How to Communicate with Employees About Your Company's Health

Whether your company’s current financial state is positive or negative, there should be an open line of communication between you and your employees to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Currently, businesses outside of pharmacies, online retailers, telework communications, and shipping are unlikely to experience growth. Unfortunately, more than half (51%) of small business owners state that they will not be able to operate for more than 3 months under the current circumstances.

A majority of executives consider the COVID-19 pandemic a significant threat to their business according to a YPO survey. The survey, unfortunately, also found that 11% of chief executives fear their business won’t endure the current economic downturn.

In our uncertain time, it may be difficult to estimate the lasting financial impact of the coronavirus. Nevertheless, it’s important to communicate with employees about the state of your company’s health.

The following tips can help you to discuss your company’s financial health with employees — no matter the circumstances.

Create a Communications Plan

Businesses should establish a communications strategy about your company’s health to provide employees with a clear and consistent message. 

It’s important to not only consider what to communicate, but also how and who will be responsible for addressing your company’s financial status. 

Be sure to include any team leaders within your organization in the planning process. This supports consistency in messaging and may help you to prepare to answer questions relevant to employees’ concerns.

Discuss the best forum in which to hold these conversations. If your company’s considering layoffs or furloughs to reduce costs, it may be best to hold these conversations one-on-one as they may spark emotional reactions.

To make a more general statement about the company, consider having smaller group sessions. This encourages a dialogue by enabling employees to voice their individual concerns directly. By providing space for open and honest communication, you build employees’ trust in the organization long term.

After the conversations, meet back with your key stakeholders to assess employees’ responses. This allows you to address any lingering concerns as well as improve your communications strategy.

In an uncertain economic climate, it’s important to communicate about the state of your company as it evolves. Plan to hold regular conversations with employees either one-on-one or in group settings. This will keep your employees up to date and quell any potential rumor mills.

Handle Conversations Diligently

Businesses should attentively execute conversations about their financial health with employees. 

As a global occurrence, employees are already aware of the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. If your business is struggling financially, it’s better to be honest with employees. 

A survey conducted by the American Psychological Association found that only about half of employees believe their employer is open and upfront with them. This lack of trust negatively impacts employee well-being and job performance. 

Trust will not only help your business financially through greater job performance. Rather, it enables employees to be part of the solutions to help your business remain afloat.

It’s important to ease employees’ anxieties but also remain upfront about the future’s uncertainty. To increase transparency, tell workers what you do and don’t know.

For example, an employee may ask about whether or not there will be layoffs. If you considered them but aren’t certain about their necessity or logistics, tell them that the path forward remains muddled. Express compassion by acknowledging the high level of uncertainty that exists. Then, communicate your plans to keep employees up to date as certainty arises. 

You may want to remain silent until a plan solidifies. However, this creates an information vacuum that serves to intensify employee anxieties and may exacerbate the spread of misinformation. 

Employees may individually approach you with questions. It’s important to be consistent in your communications with employees. This may be difficult given the changeability of the economic landscape. However, strive to tell the same truth. 

You should try to be honest and thoughtful in your conversations with employees about the business’s health to build trust.

Strive for Positivity

Businesses should try to positively communicate with employees to promote financial success.

The pandemic has taken a toll on employees’ mental health. This compounds the negative impact of the economic downturn. It’s estimated that depression and anxiety cost the global economy $1 trillion a year.

A majority of employees reported experiencing greater levels of social isolation, stress, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion. One of the greatest contributions to the decline is worry about losing their job. 

To support employees, it’s important to remain open. Ask employees about their well-being and share your experiences. This reciprocation can build trust, which supports job performance. 

A simple way to promote employees’ mental health is through motivation. Recognize your employees’ abilities to be successful. Try to be specific and genuine with your praise to demonstrate your investment in their performance. 

Integrate positive feedback into one-on-one and team meetings. By publicly recognizing employees’ accomplishments, you exhibit the value of their contributions to organizational goals.

In addition to individualized positive feedback, acknowledge the capabilities of your team. By your belief in the team, you create a sense of unity. Concede the difficulties of the moment. But also present your belief that your team’s contributions will help the business navigate the crisis. 

Try to be sincere in your positivity. Be as enthusiastic as possible about your vision of the business’s future. Share that vision to help your employees capture the same outlook.

It may be difficult to be positive in our current moment. However, you can promote your business’s and your employees’ health by reinforcing a culture of positivity.

Update Employees About Your Business’s Health

Businesses should keep employees up to date about their financial health to encourage efficient operations during this period of economic contraction.

Build a communications strategy that accommodates your message and audience. Continue to optimize that strategy as conditions change and as employees provide feedback.

Conversations about your business’s financial health during a period of economic turmoil may be difficult. However, you should strive for transparency and consistency with employees.

You should try to balance honesty and positivity in your conversations with employees. Affirm your team’s ability to navigate the economic downturn to promote a healthier and more productive workforce.  

Kate Russell is an Editorial Associate for Clutch — an Inc. 1000 private company that helps decision-makers determine the best B2B service providers to solve business challenges. She is also an HR research and content lead.