"Survivor guilt," usually felt by those who walk away unscathed from plane disasters and car crashes, is also affecting those who stay employed in the wake of mass layoffs
during these uncertain economic times. Corporations, skittish about law suits from departing employees and the less than stellar press coverage that comes with mass job cuts,
often rush through massive layoffs - sometimes as quickly as they rushed to the IPO market a few years back - and often without implementing long-term internal communications
strategies.
"Most companies I hear about are not doing it right," says Peter Fleischer, director of Ketchum's global workplace communications practice. "Everyone wants to get it over
with.... They forget that [the negative effects of layoffs] still linger, that people left behind can feel much more differently about the company."
Employees left behind do feel differently. They can become resentful about losing trusted colleagues, angry about carrying additional workloads of departed employees and
more than a little anxious about their own future with the company. It's probably no revelation that companies best prepared for downsizing fallout already have structured
effective communications procedures.
"You've got a good chance at preserving loyalty and lessening anxiety if you've always been pretty open and transparent with information," says Michael Fox, senior vice
president of Ogilvy Public Relations in New York. Fox has worked with corporations who've enacted mass layoffs. In tough times, he says, making extra efforts to communicate
why a downsizing must take place and just how let-go employees were singled out can ease the tension. "Tell [remaining employees] how the decision was made, that the
layoffs were based on performance reviews, or longevity or the loss of a big customer," says Fox. "If a decision seems arbitrary or unclear, it will only make resentment worse."
It's important to make remaining employees feel like the layoffs were made fairly and with dignity, adds Peter Fleischer - even if employees don't fully agree with the job
cuts. Employers can minimize "survivor guilt" of those left behind by going above and beyond the call of duty to help departing workers transition into new lives.
For example, when Amazon.com revealed it was cutting 1,300 jobs a few weeks back, the company announced in a press release that it would "establish a trust fund of Amazon.com
stock to be distributed to affected employees in 2003." In a similar vein, United Technologies Corp. of Fairfield, Conn. made 1,100 layoffs in 1999 and paid for a full year of
college courses for all dismissed employees. Knowing that layed-off co-workers can further their education - and are not doomed to sitting at home watching Jerry Springer - can
help retained workers feel better about staying on the job.
Send a Positive Message
To leave workers well informed during the layoff fallout, Fleischer recommends assembling a "cross-functional core team" that reflects your whole organization. It's a good idea
to place your COO in charge and fill the team with good communicators from internal communications, labor relations, investor relations, human resources, media relations and
information technology (see PRN Feb 26, 2001).
Fox also suggests informal ways to open up employee communications. For example, placing an anonymous suggestion box in the company cafeteria or dedicating a special area of
the company Web site on which employees can post concerns. Do everything you can to encourage employees to hit up their supervisors - not their coworkers - for the latest office
scuttlebutt.
"There are always rumors," says Fox. "But if you're not constantly telling people what's going on, then those rumors will become fact."
Third-party consultants, who often spearhead mass firings at large companies, can also serve as neutral sounding boards for employees as they vent their feelings and voice
their concerns about their roles in the company's new direction.
Most important to the long-term survival of employee morale and productivity is sending a well-crafted message to the staff that connects the layoffs to the company's long-term
success.
"We have announced layoffs of about 6,000 people so far," says Xerox worldwide pr director Ed Gala. "It's important that we communicate clearly the reasons behind it as well as
the future of what the new Xerox will be for our current employees."
Gala is working with colleagues in internal communications to promulgate the company's "turnaround initiative." This means selling assets to generate $2 billion to $4 billion
and initiating cost-cutting measures that add up to $1 billion. Gala is also working on major product announcements that reflect the company's new focus on color documents.
The company COO will deliver these announcements to thousands of Xerox employees via satellite in mid-March. Gala admits that the extra effort is meant, in part, to encourage
and retain employees in the long run.
"When you're in a cycle of cost-cutting you have to get ahead of the news and work even harder to shape your message," he says. "If you don't do that then the only messages out
there are the negative ones."
Fox agrees that layoffs will only be effective with regard to remaining employees when they are coupled with aggressive communication of the company's new goals. And it can't
hurt for the higher-ups to show they are making sacrifices for the common good as well.
"Let them know you've sold the corporate jet," he says. "That you've taken all the actions necessary to cope with the current business climate, and provided it doesn't get
worse [remaining employees] have nothing to worry about."
(Peter Fleischer, Ketchum, 312/543-7555; Mike Fox, Ogilvy, 212/880-5251; Ed Gala, Xerox, 203/ 968-3000.)
Love Thy Neighbor
Nothing relieves the minds of left-behind employees more than getting them involved in a charity.
Mike Smith, president of Reston, Va.-based agency Upstart Vision, helped Washington-based Magnet Interactive develop an employee volunteer program after the company laid off
half its employees in the late '90s. Smith says Magnet had always been philanthropic, but incoming CEO Bob Poulin wanted to encourage employees to volunteer their time, realizing
feel-good activities built teamwork and camaraderie.
Among other area charities, Magnet supported Jubilee Network, which finds housing and employment for the poor. Smith pitched the company's charitable activities to the media,
landing articles in the Washington Post and the Washington Business Journal. Although he doesn't draw a direct connection between the company's renewed focus on
philanthropy and employee retention, Smith says it doesn't hurt.
"I think [management] was surprised at the amount of loyalty from remaining employees," Smith says. "They rallied around their leader, their charities and their work."
(Mike Smith, Upstart Vision, 703/742-6482.)