Rethinking Employee Communications in the Wake of Store Closings
These are tumultuous times for American retailers. In early March, Charlotte Russe, Family Dollar, Abercrombie & Fitch and Chico’s announced more than 1,100 closings – all in a span of just 24 hours. The news impacted thousands of employees, and those who didn’t lose their jobs were undoubtedly left with many questions and concerns about their own future.
In unfortunate situations like this, it’s incredibly important for retail executives to implement a proactive, targeted and ongoing crisis communications strategy. While it’s my sincere hope that tides will turn, and more brick-and-mortar retailers will be able to maintain their current locations and expand, that may not happen so soon.
For any retailers – and other similar businesses with physical locations, such as restaurants, bars, hotels and entertainment venues – that are ever faced with the difficult decision to close stores or locations, I’d recommend the following three best practices for how to communicate these changes to frontline employees.
Be Proactive
First and foremost, be as timely as possible. Don’t let too much time lapse before clearly communicating to everyone in your organization who may be impacted by the store closings – be it retail store associates, customer service representatives, front of store greeters or any other staff. The fact of the matter is that when thousands of stores are expected to be closed, it will make the news, get posted all over social media and be heavily talked about among employees within the company.
As a result, employees will inevitably have plenty of questions and concerns about their own situations. For example, will they lose their jobs or will they be transferred a different store location that will still remain open for business? In either event, what paperwork should they fill out? What is the timeframe for if they do lose their jobs? Which departments within the company’s corporate division should they be communicating with to determine their individual next steps? As you can see, the number of questions that could easily arise keeps growing.
If retailers aren’t proactive and timely with what they communicate – on top of how often, where and how they communicate each message – you can bet it could lead to confusion, panic and frustration. And if that begins, it’s only a matter of time before the rumor mill starts swirling, creating a sense of mistrust and resentment among frontline workers. All of this could be avoided with the right crisis communications strategy.
Here’s what I suggest: Retail leaders should work with their HR and internal communications teams to craft messaging that gets out ahead of anticipated questions from their frontline workers, before they’re ever asked. This requires putting themselves into the mindsets of their frontline workers – understanding the nature and context of their roles, work shifts and priorities.
On top of that, think through the possible scenarios and what the most pressing issues will be for the folks who work on the store floors – and interact with customers first-hand. This vital information will most likely include timing, whether or not their position is being eliminated, if they’ll be moved to other store locations and if they’ll be given severance pay. By preparing these details in advance, you won’t be scrambling to answer tough questions on the fly and in turn, you’ll avoid the guesswork and missteps that can often lead to false or incomplete information spreading throughout the organization. This type of proactive communications approach can also prevent employees from venting their frustrations externally on social media, which could do lasting damage to your brand reputation in the eyes of consumers.
Be Honest
More than anything, employees want to be told the truth. It may be painful but being 100% upfront and honest with impacted employees will greatly minimize the potential for future fallout. The truth will come out eventually no matter what, and if executives bend the truth during these hard times, it could destroy all trust and rapport you’ve developed throughout your remaining workforce. And, people’s livelihoods are at stake – providing accurate information that could help them get out ahead of a tough time is simply the right thing to do.
It’s important to note that it’s totally reasonable to say “we don’t know” to some questions when things are still up in the air. Be transparent when things are still being worked out, but also be clear about when those details will become available or when related decisions will be made.
Be Targeted and Personal
Hard news is always best delivered in person, but that’s not always possible for large, national retailers. If a face-to-face meeting isn’t possible, it’s important for retailers to send a targeted message to each group of employees whose stores will be closing. Never send this type of communication in a massive spam-like email or message to the entire organization. Instead, it should be direct and personalized to those specific employees. Provide the exact information that they need to know on a local level – who they should speak to, what paperwork they may need to fill out and their individual options and next steps.
Receiving this type of hard news can be incredibly difficult, and it can be even worse when it comes in the shape of a form, cookie-cutter letter. Making it personal, and appreciative, can go a long way in the eyes of your employees.
Erwin Van Der Vlist is co-founder and CEO of Speakap.
In unfortunate situations like this, it’s incredibly important for retail executives to implement a proactive, targeted and ongoing crisis communications strategy. While it’s my sincere hope that tides will turn, and more brick-and-mortar retailers will be able to maintain their current locations and expand, that may not happen so soon.
For any retailers – and other similar businesses with physical locations, such as restaurants, bars, hotels and entertainment venues – that are ever faced with the difficult decision to close stores or locations, I’d recommend the following three best practices for how to communicate these changes to frontline employees.
Be Proactive
First and foremost, be as timely as possible. Don’t let too much time lapse before clearly communicating to everyone in your organization who may be impacted by the store closings – be it retail store associates, customer service representatives, front of store greeters or any other staff. The fact of the matter is that when thousands of stores are expected to be closed, it will make the news, get posted all over social media and be heavily talked about among employees within the company.
As a result, employees will inevitably have plenty of questions and concerns about their own situations. For example, will they lose their jobs or will they be transferred a different store location that will still remain open for business? In either event, what paperwork should they fill out? What is the timeframe for if they do lose their jobs? Which departments within the company’s corporate division should they be communicating with to determine their individual next steps? As you can see, the number of questions that could easily arise keeps growing.
If retailers aren’t proactive and timely with what they communicate – on top of how often, where and how they communicate each message – you can bet it could lead to confusion, panic and frustration. And if that begins, it’s only a matter of time before the rumor mill starts swirling, creating a sense of mistrust and resentment among frontline workers. All of this could be avoided with the right crisis communications strategy.
Here’s what I suggest: Retail leaders should work with their HR and internal communications teams to craft messaging that gets out ahead of anticipated questions from their frontline workers, before they’re ever asked. This requires putting themselves into the mindsets of their frontline workers – understanding the nature and context of their roles, work shifts and priorities.
On top of that, think through the possible scenarios and what the most pressing issues will be for the folks who work on the store floors – and interact with customers first-hand. This vital information will most likely include timing, whether or not their position is being eliminated, if they’ll be moved to other store locations and if they’ll be given severance pay. By preparing these details in advance, you won’t be scrambling to answer tough questions on the fly and in turn, you’ll avoid the guesswork and missteps that can often lead to false or incomplete information spreading throughout the organization. This type of proactive communications approach can also prevent employees from venting their frustrations externally on social media, which could do lasting damage to your brand reputation in the eyes of consumers.
Be Honest
More than anything, employees want to be told the truth. It may be painful but being 100% upfront and honest with impacted employees will greatly minimize the potential for future fallout. The truth will come out eventually no matter what, and if executives bend the truth during these hard times, it could destroy all trust and rapport you’ve developed throughout your remaining workforce. And, people’s livelihoods are at stake – providing accurate information that could help them get out ahead of a tough time is simply the right thing to do.
It’s important to note that it’s totally reasonable to say “we don’t know” to some questions when things are still up in the air. Be transparent when things are still being worked out, but also be clear about when those details will become available or when related decisions will be made.
Be Targeted and Personal
Hard news is always best delivered in person, but that’s not always possible for large, national retailers. If a face-to-face meeting isn’t possible, it’s important for retailers to send a targeted message to each group of employees whose stores will be closing. Never send this type of communication in a massive spam-like email or message to the entire organization. Instead, it should be direct and personalized to those specific employees. Provide the exact information that they need to know on a local level – who they should speak to, what paperwork they may need to fill out and their individual options and next steps.
Receiving this type of hard news can be incredibly difficult, and it can be even worse when it comes in the shape of a form, cookie-cutter letter. Making it personal, and appreciative, can go a long way in the eyes of your employees.
Erwin Van Der Vlist is co-founder and CEO of Speakap.