What communicators and HR can learn from the recent jobs report
Being a consistent, empathetic advisor is a big help.
Whenever the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases a jobs report, business leaders take notice.
The most recent report, released last week, stated that the American economy added 114,000 jobs in July —a marked drop from the 310,000 jobs added this past March and less than last July’s mark of 184,000 jobs.
Is this data a sign of a recession or a hiring freeze? While time will tell, these waning job numbers are likely to cause speculation among employees about whether their jobs are safe. That’s where communicators and HR pros come into play.
Economic uncertainty can manifest in layoffs, furloughs, or other sorts of cuts around the workplace that no one desires. But by pulling the right levers, HR and comms can serve as both an advisory source for leaders and a valuable source of updates for concerned employees.
A constant state of staffing management and communication
While moments of economic uncertainty prompt communicators and HR professionals to consider the way their organization will react both internally and externally, the process starts with creating an ongoing dialogue across all parts of the org chart.
Montieth Illingworth, founder and CEO of Montieth & Co., said that HR should always be on top of economic headwinds to understand how they impact potential staffing changes.
“Typically, in anticipation of a potential recession slowdowns in hiring are the prudent thing to do,” he said.
In addition to hiring slowdowns, companies should also be ready for layoffs. These processes are often complex and need to be rolled out with care and empathy, with HR and comms closely collaborating to ensure change communications get across the first time.
“Though different in scale, both hiring freezes and reductions in force require a thoughtful and thorough communications approach,” added Illingworth.
“The key things to convey in both situations is that management has thought carefully about the need to manage staff resources, that the steps being taken are necessary and prudent, and that the impact is being anticipated and planned for.”
Serving in an advisory role to leadership
When the seas of employment get stormy, employees want to hear from their leaders about the way forward. In these times, communicators can serve as trusted advisors for leaders and guide them on how to frame decisions for employees.
Ted Birkhahn, managing director at Vested, said that communicators should be in leaders’ ears to ensure their messages capture the right balance between what’s best for the company and its culture.
“When it comes to a slowdown in hiring or layoffs, the communications must convey how leadership’s decisions and actions protect the business’s long-term viability,” Birkhahn said.
“In some circumstances, leaders can frame the message about slowing hiring around positioning the company to respond effectively and be in the best possible position to rebound when business conditions improve.”
Comms should also check leaders who might overreact to potential economic headwinds.
“The best communicators paint an accurate picture of the employee landscape for their leaders and construct communications that address the reality of the situation,” added Birkhahn.
“This helps the business avoid the perception that it is out of touch with its employees and unsympathetic to the challenges and fears they face in light of layoffs.”
Providing a voice of assurance and empathy
In these uncertain economic times, employees are bound to have questions. Comms and HR should view employees who come to them with concerns as an opportunity for trust and culture building, rather than something to fear.
“No one likes surprises, and nothing kills morale or instills fear faster in employees than a lack of clarity about what’s happening, why it’s happening and the strategy for moving forward,” Birkhahn said. “Delivering difficult news is an opportunity to build or break the trust between leadership and employees, depending on how the business and its leaders handle the communications.”
As is the case with almost any difficult workplace topic, communicators, HR pros, and leaders all need to prioritize empathy to create effective connections.
“To be as empathetic as possible, comms and leaders must put themselves in employees’ shoes by understanding,” reasoned Birkhahn. “Their number one priority is — ‘how does this affect me, my job, my career and my livelihood?’”
Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.
