New eBook from The Grossman Group Offers Strategic Resources for Managing Difficult Layoff Announcements

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Apr 24, 2023, 08:34 ET

CHICAGO, April 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The number of companies poorly handling employee layoff announcements have piled up in recent years, grabbing headlines for their cruelty and rudeness. It's hard to imagine a leader being so blatantly bad at communicating as to summon employees to a conference call and then promptly inform them they're part of the team being fired that day. But these types of cases are happening with more frequency in the workplace today, leaving employees and stakeholders shocked and scratching their heads.

Cover of the new eBook, 5 Communications Essentials to Manage Layoffs the Right Way, published by The Grossman Group.

In a new eBook released this month, Chicago-based internal, leadership and change communications consultancy – The Grossman Group – offers strategies for leaders and communicators for better managing difficult layoff announcements for the employees impacted, the full company and external stakeholders paying attention to the news.

The eBook, 5 Communications Essentials to Manage Layoffs the Right Way, shares key best practices for communicating layoffs more effectively and humanely.

"Often a reduction in force announcement is made by leaders at a moment of extreme stress or worry over the company's future," said Jennifer Hirsch, Vice President at The Grossman Group and the eBook's author. "Yet when leaders aren't properly prepared and don't communicate well, they can create lasting damage to the company's reputation and destroy the confidence and trust of the remaining employees who will be called upon to lead the organization forward after the cuts."

Hirsch, who has more than a decade of strategic communications experience with a wide variety of global clients, said she's seen many leaders successfully navigate more difficult periods by following tried-and-true practices for treating all employees with greater empathy and humanity.

"It's never easy to announce a series of layoffs, no matter how necessary the decision may be," Hirsch said. "But there's definitely a right way and a wrong way to do this, and we've seen how much unnecessary damage/harm can be avoided – for the business and the team – when it's done right."

The Grossman Group's new eBook delves into successful strategies for expertly managing internal layoff communications, including:

Mapping out all key stakeholders involved, and the messages needed for each
Thoroughly planning out core materials needed for the announcement, including a base narrative, key messages, leader toolkits, FAQs, etc.
Coordinating a "run of show" that spells out who is informed and when, leading up to and on the day of the announcement, and in the weeks following
Supporting leaders to communicate the news with the proper context and communications tools
Equipping leaders to lead with empathy, so they can support their teams through the announcement, while also preparing employees for the future
Providing remaining employees a "reason to believe" in the organization and maintain trust in leadership in the midst of a period of disruption and change

To download a free copy of the eBook, go here.

About The Grossman Group

The Grossman Group is an award-winning Chicago-based communications consultancy focusing on organizational consulting, strategic leadership development and internal communication. A certified diversity supplier, The Grossman Group works closely with Fortune 500 companies and other organizations including DHL, General Mills, Grubhub, Kaiser Permanente, Molex, Stanley Black & Decker and Lockheed Martin, among others.

Press Contact:

The Grossman Group
Kayla Ellsworth
312.927.4588
[email protected]

SOURCE The Grossman Group