Being a business owner or manager is a tough job. The reality is that not all your moments are going to be filled with celebrations like the addition of new talent or promotion of a team’s success. Sometimes bad things are going to happen, and it will be your job to communicate that bad news to the rest of your staff. Understandably, this can be a rather difficult thing to do as nobody is every truly comfortable delivering bad news. Read on to learn some of the best strategies that you should implement the next time you are tasked with delivering bad news to your employees.
Get All the Facts
Hearing bad news is bad enough; the last thing you want to add to that is confusion. Therefore, before you even announce a meeting, you should first take the time to collect all the facts regarding the matter. Understand what you can or cannot say, as well as what is certain or just speculative. If you notice that you cannot form a proper thought regarding the matter, then it is a clear sign that the announcement is not ready to be presented to your staff.
Show Empathy
Yes, with everything, there is always a silver lining, but when bad news is first presented, it can be difficult to see that. Therefore, when presenting the bad news, you should never lessen the effect of the bad news. For example, if you are stating that a certain department has been eliminated and everyone has lost their jobs, telling the remaining employees that they will receive more hours is not the right route to take. As a leader, you should show empathy for the situation at all times.
Don’t Sugarcoat It
When announcing bad news it can be easy to want to sugarcoat the issue. However, a Harvard Business Review study showed that sugarcoating bad news only leads to a misunderstanding of the news, as well as confusion amongst your staff. Being blunt may seem a little mean but it’s always the best route to take in order to send out a clear and concise announcement.
There’s no doubt about it, bad news is never fun to deliver. Therefore it is incredibly important to prepare properly before announcing it to your entire staff.