Truth 24. You can sell an unpopular decision

The trouble with making a really difficult choice is that someone is always going to hate it. And some of the decisions you make—especially the difficult ones—are going to negatively impact at least one employee. In fact, the more difficult the decision was for you, the worse it’s going to be for the employees who had a stake in the losing proposition. The “losers” may feel that their ideas were discredited or, worse, dismissed. And maybe the losers might also feel that their job is at risk, if not, indeed, already obliterated. If the decision you had to make results in a significant layoff, no one’s going to be happy with you—except for perhaps senior management.

No mentally healthy adult expects to be happy with every twist and happenstance that comes along in life and work. But a hard knock is still a hard knock. And no amount of mental health is going to change that. Researchers are discovering, though, that one detail will make even the bitterest horse pill of bad news go down more smoothly: that’s the employees’ confidence that they were treated fairly in the decision-making process.

If the advice to be fair in your decision making seems laughably obvious, that’s good. But that’s not the point. First of all, sometimes you can’t be fair in the decision you finally come to. But the way you arrive at a decision can always be fair. And then (here’s the not-so-obvious point), the extraordinary efforts you take to make sure all employees know that the decision-making process itself was fair will take you a long way to selling your decision and achieving employee buy-in (even from those on the “losing” end).

The way you arrive at a decision can always be fair.

Studies have also shown that employees’ confidence in process fairness actually reduces the likelihood of retaliation and resistance. One study that tracked 1,000 terminated employees shows that only 1 percent of the employees who felt that they were at least treated fairly filed wrongful termination suits. But 17 percent of those who felt they were treated unfairly filed lawsuits. Researchers have also linked faith in fairness to lower incidents of employee theft and voluntary resignations.

But fairness is in the eye of the employee. You may have your own ideas about what fair means, but when it comes to selling a difficult decision, the only definition that counts is the one your employees’ hold. Generally, this means the following:

Fairness is in the eye of the employee.

• They feel that they had the chance to have some level of input into the decision-making process. If the final decision affects them, it would only seem, well, fair, to give them a chance to voice their opinion and perhaps provide a determining idea or insight.

• They have confidence that the decision was made in a way that’s consistent with the practices and culture of the organization. The decision must have been made based on accurate information. There was little or no favoritism. And managers can transparently trace the various key decision points for employees to follow and understand.

• The news is announced respectfully by an appropriately senior manager. Rule of thumb: The worse the news affecting the larger number of people, the more senior the executive must be. You must explain the process as fully as you can and then answer the employees’ questions—and listen to the barrage of objections. And there will be many, to be sure. But employees who are unhappy with your decision aren’t necessarily likely to quit over it, especially if they have the chance to express their opinions.

Rumor has it that the employment contract is over. But that’s not entirely true; it has just changed. Instead of the paternalistic promise of guaranteed salary for life, it is now more of an agreement struck between adults. Your employees are now truly stakeholders. And, as such, they expect explanations of the decisions you make for the business—especially the ones that negatively affect their livelihoods.

If your decision can withstand the light of scrutiny, you can sell it to your employees. But you have to treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve as adults and show them the process by which you made that decision. After all, it’s only fair.