclude communication skills, that’snot an excuse for things to stay that

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way. You’ll pay for it in lost productiv-ity among frustrated employees.

• Get out of your office. Walkaround. Make an effort to get to knowemployees. We hear in our focusgroups that employees trust and wantto work with managers who seebeyond the work that they do. As oneemployee noted, “I want to workharder for a manager who makes aneffort to get to know me.”

Creating internal brand advocates

While managing post-reorgani-zation teams can seem daunting ini-tially, this is the most critical time to

engage employees in the organization.Beyond employees’ primary func-tions, they also serve in another vitalrole — they are advocates for yourbrand. Helping them understandyour organization will lead toimproved results among externalstakeholders as well. Simply put,engaged and motivated employeeswho understand your brand translateto happy customers.

After all, a company can devoteunlimited advertising proclaiming thatit is customer focused, but nothingconveys this more clearly than the cus-tomer-service hotline or the reception-

ist’s greeting. Supporting employeesso that they are equipped and motivat-ed to promote the organization atevery point of contact with outsideaudiences may be the most importantand effective ingredient in buildingmarket share. �© JRS Consulting Inc., 2008

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Jenny Schade is presi-dent of JRS ConsultingInc., a firm that helps or-ganizations build leadingbrands and efficiently at-tract and motivate em-ployees and customers.Subscribe to the JRSnewsletter atwww.jrsconsulting.net.

The Next Worst Thing to Being Laid Off: Delivering the Bad NewsThe brand manager across the

desk was livid. “Know how I foundout about the layoffs here?” he said.“Last Tuesday morning at 6:30, I’m onthe StairMaster at our company gymand I hear on CNN that we’re layingoff 10 percent of our work force andclosing this location.”

He laughed bitterly. “It’s notabout me — my job is fine. The brand Imanage is one of the top performers inthis company. In fact, my supervisoroffered me a five-grand bonus to stay.But I don’t care. I’m so out of here.You just don’t treat people like that.”

Hewlett-Packard. Starbucks.General Motors. Hanesbrands. Itseems almost every week this year,across industries and locations, U.S.organizations announced impendingjob cuts.

The way that information is con-veyed to employees has a significantimpact on both departing employeesand those who remain with the organi-zation.

Every exit has an audience that

includes both dismissed employees,who will join other companies, as wellas colleagues who stay and draw theirown conclusions about how the com-pany values its team members. Andthey all talk. If you demoralize yourwork force through poor communica-tion, you’re going to be left with the“working wounded.”

The following are essentials forannouncing staff reductions:

• Tell employees first, workingin collaboration with your legaldepartment to ensure regulatorycompliance. Show respect foremployees by informing them aboutlayoffs directly. No one wants tolearn about job losses from the media.When it comes time to dismiss indi-vidual employees, deliver that newspersonally.

• Communicate on an ongoingbasis, focusing on two kinds ofinformation. 1) Have senior man-agement provide information aboutthe organization’s “big picture.” It’simportant to tell the whole story —

why is this happening now? 2) Directsupervisors to give employees morepersonal information about what theannouncement means for their jobs.

• Take responsibility for theunderperforming business.Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’sletter to employees about impendinglayoffs last July attributed the com-pany’s difficulties to “poor real estatedecisions that were made, coupledwith a very troubled economy.”Bravo to Starbucks for acknowledg-ing that its quest for expansion cloud-ed its judgment in site selection.

• Ditch the PowerPoint andshow your human side. The Caratmedia agency learned this the hardway in September when its chief peo-ple officer mistakenly e-mailed aninternal “right-sizing message”PowerPoint presentation intendedonly for senior managers to the entirecompany. Employees learned ofimpending layoffs when they read theexit scripts that had been preparedfor them. � — J.S.

© JRS Consulting, Inc. 2008