How To Maintain Team Morale and Trust When Layoffs Happen

I work for a small (80 employees), family owned and operated company that a few months back removed a small department, laying off three employees without explanation. This past week, they laid off the COO of the company to make room for another family member. Client Services feels that they are scrutinized the most, and on Monday one will be fired for good reason. How do we re-build morale, trust, and an overall good feeling throughout the group?

The Team Doc Says…

You can’t rebuild trust without action from the top of the organization.

Communication from the leadership team would go a long way to getting the team members back on the right track. You cannot begin to gain trust or improve morale without open communication in an organization.

If the leadership isn’t talking, team members will fill the space with what they think is going on. Rumors. And those rumors will be poison to the company and may send it spiraling in the wrong direction. Also realize that once an organization lays off one time, there will always be the question in the back of team members minds — “Will I be next?”

If you are in a position in this company to influence the leadership team, act now to get them communicating with their teams. If that doesn’t happen, don’t be surprised if a mass exodus of people heads out the door in short order.