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The Challenge
A West Michigan manufacturer faced the competitive reality of closing one of its local operations and moving the work offshore. The family-owned company sought our assistance in an effort to:
- Treat the company’s employees with fairness, compassion and sensitivity.
- Uphold the morale and productivity of employees at other locations who would not be affected by the decision.
- Protect the brand of the company in the marketplace and the employer’s reputation in the community.
Our Action
Within a compressed time period, we worked closely with company management to develop a plan based on a strong, consistent message, yet tailored to speak specifically to the concerns of different stakeholder groups: employees, customers, suppliers and the community.
Once the plan and all supporting materials were fully developed, the company’s in-house communications team underwent training aimed at helping them deliver the key messages clearly and consistently.
The Results
- Measurements of quality and productivity saw no significant dip in the aftermath of the announcement.
- Employee retention remained unchanged at other locations.
- Local press coverage of the closing positioned the story in a way that was closely aligned with the company’s key messages.
- Employees knew that they face a future of uncertainties, but they trusted that their leaders would talk with them about it honestly.
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