People & Leadership
The decision may be right. The way it is announced can still do damage.
A bonus will not be paid this year. A branch is closing. Two roles are being merged. A trusted employee is leaving after a disagreement. Owners often delay these conversations, then deliver them in a rush, or let the news leak through the grapevine. This session is about the communication, not the decision itself: planning what to say, who hears first, how to answer hard questions, and how to rebuild trust afterwards.
Explore this page6 sections
Silence fills with rumour, and rumour is usually worse than the truth.
In a small team, nobody can hide a major decision for long. If the owner says nothing, people guess, and the guesses are usually worse than the facts. Good people start quietly looking elsewhere, and the people who stay trust the owner a little less.
Communicating a hard decision well does not make it painless. It does make it understood, and it shows the team that bad news will be delivered to them honestly and early, which is a quality they will remember longer than the decision.
Telling people the hard thing
35 topics across 7 areas. Seven parts of a careful announcement. 6 apply to almost any business; the rest only in a particular case.
Be Clear on the DecisionYou cannot explain what you have not settled.5
- What exactly has been decided, and what is still open
- Why, in two or three sentences, using real reasons
- What it changes, for whom, and from what date
- What you are not able to say yet, and when you might be
- Whether the decision has legal implications that need advice first
Who Hears FirstPeople should not learn about their own situation in a group meeting.5
- Individuals directly affected, in private, before anyone else
- Managers or senior staff, so that they are not surprised by questions
- The wider team soon afterwards, the same day if possible
- Customers or suppliers, if the decision affects them, in a considered way
- A single, consistent message for everyone
The Conversation ItselfShort and direct, with space for reaction.5
- Say the decision in the first two sentences, without a long lead-in
- Explain the reason plainly, without blaming individuals
- Acknowledge that the news is hard, and mean it
- Say what happens next, in practical terms
- Stop talking and let people respond
Answering Hard QuestionsPrepare for them before you walk in.5
- Write down the five questions you least want to be asked
- Prepare an honest answer for each
- If you do not know, say so, and say when you will find out
- Do not promise what you cannot guarantee
- Avoid lines like 'it is nothing personal' that sound dismissive
Words to AvoidSmall phrases can undo careful planning.5
- Vague language that hides what has been decided
- Blaming customers, the market or a colleague
- Promises such as 'this will never happen again'
- Cheerful phrases that make light of the impact
- Defensive responses when people are upset
After the AnnouncementThe decision lands in the days that follow.5
- Being visible and available over the next week
- Having one-to-one conversations with the people most affected
- Following through on every promise made, including small ones
- Writing the key points down so everyone has the same version
- Checking after a fortnight how people are feeling and what they still do not know
When Advice Comes FirstIf it appliesSome decisions should not be announced before they are checked.5
Notice, compensation and process depend on the contract, the size of the business, the state and the current labour rules. Check your documents and speak to a lawyer or HR professional before announcing.
- Ending someone's employment, or closing a unit or branch
- Changes to pay, hours or terms stated in an appointment letter
- Layoffs, retrenchment, or a change in the structure of the business
- Any decision involving a complaint or an investigation
- Any matter where you have received a legal notice
A one-page plan for the announcement
- The decision in one sentence
- The reason in three sentences
- Who hears first, and when
- The five hardest questions and your answers
- What you will do in the following week
Hypothetical example, for discussion
- An owner has to cancel the annual bonus after a weak year
- She tells the senior staff first, with the numbers, then speaks to the whole team
- She names what the money is needed for and when she will review it
- She expects anger, and has prepared answers about fairness and her own pay
- Some people are upset, but nobody learns of the decision from a rumour
How the session runs
A practitioner or experienced owner explains the structure and shows how it works with realistic cases. Participants then prepare an announcement for a real decision they are facing or expect to face, with the details changed, and practise the opening in pairs. Anything touching termination, notice, retrenchment or changes to terms of employment is something to confirm with a lawyer or HR professional first; the session says so clearly.
What your students leave with
- A simple structure for announcing a difficult decision to a team
- A way to decide who should hear what, and in what order
- A prepared set of answers to the hardest five questions they expect
- Phrases that are honest without being cruel or evasive
- A plan for the days after the announcement
- An understanding of when a decision with legal consequences needs advice first
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
People remember how they were told long after they forget what they were told.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.