Business Continuity Plan to be Implemented
Dear All,
XYZ Co. has always taken pride in its employees who strive to attain the highest levels of excellence everyday in every part of their job. Today, we are faced with a challenging situation that will test our courage, dedication and integrity. Last night, a major fire broke out at the office premises of our New York headquarters. The cause of the fire has not been confirmed by the fire department as yet and we will be keeping you updated as we receive further news of the investigation.
Thankfully, the fire occurred during a time when the office was closed and no regular employees were present on premises. The security personnel were able to evacuate the office in time and no one was injured in the incident. However, the office has suffered a near complete destruction of property and equipment. As such, it will not be possible for our New York office to handle its regular business load till a new office is set up.
As you are aware, XYZ Co. has a well etched Business Continuity Plan in place and according to this plan, the mission critical work load from the headquarters will be transferred to our branch till the New York office is functional again. You will be joined by key personnel from the headquarters who will be working with you to ensure that the minimum performance levels are met. Additional resources like work stations and network connectivity will be installed at our office premises tonight to accommodate the inbound New York personnel so some of you may have to share desk space with your New York colleagues during the interim period. However, we assure you that any unnecessary inconveniences will be avoided.
We have organized a town hall tomorrow review the BCP with you one more time. In addition, you individual team leaders and department heads will be discussing your role and added responsibilities for the next few weeks with you through 1:1 sessions starting post lunch hour today. Please feel free to clarify any doubts that you may have about your part in the implementation of the BCP.
As our organization strives to overcome this unexpected challenge, we have a firm belief in your capabilities and dedication towards your work and XYZ Co. We take this opportunity to thank you in advance for your efforts towards making this transition as smooth as possible for all.
Best regards,
Designation:
Summary
The mail being sent is a business communication conveying a negative piece of information. The situation is that is a fire destroying the company’s headquarters and rendering it non-functional for an unknown period of time. Not only does this situation have a dire impact on the organization’s operations but also adversely affects the employees workload as they now have to handle the operations of the HQ as well. Such letters require extra care—the more the negative information concerns the reader as a person, the greater the need for psychological preparation. I have used the indirect plan for conveying a negative message. In this method, the writer first prepares the reader for the bad news before actually breaking the news.
The advantages of this plan are that it enables the reader to: a) accept the negative information that you must give them, and b) maintain a satisfactory relationship with you and your organization. I have split the email into 5 parts: a) An opening that conveys a positive outlook towards employees before breaking the bad news, b) providing further positives to lessen the impact of the bad news, c) discussing how the negative event will be affecting the employees, d) discussing the steps the organization is taking to minimize the inconveniences cause, and e) a closure thanking employees for their dedication towards excellence. I believe this approach encourages a positive outlook in employees and knowing that their employer has faith in them will motivate them to go the extra mile for the organization.
Works Cited
Bowmen, Joel P. "Writing Negative Messages." 21 August 2002. http://homepages.wmich.edu. 6 April 2011 <http://homepages.wmich.edu/~bowman/badnews.html>.
Krizan, A.C., et al. Business Communication - Seventh Edition. Ohio: Thomson Learning, 2005.
