By Vaughan Granier

Welcome to the final part of our series of articles on how to compliantly proceed with a restructure and a redundancy, where we look at the clearest and fairest ways to communicate with your employees…

Once you’ve made the decisions, they become very real for everyone concerned and need to be communicated. Some communication would take place in the face-to-face meeting with all your employees, but much of it will be more appropriate in private meetings. Letters and documentation should always be prepared in duplicate for the employee to sign and return for the employer’s records. These documents should be handed over personally, wherever possible, in an individual meeting where employees are afforded privacy and dignity and their right to a representative. There are very few situations where this process should be allowed to fall into the “too-hard basket”. Do not underestimate the negative consequences of failing to treat employees with respect and dignity.

Seven key principles for communicating about a restructure and redundancy process

There are various important components you should include in any communication:

  1. Privacy, dignity and respect;
  2. Put it in writing;
  3. Recording that the outcome is the result of a full process of restructuring with consultation and representation;
  4. Be clear about the way forward and the future circumstances in which the employee will find themselves;
  5. A reasonable notice period (time for the employee to make preparations);
  6. An opportunity to receive support of some kind;
  7. Empathy and thanks.

Communicating different outcomes to employees

There are a number of outcomes you can prepare for:

Employees who are directly unaffected, but have seen the process occurring and have colleagues who might be impacted.

These employees should be afforded the dignity and respect of being given closure that the process has been completed and that individuals who are affected will be treated with dignity and respect. It’s important that employers remember that those who are “left behind” – who remain employed – are observers of the process, and will bring their perception of that process into their employment relationship going forward. If trust has increased, or at least not decreased, the employer will benefit from that. If trust has decreased, as a result of an unfair or poorly communicated process, the employer will suffer from that going forward.

Employees who are affected directly by minor changes to their position.

Employees who are affected in a minor way should be communicated with by means of individual letter clarifying how their role has changed and what their new role will be going forward. This may include reporting lines, new or changed responsibilities and ways of doing work. If this is the case, a new or revised job description should be prepared for communication and signature.

Employees who are affected directly by major changes to their position, or whose positions are disestablished, but who can be redeployed in one form or another.

Employees whose roles have changed in a major way through restructuring, but who remain employed, should be treated much the same as those who have had minor changes to their roles. Additionally, though, they may be grappling with changed responsibilities and seniority, as well as changed personal remuneration levels, that affect their status in the workplace. They may require retraining and reskilling, and this should be discussed and agreed upon. If an employee is expected to achieve new competency levels, they should agree and commit to a reasonable timeframe with you.  At this level of change, support services such as an EAP programme could be made available.

Employees whose positions are disestablished and who cannot be redeployed.

These employees will be facing the harsh prospect of losing their employment and being terminated by being made redundant. As a result, how they are treated is extremely significant both to them and to those who have been watching this process and its impact on the departing employee

Everything that has been mentioned already is incredibly important to get right. In addition, any assistance to re-establish themselves in the workplace is valuable – positive references, career coaching, assistance with CV preparation, reaching out to professional or business networks for job opportunities, etc., are all valuable contributions.

Sometimes an affected employee has a negative reaction, and there is potential for malicious behaviour. This damage can – and should – be managed by not requiring them to work out any notice period, paying out their notice, and requiring them to leave the workplace immediately, to limit that damage.

All employees should be able to freely engage with each other at this time. Psychologically this period is similar to bereavement and space to grieve and experience a loss is vital to ensure a healthy return to normal for everyone.

We hope you’ve found this series helpful. If you’re looking to restructure your business and need further advice or assistance, reach out to our HR specialists and we’ll see what we can do to assist you.

Vaughan Granier is the National Workplace Relations Manager for HR Assured NZ. He has over 24 years’ experience in international human resources, health and safety, and workplace relations management. With over 10 years working in New Zealand and Australian companies, he provides in-depth support to leadership teams across all areas of HR, Health and Safety, and employee management.

Other articles in the series: