Communicating With the Workforce — A Very Good Idea, But Proceed With Caution

Most employers communicate with their workforce about a wide variety of employment related issues — personnel policies, wage and benefit issues, organizational changes, etc. These communications — whether verbal or in writing — can be an effective way of maintaining high-quality employee relations and positive employee morale. Unfortunately, they also can provide support for employee claims of all varieties if not delivered properly and carefully. In fact, employer communications to their workforce often turn up in employment disputes as evidence relevant to an employer's alleged wrongdoing. For that reason alone, employers should follow a few basic rules when communicating with their employees about employment related matters: