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It sounds like you're fighting an uphill battle. Culture change needs to start at the top with the CEO or founder(s). They should be driving the entire initiati

It sounds like you're fighting an uphill battle. Culture change needs to start at the top with the CEO or founder(s). They should be driving the entire initiative. In addition to lending legitimacy to it, they also lend authority to it... And since there are always those that will resist change (for various reasons: they don't agree, they don't see the value, they prefer the old way, etc), the initiative needs that authority to bring those people onboard or to treat them like any other antagonist on a team (move them or replace them). If you don't have that, then I would find a way to get off that team. That's a failed culture change, and is just waiting for management to change its mind and quite possibly, fire the entire team. If management wants employees to trust them, that should start with management. And they start that process by openly communicating and listening. On layoffs: Everyone in the company is an employee... the company makes money and issues paychecks. If the company doesn't make enough money to pay those who work there, there isn't some sacrifice that can be made. Either the company lays off those they cannot afford, or it closes it's doors permanently. Everyone understands this. They are all adults, and if you communicate openly about the health of the company, they will understand. And if you have a situation like that, and management communicated openly, then the employees will start to trust that when management says everything is going great, that it is actually true. Trust begins at the top too.

badpun 8y ago
> If the company doesn't make enough money to pay those who work there, there isn't some sacrifice that can be made. Either the company layoffs those they cannot afford, or it closes it's doors permanently. Everyone understands this. They are all adults, and if you communicate openly about the health of the company, they will understand. Aren't layoffs frequently about the owners just not making as much money as they would like, and not about survival?
- rgbrenner 8y ago
  There is pressure from owners (shareholders/investors) to increase profits.. and that can be a problem for the company if they are not performing as well as other similar investment options, since investors will take their money elsewhere, making it harder to raise money in the future. But that's a pressure the company is under constantly. The executive team turns that into an action plan. The action plan always reflects the need to constantly make progress. In other words, it's never the case that greed is suddenly a reason for layoffs -- since that existed every day the company was operating. Companies aren't laying off divisions that perform well and contribute profits to the company. They layoff to solve an issue that has been identified. That issue needs to be communicated. The fact is, no company is a perfectly performing entity. There are always parts that perform inefficiently; no longer reflect the mission of the company; etc. And sometimes layoffs are required to improve the company.

badpun 8y ago

> If the company doesn't make enough money to pay those who work there, there isn't some sacrifice that can be made. Either the company layoffs those they cannot afford, or it closes it's doors permanently. Everyone understands this. They are all adults, and if you communicate openly about the health of the company, they will understand. Aren't layoffs frequently about the owners just not making as much money as they would like, and not about survival?

rgbrenner 8y ago
There is pressure from owners (shareholders/investors) to increase profits.. and that can be a problem for the company if they are not performing as well as other similar investment options, since investors will take their money elsewhere, making it harder to raise money in the future. But that's a pressure the company is under constantly. The executive team turns that into an action plan. The action plan always reflects the need to constantly make progress. In other words, it's never the case that greed is suddenly a reason for layoffs -- since that existed every day the company was operating. Companies aren't laying off divisions that perform well and contribute profits to the company. They layoff to solve an issue that has been identified. That issue needs to be communicated. The fact is, no company is a perfectly performing entity. There are always parts that perform inefficiently; no longer reflect the mission of the company; etc. And sometimes layoffs are required to improve the company.