My eye caught a short article in the January edition of Workforce Management magazine about social networking. A communications consultant in the article, Jennifer Benz, is quoted as saying:

"As a recent downsizing at Yahoo demonstrates, the once-private process of giving pink slips is becoming increaingly public, whether a firm likes it or not. The combination of social media technology such as Twitter - where people post updates about themselves online at Twitter.com - and a cultural shift toward greater personal disclosure means more and more employees will document details of their dismissal. It's really forcing companies to be increasingly transparent with what they do."

The article suggests that companies need to be candid and stay ahead of the rumor mill by blogging or otherwise broadcasting their bad news on layoffs and that they need to make their employee brand a positive one.

I agree that corporate communication tactics are important. In fact, many of our clients use our Discovery Maps® approach to clearly communicate with employees about change initiatives, including layoffs and other restructuring decisions. What's critical to these and other communications is that a company not only articulate "what" organizational change is occuring, but also "why" it's happening and "how" it will impact the company, departments and individual employees. This kind of communication is also important to help remaining employees -- who may be reeling from the effects of major change -- stay focused on organizational goals, both strategic and financial. It makes sense that employees who understand the rationale for decisions and the potential impact on their work and lives are less likely to be "twittering" in negative ways on social networks.

There is one more thing I would add to this issue. No matter how well a company communicates its decisions, managers are the ones who are on the front line giving employees the news about layoffs, wage freezes, reorganizations and more. How well they understand their responsibilities and how effective they are at communicating with clarity and empathy will have a tremendous impact on both the employees who leave and those who stay. In our research into the design of our Mosaic program about talent leadership, we found that managers too often rely on corporate communication initiatives or their HR departments to handle the tough stuff. At the same time, the studies around employee engagement point directly to managers as the most critical link to employee attitudes, motivation and productivity.

Giving managers the help they need to embrace their role during times of economic stress and change and to handle this role more effectively is key to keeping employees engaged and to maintaining a positive employee brand -- both internally and externally.