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Picture it. Two regional banks’ futures are on the line, and all stakeholders await the decisions of the top brass: will a merger-of-equals result in lay-offs? They brace themselves. And watch their inboxes.
At large B2B firms today, most communication happens through email, so that’s how a lot of big news gets delivered. (Hopefully, employees never have to learn company news via Twitter, the New York Times, or Buzzfeed.) Email can be both immensely convenient and exasperating. It’s also considered a very impersonal medium, especially for delivering big and consequential news to employees.
Consider these two announcements and how differently they impacted employees: the people who matter most.
In 2019, the CEOs of BB&T and SunTrust Banks held a 21st century version of a “fireside chat” to announce their merger. Immediately after the announcement, the two appeared on the CNBC television program “Squawk on the Street” to speak directly to stakeholders, outlining the rationale for the merger and assuring client-facing employees that their jobs were safe.
In this short but authentically delivered segment, the two presented an understandable motivation: their combined assets will allow the newly united company to make serious, and needed, investments in digital platforms. Furthermore, they addressed jobs—employees’ biggest concerns—honestly and head-on. They minimized uncertainty for client-facing employees without making any promises they could not keep to others.
Compare this delivery to the widely covered story of WeWork. After the company received rescue funding from SoftBank ($1.7 billion of which went to departing founder Adam Neumann), speculation about layoffs ran wild. There were reports of 4,000 layoffs, then 5,000 . All of this ahead of any official communication from the company’ newly appointed executive chairman, Marcelo Claure.
When Claure finally did communicate with employees, it was via an emailed memo. What’s more, Claure’s message was vague and lacked empathy. He wrote, “Yes, there will be lay-offs—I don’t know how many—and yes, we have to right-size the business to achieve positive free cash flow and profitability.” Any news about layoffs is difficult to process. But this exasperated tone, delivered via email, did not soften the blow.
The human element is often hard to find at large corporations. But if you have a big announcement to make, your audiences will appreciate you being as genuine as possible. It’s all too easy for an email’s tone and intentions to be misconstrued, even under the best of circumstances. By contrast, a recognizable face speaking sincerely—whether they are delivering good news or bad—is much more palatable and human.
It’s nearly impossible for the CEO of a large corporation to always deliver important announcements in person. The next best thing might be a personal address via video. Regardless of the chosen medium, the bottom line is that the message must be thoughtful, considering its impact on the employees whose engagement and reasons to believe in the business are all-important.
To discuss creating compelling employee communications, contact us.
