Straight Talk From Employers: A large and growing credibility gap between employees and their employers is indicated by a study from the firm of Weber Shandwick. It found that 71% of those surveyed believe that their employers should be keeping them informed about business problems, yet more than half have heard nothing at all. As a result, in the absence of clear communications, the rumor mill works overtime in such companies, sapping productivity and distracting employees.
Case Study #1: In the fall of 2008, American Express provided an example of a company sending out mixed messages. One week American Express e-mailed employees to reassure them that the financial position of the company was strong (an assessment that appears to agree with their reported 3rd quarter 2008 financial results). The next week, American Express announced layoffs that would eliminate 7,000 positions, over 10% of its workforce.
Case Study #2: In the fall of 1985, The Wall Street Journal published a front page article about looming massive layoffs at AT&T. Later that morning, AT&T chairman Jim Olson and president Bob Allen sent a memo to employees unequivocally denying the report as false and unfounded. The next day, Olson and Allen spoke to employees on a companywide audio hookup broadcast over the loudspeaker systems in many AT&T buildings. They retracted their denials of a day earlier, admitting instead that the WSJ report was true. This was devasting to employee morale, doing irreparable damage to confidence in the veracity of AT&T's management, just when the company began a long decline. Jim Olson died suddenly and was replaced by Bob Allen, whose tenure is generally recognized as unfocused and inept.
Lessons: In choosing employers, the openness and veracity of management is an important consideration. Getting an objective assessement of this, however, is very difficult for an outsider. Your only recourse, typically, is to cultivate personal contacts who will give you inside information. Another alternative is to search the growing number of websites devoted to employee evaluations of their employers. Just be aware that the opinions expressed therein probably are skewed to the negative, since employees with complaints (some of which may be overblown) are more likely to post in such forums than satisfied workers. Nonetheless, with that caveat, this is an avenue for information worth considering.
