Although irritation in corporate response doesn't help either
"Ai, that hurts." That's what employees (and not just top executives) of ABN AMRO may have thought when earlier this week part of an anonymous letter appeared on the front page of the FD appeared¹. Rumbling and dissatisfaction in an organization is never fun. And if it is also fought out through the media, then you know that there are actually only losers.
Organizations are constantly developing. They have to do that in order to be able to properly anticipate a changing outside world. This applies to banks, public organizations and also, for example, the Dutch football team. And change, whether it is an evolution or a revolution, will not always be embraced in the same way by everyone. Not everyone will be happy with the decisions that are made. That is simply inherent to change. It is of course very important that the desired change is properly realized and explained and explained in a careful manner and within the “walls” of the organization. That requires patience, dialogue, feedback and contradiction; sometimes three steps forward and then two steps back.
And if things don't go well, just take a moment. A fire letter such as in the example from ABN AMRO is a remedy, assuming that the letter in FD is genuine. And if it arrives at the right place internally, anything is possible. Sharing such a letter – anonymously – with the media is a step too far and in many cases causes more damage than initially thought. It does not bring a constructive dialogue closer and does not contribute to the much-needed trust to find solutions together. That couldn't have been the intention.
Venting irritation about an urgent letter through the media in a corporate response does not significantly contribute to a solution. Not about solving the supposed problem, but also not about the reputation of a company. It is wise for the organization itself to take the signals seriously and communicate as such. No more and no less. Because whether you're right or not, offense may not be the best defense in this case. With the public, after reading the urgent letter, you are already 2-0 behind on sympathy points. Unfortunately, by publicly taking up the fight you rarely win back points.
President Commissioner Tom de Swaan's invitation to employees for an interview seems to be a good first step in this case. In the hope that as a supervisor he can also assure employees who comply with this that they will actually be listened to and that they will not be held accountable for their statements afterwards.
¹ Read the coverage of the fire letter here or here at another (publicly accessible) source.
