Internal Communication Essay

Internal Communication Essay

In this particular case study, having an effective internal communication system is very important - especially when handling upper-level employees and trying to roll out the new policy of early retirement and voluntary severance. Although in the past, Westwood Publishing has never laid off any of its employees in their 13-year run and Bosworth assured that no one would be terminated due to economical reasons, times have certainly changed. While it is amicable that the company wanted to stand by its ethical reasons and not give into the "dot-com" possible profit, unfortunately they were soon faced with having to "cut their losses" in order to remain a company. According to how this plan is to be communicated, directors who have received less than excellent performance appraisals would be candidates for the voluntary severance, and a vice president approaching age 60 would be offered the early retirement package. This would help rid the company of "dead weight" and also bring in fresher talent. When communicating the policy, I think Cassidy should ensure that the communication is done effectively and also take into consideration of how this new policy would affect the employees in which it is meant to impact, and also how it would affect all other employees. This change presents an excellent opportunity to really look into the company's internal communication process - when, how and where are changes executed and what could be done to make the process is even more effective.

An unbefitting approach to communicating this new policy would include any type of communication that would be perceived to be inconsiderate or impersonal - this calls for a more delicate and professional approach. Although all employees of Westwood Publishing will need to know about the changes, whether it affects them or not, I would advise Cassidy to first introduce the change in an one-on-one setting with the selected candidates - I think this would take a little "heat" off this difficult conversation . Then afterward, just as Bosworth delivered a speech to all employees about the company's philosophy in 2008 in an open forum, Cassidy should also deliver this communication to all employees, possibly in several group sessions or even through the company's intranet. These approaches to internal communication allows the opportunity for employees to ask questions and to give suggestions. Enabling employees to share their views and interact will help with developing a comfortable work environment where there is upward and downward communication.

Nonetheless, I think it would be wise of Cassidy to also consider that the work environment is, in many ways, very different from when the company first started. It is a new time and new era of employees - people have higher expectations of companies