In this case study, you are the regional human resource director for a Fortune 500 company. You receive an unexpected visit from your vice president of human resources (VP of HR), who informs you that there is a reorganization taking place within your company. He starts by explaining that the president of the company has decided to retire after 28 years, and the new president has decided to move the current headquarters from the Northeast to Texas. No business reason was provided. There will be almost 1,000 employees redeployed since the company has existed in the Northeast for more than 75 years. This information will be released to employees within the next week. The call center—with more than 500 employees, including your office that is located within it—will also be relocated to another southern state. All employees will be offered their current positions and a relocation package if they wish to move. Those who do not want to relocate will be given a severance package with outplacement services provided.
Mr. Davis. your VP of HR, is aware that you hired most of the individuals working in the call center and that you are very familiar with the culture and employee status. This news will be devastating to the employees because they have made this the most productive and efficient call center within this global corporation. Mr. Davis came to get your advice on how to best handle the communications plan for announcing this news in your region.
Mr. Davis has taken care of notifications to the state and federal government (i.e., the 60-day notice required according to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification [WARN] Act, which announces that the business is relocating and that employees will be redeployed). From previous experience, Mr. Davis shares with you that you will be contacted by the state to set up meetings so that the state may address all of the employees concerning the state benefits and services available to the employees.
Mr. Davis shares two important messages from the new president: (1) Although this news may unsettling to many employees, business must be conducted in the same professional manner as always. with the least amount of disruption; and (2) whether the employees decide to relocate or not, while they are employed, they must maintain productivity levels, and their metrics will be monitored as usual.
Mr. Davis informs you that tvIr. Woods, senior vice president (SVP) of the region, who is responsible for the call center, is being told of this reorganization via a conference call with his boss on the West Coast and the president of the company. Mr. Woods will be joining you and Mr. Davis to plan the communications shortly. Mr. Davis wants to get a head start on planning with you because he has a flight scheduled back to headquarters that afternoon.
You begin to outline a plan for the communications strategy; for example, you include information that will assist tvIr. Woods in preparation for his meeting with his direct reports where he will deliver the news. Other questions you think about during the development of the outline are as follows: What information will Mr. Woods give to his direct reports this afternoon, and what will he give them to share with their managers and employees? Mr. Davis sees your outline, and he encourages you to develop your outline into a communication plan/plan of action and to continue to share it with Mr. Woods.
Before Mr. Davis leaves for the airport, he asks you to report back to him with any issues or difficulties you are experiencing with employees. Mr. Davis also asks that you report the following information to him: How many employees do you think will want to relocate? What do they want to know about the new location? What can he do to help answer these questions for the employees? What can he do to assist you with the communication plan or any activities you plan within the next 60-day period? Mr. Davis gives you all of his contact numbers and reminds you that he is available to you for questions and concerns at any time.
Analyze the information presented in this case study, present your communication plan, and answer the questions below. Your case study paper should be at least three pages in length and should follow APA guidelines.
Your communication plan should address the following questions:
What are your concerns? For example, how will you motivate the employees to stay throughout the 60 days if they have other job offers? How will you motivate all employees to maintain their productivity levels? In the article "Semper Fidelis, A Recipe for Leading Others," which is part of your Required Reading for this unit, Aubrey Daniels describes how a person earns leadership status and explains the importance of positive reinforcement. How will your plan help you to establish yourself as a positive reinforcer? What leadership style does Mr. Davis exhibit?