Open Enrollment is oftentimes one of the busiest times of the year for an employer. However, the economic downturn has made the process much more of an arduous endeavor this time around than in years past, as some companies have had to make the excruciating decision to drastically alter or even remove portions of their benefit packages in order to remain financially strong. If your company falls into this unfortunate sector, then you know that conveying the information to the workforce is just as nerve wracking as the initial determination itself, if not more so. Anger and disillusionment can easily drape your staff upon hearing the news that some of their benefits they have enjoyed in previous years are either skyrocketing in price or going away altogether. However, if you properly prepare this necessary interoffice communication, you can make great strides to minimizing the malaise that will be poised to sweep through the office.
The most important thing you can do in light of the potential onslaught is to be sure the communication with your staff over this matter comes across as empathetic, and not just sympathetic. In other words, meet their mindset as much as possible. Make certain each memo, e-mail, and newsletter that addresses benefit changes avoids sounding generically corporate and communicates at the staff’s level. This approach will help to answer a great deal of the workforce’s “why” questions before they get a chance to be asked.
You can achieve this by pulling back on using blanket statements and revealing an appropriate level of reasoning behind the decision instead. For example, phrases like “in these tough economic times” have been so overused as the de facto, near clichéd way to signal that bad financial news is afoot that they have become rather cold, impersonal expressions. Your employees know that everyone is a wading through treacherous monetary waters; a shopworn statement that merely states the obvious will most likely make you look aloof and unaffected in the eyes of your staff. The better way to inform your staff about the benefit changes would be to provide as much concrete data to the workforce as you feel comfortable sharing. Just simply stating the ways the economic downturn have affected the company goes a long way than just reiterating a hodgepodge of “times are tough” rhetoric. You don’t have to open your books or other private ledgers to accomplish this; merely giving innocuous explanations on how the economy has affected you as an employer will actively demonstrate to your employees that you have felt the pinch of the economy every bit as they have. Moreover, it enhances the element of equality and camaraderie to decisions that otherwise may look a bit feudalistic.
Additionally, as you share this information with your workforce, do not try and sugarcoat the situation by beginning your announcement with flowery statements of employee appreciation. On paper, an opening salvo speaking of how the company cares about its staff looks like a good strategy. However, the reality is such leadoff phraseology may backfire, because your workforce may interpret it as a bait-and-switch of sorts, which could foster feelings of disingenuousness. Instead, your best bet is to save the words of compassion until after the news has been broken and the facts and data associated with it have been laid out. Once this foundation has been established, then you can (and should) build up spires of benevolence.
Of course, there will be grumblings amongst the workforce no matter how you break the bad tidings. However, following these guidelines can go a long way into keeping such complaints low, which in turn will lessen any dip in office morale. It will also help reinforce and strengthen bonds between you and your staff, which can ultimately serve you quite handsomely once the economy recovers.
What do you think? Would following these guidelines help stem the flow of negative vibes throughout the office? What tactics have you deployed in informing your workforce about tough decisions regarding benefit changes?
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