How can you use empathy to communicate effectively during a company restructure?

In my experience, employees most want to see and hear credible leaders demonstrate empathy. I have worked with leaders to encourage them to get out from behind a desk and walk the floor with people. To really listen, be honest (wherever possible) and remember how it felt for them earlier in their career. Explaining the ‘why’ behind the change, being clear about how long it will take, and what support is available for people - and remembering that this is not linear; people roll back and forwards in their needs as they navigate this change. Critical to this is trust; which is why leaders need to build trust in ‘peacetime’ so they can leverage that during times of significant change.

Empathy is needed in all relationships (professional or personal) even more so when an upcoming restructuring will definitely going to create insecurity and anxiety. Empathy will allow to address each member of your team with understanding and care. To create trust and ensure they are seen and heard. This will limit “regret losses” and allow for an energy level that will not jeopardize business results and culture dilution.

Meiner Erfahrung nach ist das Gefühl, geh?rt und verstanden zu werden, oft wichtiger, als klare Botschaften und direkte L?sungsans?tze zu pr?sentieren. Gerade in Führungspositionen, in denen man sowohl die Interessen des Unternehmens als auch der Mitarbeitenden vertritt, ist es wichtig, empathisch auf jede:n Einzelne:n einzugehen und so vermittelnd t?tig zu werden. Das klappt meiner Ansicht nach besonders gut, wenn man sich auch selbst nahbar und m?glichst transparent zeigt. So baut man vertrauensvolle Beziehungen zu seinen Mitarbeitenden auf.

If a leader can't get face-to-face with everyone, which is almost always difficult, video is the next best thing. The key is not to hard script the message. No cue cards or teleprompters. You can be brief but be authentic. Eye contact and true empathy goes a long way. If you have to record multiple times to get it right, fine. Just make sure you're speaking honestly and communicating the "why".

Communicate regularly. Not just once and hope that everyone understands and is fine. Offer communication via lots of different channels (online chats, video calls, in persons, etc) so teams trust the process.

Less of the 'I' and 'we' statements! Focus on the person who is impacted, not on how you feel about communicating the news. Ask people how they're feeling, don't presume and don't put words in their mouths. Give people the space to have honest conversations.

Empathy begins with remembering your own experiences and how they impacted you, and ends with allowing yourself to be guided by those memories when reacting to others' experiences and challenges. We have built-in humanity; we simply need to disallow ourselves to stand in the way of letting it help us identify with others.

Before writing or saying anything to anyone, understand that the next steps are about to change that person's life drastically. That should help shape the words you use and the tone you adopt. it is unfortunate that over the years people have taken the phrase, "It is nothing personal..." and used it to preface some of the most heartless communications to employees. On the contrary, retrenchment is everything personal and must be addressed as such

We're all human and we all want to feel heard and understood. No one likes feeling left out whether in the good or the bad. Listen to the people who have been impacted and understand their worries. Be honest and transparent at all times.

A empatia é importante na comunica??o empresarial, mas precisa ser equilibrada com outras habilidades. O excesso de empatia pode levar a decis?es baseadas apenas em sentimentos, em vez de fatos e lógica. A interpreta??o da empatia varia entre as pessoas, causando mal-entendidos e conflitos. é necessário combinar empatia com clareza, assertividade e resolu??o de problemas. A empatia n?o é uma solu??o mágica para todos os problemas de comunica??o. Em situa??es difíceis, como reestrutura??es, decis?es impopulares podem ser necessárias.

Curiosity and a genuine interest in others fuels empathy. You develop empathy by generously listening to understand those who work for you. Also the time of a crisis is not the time to develop empathy--you build it up over time so you are well equipped when you need it.

Some of the best leaders I've seen are compassionate, patient and protective. Compassionate listening and observing is essential to understanding others - what language do people use, what lights them up, what seems to drag them down? Notice people. Imagine how someone might feel in certain scenarios. Think about their workload, specific challenges they might be having, how they've seemed emotionally lately, consider anything you know about their life, and put yourself in their shoes. Be patient and spacious. Often people who are 'good at' empathy have had to be vigilant in other areas of life. So developing a sense of vigilance, and deliberately taking on the role of problem solver and protector as a leader can build empathy skills.

One thing I’ve found helpful is active listening - there are many online courses and LinkedIn blogs about it, too! Another aspect is research: find out as much as you can about the other party and what motivates them.

I am of two minds on this statement. My wariness of inauthenticity makes me suspicious about whether we can actually 'develop' empathy in a genuine sense. In my experience, the difficulty is when the leader is focused on attaining their objectives to the exclusion of all else. The hard-charging, results-oriented, demanding leader often has learned to suppress any hint of humanity, let alone empathy. The lack of identification with people "farther down" the org chart and the continuing separation of classes feeds arrogance, the enemy of empathy.

I started learning to be a better listener. Not listening to reply, but listening to understand. How you can do it? Be present, ask if you can take notes (if that helps you and doesn’t disturb the other part) and ask genuine question. In doing that, you will be closer to understand someone’s feelings, fears and with that, you can improve your communication and relationship.

Wenngleich all diese Kenngr??en sicherlich Aufschluss geben k?nnen ist Ihre Erhebung und Auswertung wahrscheinlich zu langsam um in einer ggfs krisenhaften Umstrukturierung hilfreich zu sein - hier gilt es offenes feedback aufzunehmen und einzufordern um die richtigen Schlüsse schnell zu ziehen. Falnkierend k?nnen die genannten Messungen eingesetzt werden.

Kicking off a sentiment tracker allows you to continuously monitor and assess employee sentiment and feedback throughout the change curve. By analyzing sentiment, you can identify moments of heightened concern or frustration among employees. Empathy comes into play as you respond to these sentiments with not just data-driven actions but by genuinely understanding the emotional impact of the restructuring. This understanding allows you to tailor your communication and support efforts, addressing specific concerns with compassion and care. In doing so, you not only track sentiment but also actively contribute to the employees' emotional well-being during a challenging period of change.

En un entorno de cambios y desafíos, la humildad y la honestidad son fundamentales para construir puentes en situaciones de estrés y conflicto. Priorizar la planificación y el compromiso puede marcar la diferencia para superar barreras y fomentar una comunicación más empática.

You may need to play the 'empathy coach' role as an IC pro. Empathy is a sign of strength not of weakness, and if leaders can take one step further and become compassionate (empathy+the drive to help) then they'll soon see for themselves the positive impact this has on trust, resilience and connection in their teams.

The rule of thumb is to give them an awareness of their stakes and gains from a restructuring campaign. It involves different change management techniques.

In my experience as a Trauma-Informed Leadership and business coach, to often we forget that everyone goes through things in their life. Impactful Emotional Experience create our protective layers, beliefs and conditioning. This happens for our survival and to keep us safe. Our bodies are designed to keep us in harmony and safe. To overcome the challenges to empathy, we must overcome our layers, limiting beliefs, trauma's and conditioning that does not serve us. These wrongfully disconnect us and through healing and investing in learning more about emotional and nervous system regulation, you learn to go beyond your body and layers. Learn to heal and master your emotional state and you can get through any storm with a calmer heart.

Ditch. The. Jargon. Too often words like 'rightsizing', 'optimising', 'transformation' are used instead of just authentic, open and honest language. When we try to spin it, it's not being empathetic - that's about the communicator trying to avoid the tough conversation, or thinking they're 'softening the blow'. In reality, you make people feel worse because they know you're not being honest, and they crave certainty in times of upheaval.

Comms functions should never think of themselves sitting on the outside of the organusation looking in, taking a paternalistic view of employees. In many cases , comms functions are also impacted by reorganisations and change initiatives which creates duplicity in the role. Always remember employees are your colleagues, not your audience. In fact I'd go further and say you are their audience. So get yourself comfortable and LISTEN. No heckling.

Don’t be the wizard behind the curtain. Lay your cards on the table. If there's a game plan, spill it. People appreciate honesty, even if it stings a bit. No one likes a mystery novel when it's their career on the line. After the dust settles, don't forget the survivors. Work on rebuilding morale and trust. A restructure is like a corporate apocalypse; those left standing need a reason to believe in the new world order.

My colleagues here are correct in every case. Empathy cannot be a jacket you slip on in critical situations. Feel the feels, and always remember the purpose of the communication action. If you are a leader and need to 'develop' empathy, take a long, hard look at yourself and ask, "should I be a leader?"

Regular updates. Announce departures and arrivals with full transparency. Highlight the bigger picture and how each change contributes to that.