by Whenever the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases a jobs report, business leaders take notice.
The most recent report, released last week, stated that the American economy added 114,000 jobs in July —a marked drop from the 310,000 jobs added this past March and less than last July’s mark of 184,000 jobs.
Is this data a sign of a recession or a hiring freeze? While time will tell, these waning job numbers are likely to cause speculation among employees about whether their jobs are safe. That’s where communicators and HR pros come into play.
Economic uncertainty can manifest in layoffs, furloughs, or other sorts of cuts around the workplace that no one desires. But by pulling the right levers, HR and comms can serve as both an advisory source for leaders and a valuable source of updates for concerned employees.
A constant state of staffing management and communication
While moments of economic uncertainty prompt communicators and HR professionals to consider the way their organization will react both internally and externally, the process starts with creating an ongoing dialogue across all parts of the org chart.
Montieth Illingworth, founder and CEO of Montieth & Co., said that HR should always be on top of economic headwinds to understand how they impact potential staffing changes.
“Typically, in anticipation of a potential recession slowdowns in hiring are the prudent thing to do,” he said.
In addition to hiring slowdowns, companies should also be ready for layoffs. These processes are often complex and need to be rolled out with care and empathy, with HR and comms closely collaborating to ensure change communications get across the first time.
“Though different in scale, both hiring freezes and reductions in force require a thoughtful and thorough communications approach,” added Illingworth.
“The key things to convey in both situations is that management has thought carefully about the need to manage staff resources, that the steps being taken are necessary and prudent, and that the impact is being anticipated and planned for.”
The full article can be found at Ragan Communications.