Management Communication: Building, Maintaining and Improving Worker Morale

Layoffs can create stress, anger, anxiety and less trust or worse, distrust among remaining employees, per a MyPerfectResume survey. Those workers are also, per the research, now less committed and less satisfied with their work.

Did you know that 85% of surveyed workers are worried they’ll lose their jobs this year?

Those are significant, costly, dangerous problems for executives and their responsibilities. Additionally problematic is that low morale doesn’t get the necessary attention of all top-level leadership as it should.

The lack of connection and compassion sends a clear, strong message of a lack of concern and compassion.

Management may care more than employees know and believe but it’s not being communicated expertly and successfully with words and follow up.

Erika Sinner

“Often, what we refer to as soft skills are in fact essential competencies that tend to be undervalued compared to technical abilities necessary for specific roles,” says Erika Sinner, founder and CEO at Directorie, a team of pharmaceutical marketing professionals.

“Fostering a resilient organizational culture, especially one that can endure the fluctuations of the economy, demands a deliberate focus on the morale within the company.

“I often reflect on the saying that corporate culture is the feeling an employee has on Sunday night. This sentiment cannot be emphasized enough regarding the significance of how employees perceive their workplace culture. Culture starts at the top and cascades down; it is shaped significantly by where leaders focus their energy and attention.”

Daniel Boscaljon

“Managers often have limited agency to create actual changes in condition. The best way to engage with employees is to start by centering into their relationship with each employee, rather than their role as manager,” says Daniel Boscaljon, Ph.D. and executive coach, researcher and founder at Healthy Relationship Academy, which partners with businesses and organizations to create healthy workplace cultures.

“Role-governed communications tend to be received as impersonal and uncaring. They cause concerns rather than resolving issues,” he adds.

“To whatever extent is possible, good managers should use times of upheaval and low morale to build a deeper sense of trust with each employee: meeting people where they are, rather than telling them where they should be. Relating to people as people and validating concerns is a crucial first step.”

Austin Johnson

“It can help put employees at ease if management communicates at least part of their layoff strategy,” explains Austin Johnson, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist and owner of Executive Counseling, a therapy, coaching and consultation firm. “Employees may be worried that more layoffs are on the way, so if managers are careful not to engage in ‘rolling out’ layoffs, this could be helpful information to share.”

“Also, it’s easy for the conversation to only focus on financial concerns, so addressing non-monetary issues can be helpful. For example, if severance packages include things like executive counseling or career coaching, this can communicate that the company does have employees’ best interests at heart even in the unfortunate situation of layoffs.

“I’ve even heard of companies that keep their people informed of former employees’ success in new companies and actively celebrate that news.”

Jim Frawley

“Employers need to have open and honest conversation with the employees that remain, post layoffs. Psychological safety is key,” says Jim Frawley, founder and CEO of Bellwether, a change, response and adaptation practice.

He offers a recommendation about a preferred approach.

“Honest and straightforward. Communicating with teams post layoffs shouldn’t just focus on compassion and personal, it should also have a layer of respect that your people are in tune with what’s going on” Frawley says. “Everyone is talking about it, there are skeptics in the room. If you try to get cute or inauthentically empathic or sympathetic, you are doing more harm than good. Level with them in a smart and real way.”

“During a transitional period especially, it is important to create an environment that facilitates open conversations and mutual trust between managers and their employees,” says Cristian Grossmann, Ph.D., the author of “The Rise of the Frontline Worker,” and CEO of Beekeeper, a mobile productivity and collaboration platform.

“For employers, communication is not always this simple. Oftentimes, frontline teams are faced with lack of resources and access to effective communication platforms,” he says. “In fact, according to a recent Beekeeper study, managers and employees agree that poor team communication is one of the top reasons for limited productivity.”

Attentive, curious listening is a critical piece of the best communication. At question is how can and should management at all levels effectively do so with their people?

Mark Shekter

“True listening requires an openness to hear the truth, to be willing to be challenged on long-held views, to admit to shortcomings; in short, to be able to be held accountable for an executives actions or inactions,” says Mark Shekter, co-founder and CEO at Think8 Global Institute — a strategic business design firm — and the author of “Think8: 8 Steps to Ignite Your Creative Genius in Business, Career, and Life.”

“I’ve witnessed attempts at creating a community among personnel by displaying an openness to hear grievances and suggestions. But when few if any are acted upon, trust in open communication falters. Listening is only part of the process; to be heard is the part that really matters to those working with you or under you.”

There is a more personal strategy that can be used to gain clear feedback.

“Invite employees to submit a wish list of three to five items that would help them feel more secure and stable in their roles,” Johnson suggests.

“Asking employees to share their top concern, especially in an open forum usually results in everybody repeating the same two or three items, which may be outside the control of management. This can lead to an awkward situation for everybody.

“Instead, the wish-list approach provides some structure to the act of listening and gives management time to generate thoughtful responses to as many of the issues as possible.

“This helps them find the sweet spot where active listening meets productive negotiations and from an employee’s perspective, this communicates genuine interest in their concerns.”

A consequence of low morale that doesn’t get talked about in leadership often or is often self-focused communicated as disengagement, is burnout.

“It is vital for leaders to take burnout seriously and actively listen to their employees’ needs,” Grossman strongly advises. “Cascade clear messaging and empower team leaders with talking points that foster two-way communication. This helps create continuous improvement feedback loops.”

He speaks to the specifics of his recommendation.

“Leadership teams should implement friendly chat and messaging tools to spur communication that creates a more unified culture. When initiatives don’t align to workers’ top priorities there is a greater chance employees will become disengaged or less motivated. By reaffirming their commitment to protecting, advocating for and supporting employees, employers can pave the way for a more cohesive and resilient workforce.”

Devising and applying a system could lead to improvements and welcomed risk management.

“Create opportunities for feedback, conduct regular check-ins and implement mechanisms like suggestion boxes or anonymous surveys,” says Jason Miller, founder and CEO at PromoLeaf, a promotional products company focused on sustainability. “These small actions demonstrate a commitment to their well-being and help management better understand and address concerns.”

Committed oversight and correction is responsibility in action.

“There should be a review and input process on any (communication) plan,” says Dara Greaney, founder and CEO at LED Light Expert.

“There should be an opportunity to review your manager. There should be more anonymous ways employees can submit feedback. Employees are often intimidated by giving feedback, particularly critical, so giving them multiple ways is best to unearth those thoughts.”

Compassionate behavior that is unquestioned determines how much an organization and its leaders care.

“When an employee is laid off, when a promotion doesn’t happen, there is moral support from co-workers and HR right there to help transition someone to other opportunities, not just ignored or dismissed,” Shekter stresses. “All contributions need to be continually acknowledged, most importantly in the toughest times. A strong team builds strong morale and pulls everyone through.”

Significantly improving morale, specifically in hardship, can be arduous, yet it remains possible, with the correct strategy that gets closely and honestly examined and analyzed and then improved.

“The first step to improving morale is to improve trust,” says Boscaljon. “Many people are widely understanding that there’s no magical alternative to solve all issues. What’s desired is to have concerns feel heard, validated and respected. Managers who are able to use difficult times to forge deeper personal bonds will move out of a time of temporary setbacks with a far more powerful team.

“People tend to work for their direct supervisors more than an impersonal company. Taking time to really hear and validate concerns will provide a space of inspiration and ultimately will help to keep morale from sliding lower if not improve it.”

Employees who have lost their jobs can pursue personal support.

“Losing a job can be devastating,” Johnson says, “and it’s in that moment when people should be relying on the network of personal connections they’ve been building over the years, not just to help them find their next job but to remind them of a fact that is so easy to forget: Humans are not resources.

“People possess inherent value regardless of their occupational status.”

Management should remember that social awareness and direct communication are ethically mandatory.

“Take the approach of not ignoring what is happening,” says Greaney. “Have sessions to talk about why (a layoff) was done and for employees to discuss, both in groups and individually.

“Layoffs and reorgs are part of life and they do often end up better for everyone, but there is short term trauma that needs to be minimized and conversations are the first and biggest step.”

Showing strength of character by engaging in quality communication is going to get noticed. It’s necessary as well.

“This goes back to the respect item,” says Frawley. “It’s not just about listening to your people; it’s about asking them good questions and making them feel heard.

“Yes, allowing them to surface concerns and questions is important but they are wise enough to recognize that often times this doesn’t change anything. Accountability, at the leadership level, to meet the employees where they are is what’s going to change the morale.”

Being there with a care package, so to speak, can assist in mitigating emotional and psychological pain and suffering.

“Providing additional support services, such as counseling or mental health resources, can address the emotional toll of layoffs and work-related stress,” Miller says. “Introducing flexible work arrangements or time-off policies can also help (remaining) employees manage their workload.”