1. Effective Communication & Delivering Bad News in HRM
Helena Martins
Polytechnic of Porto & University of Porto, Portugal

2. Axioms of Communication
(Watzlawick, Bavelas & Jackson, 1967)
“one cannot not communicate”
words used in communication draw their meaning from the context of the relationship between speaker and listener
How you punctuate the communicational sequences defines the relationship
communication is digital and analogical
communication transactions are either "symmetrical" or "complementary," depending on the power balance between the parties

3. HRM, the relationship department
Contacting workers for good and bad news
Giving and getting feedback
Conflict management
Negotiation (of terms, schedules, vacations…)
Developing HR
Creating trust in and within the Organization
Etc!

4. What kind of bad news? Firing people Pay cuts
Individual or collective
Pay cuts
“You are not getting what you want/deserve”
Work Accidents
Worker / Family member injuries and death
Costumer complaints
Internal management of difficult communication
Etc!

5. How do you do it? Nobody likes to be the bearer of bad news!
Remember it is about the people
The people getting the news
The people involved in the news
The people giving the news

6. Preparing yourself first
You might be facing a difficult situation
Your own reasons
You are emotionally fragile, you identify with the situation or person…
Difficult relationship with the other person
Other people’s reasons
People might face a form mourning process due to a loss of something or someone
Emotional reactions can be unexpected/strong/hard to deal or manage
Anger, sadness (e.g. crying), denial/disbelief

7. An example Scene from up in the air
“Sometimes they just need to vent”

8. Preparing yourself first
To be emotionally intelligent (Goleman, 1995)
Self awareness
Self management
Social awareness
Relationship management

9. Strategies for giving bad news
Remember: what you are saying and what is being heard might not be the same!
Consider the relationship
Give people time to assimilate the news
Ask questions and let people ask you questions
Don’t be in a hurry
If information is complex, divide it in chunks
“The doctor administers the truth, the patient decides the dosage”

10. Strategies for giving bad news
There is no magic trick or recipe
Like everything in HRM the best practice is contextual, interpersonal, situation-specific
Be true to yourself and respect yourself too
LISTEN (actively listen)
And look like you are listening 

11. SPIKES Setting up Perceptions Invitation to break news Knowledge
Emotions
Strategy/Summary

12. See also

13. In the organizational context…
Efficiency = recovery/adaptive mourning and performance
Not dropping out can also mean a stronger relationship in and with the workplace

14. Giving feedback Feedback is different from giving bad news
You are letting people know how their actions/attitudes/etc are perceived and their consequences
“Communication is a two-way process that leads to appropriate action… in the context of developing competence, it is not an exaggeration to describe feedback as “the fuel that drives improved performance”.” (Parsloe, 1995)

15. So why is it so hard
People avoid giving feedback even in the most mundane situations
Positive feedback
Negative feedback
Only about 30% of feedback is integrated when people don’t feel confortable getting the information (Ochsner, 2010)

16. How? “Feedback is not the time for flipping out” (Daniel Goleman)
“Be tough, not mean”
There is no magic bullet
Development of communications skills takes time, commitment, practice, reflection
But it is SO worthwhile!

17. Some tips Focus on improvement
Negative feedback is not about something good, no matter how positive your attitude, BUT don’t focus on assigning blame because no one can change the past
Talk about the future, focus behaviours
As much as possible make it right there and then
But be careful with the context and other listeners

18. Some tips
Your remarks should be specific, objective, focused on behaviours
Avoid ambiguity and personal attacks
Feedback vs Scolding
“You should”, “You must” and “You need” don’t really tell why
“You should talk slower” vs “When you talk fast I have a hard time understanding what you mean”

19. Some tips Sandwich it Do it personally Ask permission to give feedback
Use “I sentences” to communicate your feelings, and what you have personally seen, heard, need, or expect
Ask permission to give feedback
Make a pause and see how you are being understood or not
Receiving feedback!!

20. Other ideas When you (behaviour), I (feeling)
DESC – Description, Expressing, Specifying, Conclusion

21. Final thoughts Communication vs information
Your doctor vs Doctor Google
You can call them HR, but they are people
Getting bad news is never good, but you don’t have to make it a worse experience than it is
A significant amount of people remember getting a diagnostic as a more painful experience than the remainder of the treatment process!
Focus on the relationship, it’s why we are all here for!