Communicating Bad News

Scenario: You are a middle manager at a large technology organization. You arrived at work today to find out that your organization is going through a reorganization. There will be mass downsizing – immediately. You met with your boss, who informed you that the company has been losing revenue for too long and immediate action is necessary. More decisions are to come.

Your job is not in jeopardy; however, you will lose team members in the downsizing. Your team members are panicked and you need to step up to address the issue with them. You also need to maintain productivity and the results.

You call a meeting to discuss this with your team. This is not an easy message to communicate, but a common one. You must be specific in your messaging. Consider and discuss:

What is your communication strategy with your team?
How often will you provide communication to your team about updates? You need to keep them informed, but not panicked.
How will you get your key message across, while keeping your team productive?
What can you do to reduce the challenges of distraction and the rumor mill for your team?