Across the UK, hundreds of thousands of furloughed workers are learning they may not be able to go back to work for months yet. Furlough is a weird experience. And people on furlough may think that for their companies, out of sight means out of mind. They may be anxious and they may be feeling a little lost. Which is why communicating with teams who are on furlough is so important.
As of last month, 8.7 million jobs in the UK had been furloughed. That’s out of a total working population of 32.54 million. Which means that more than a quarter of the workforce is currently at home.
And in the scramble to save businesses, re-shape business models and generally make sense of what’s happening, it can be easy for companies to consider furloughed workers “looked after”. It doesn’t mean companies have forgotten about their furloughed teams – it just means that they’re beyond busy with other stuff.
But communicating with teams who are on furlough – regularly and with warmth – is important.
Why is communicating with teams who are on furlough important?
Keeping people up to speed
Changes will be happening in your workplace – some of them temporary, some of them permanent. These will be changes to the ways people work and changes to the products and services you offer (or at least the ways you deliver them).
When people get back to work, you’re going to want them to need as little updating and retraining as possible… so keep everyone in the loop now.
Letting people know they still matter
The first couple of weeks of furlough might have seemed like a holiday for some workers – especially if they had a garden and home projects they wanted to get on with. But the novelty has worn off – and people are anxious. Will they have a job to go back to? How are they going to pay the bills? The mortgage holidays won’t last forever, after all…
And whether or not it’s true, it can be easy for furloughed workers to believe that if it comes to redundancies, they may be first on the list.
So let people know they matter and that they’re still part of the team by keeping in regular contact.
Controlling the rumour mill
The first law of company dynamics dictates that wherever there is a vacuum of information, rumour will rush in to fill the space. Rumours aren’t generally malicious. They simply fulfil a human need for certainty – or at least provide a substitute for it when real facts are thin on the ground.
But the rumour mill can be damaging. It can lower morale and result in additional anxiety in circumstances that are already difficult. A slightly inaccurate message on a furloughed WhatsApp group can spiral into full-on panic for teams in minutes.
The only way to stop the rumour mill in its tracks is to share regular, accurate and honest information with your furloughed teams. It won’t stop speculation, of course. But it will provide counterbalance and help your teams to know you’re on their side.
Protecting your reputation
Keeping in touch with your teams through furlough should be something you do because you care about people. But there are good business reasons for doing it too – including protecting your organisation’s reputation.
Will your teams talk well about you in the future because they felt you stood by them? Or will they have zero loyalty and bad mouth you, given the opportunity?
Keep in touch. That’s all we’re saying.
So how do you go about communicating with teams who are on furlough?
If you already have an internal communications function, they need to remember that furloughed teams are now a distinct audience.
If you’ve never formalised communications with your teams before (and certainly in smaller businesses, this isn’t unusual) – then this post on internal communications for beginners could be useful for you.
Which technology should you use?
If you know your colleagues all have laptops, tablets or smart phones at home, then send a weekly email update. If your colleagues aren’t necessarily going to be able to read an email, then text. If your team is small and you only have a couple of people on furlough, then call (and text or email highlights later, so they’ll be remembered and shared accurately).
What should you say?
This can seem difficult – especially if week by week, very little changes. Just remember, it’s more reassuring to hear that things are still the same than to fear they’ve got worse.
Your updates should contain any significant changes (we’ve installed plexiglass/contract X has been shelved/two people have now come back to work). They could also share important news from colleagues (Tom is out of hospital/Fiona had her baby/Sylvia celebrated her 40th birthday in her back yard) – but these should be secondary to work developments.
And importantly, they should address the question that everyone has on their mind: When can we come back to work? If you don’t know the answer to it, admit that you don’t know. If you’re playing for as much time as possible to get business back on track, let teams know that too. That way, everyone knows what they’re dealing with and can make plans to look after themselves and their health.
There’s an old adage that no news is better than good news. This is completely wrong in this situation. Tell your teams what’s happening, even if nothing is happening.
How should you say it?
Often, in more formal HR situations, communications can begin to sound very formal, stiff and legalistic. And that’s because HR teams – or whoever’s responsible for HR-type stuff in your organisation – can fear getting it wrong.
So they stick to lawyer-approved wording, or templates they’ve downloaded from the .gov website. They do this because they believe their number one priority is protecting the company.
But don’t underestimate the strain of furlough on your teams. And don’t add to it with communications that are infrequent and sound harsh.
For many people, this is the longest they have ever not worked. And work is important in people’s lives (even if they moan about it). It gives structure. It lets you know what day of the week it is. It can feel meaningful – both in terms of the work itself and in being part of a team. It can provide company and friendships. To have that all taken away is no small thing.
So if you care about your teams, communicate. Do it honestly, in the words you’d use if you were having a conversation over lunch at work – and do it frequently. Communicating with teams who are on furlough should be an exercise in keeping people feeling included and valued.
Allocate resource
A well-considered, checked and proofread email to your furloughed colleagues will probably take about two hours a week. It’s not a “nothing” amount of time, but it’s a small investment compared to the benefits it can generate for your teams and for your business.
And as furlough conditions begin to change, some of your team members might be able to return for a few hours a week – and you could task one of them with communicating with teams who are on furlough.
Or of course, you could get an agency like us to do it for you.
Go the extra mile
A weekly update is a good thing. But there are more ways you can keep in touch and let teams know your thinking still involves them. Here are a few ideas…
- If your company normally marks special occasions (birthdays, anniversaries) don’t stop now – send cards, flowers or whatever is appropriate for your organisation. If you’re really strapped, a birthday text costs nothing.
- Hold a weekly videoconference, as well as a written update. You’ll be saying the same things, but you can give people the chance to ask questions
- If you have a regular business update or “state of the nation” invite furloughed colleagues to attend by Zoom or Teams – or at least make a recording of it available. It’s not healthy to let a “them and us” situation develop between furloughed and non-furloughed team members.
- We also know of a couple of businesses that have organised Zoom coffee meetings between colleagues so that everyone can keep in touch with each other if they want – which is a lovely idea.
If you want to chat about communicating with teams during furlough, give us a call. We know budgets are tight right now – so we’ll be happy to have a free Zoom with you to share pointers, if that helps. Get in touch and let’s chat.