Worksheet: Brief managers first, then answer the floor

People who hear the story from the rumour mill first stop trusting the official version. This sheet plans the cascade: managers hear first, tell their teams in person, and questions get answers. It builds the Competent step of the check:

Line managers are briefed before their teams and take the story to them in person, and questions from the floor get answered.

Step 1. The key messages

Write four or five messages every manager will use, in the same words everywhere.

Message	Proof point
e.g. Our own people lead it	Workstream leads named on the staff intranet

Step 2. The cascade

Audience	Briefed by	Format	When	Materials
Senior leaders	CEO	A session of an hour, with questions	Day 1	Deck, talking points, questions and answers
Line managers	Their executive	In person	Day 2 or 3	The same pack
Teams	Their line manager	In person	Within a week	The talking points

Step 3. The question log

Question	From (team)	Date	Answer	Answered by	Date answered

Publish the common questions and their answers each fortnight.

Step 4. Watch for fatigue

Protect the small things people value. Cutting them saves little and loses the room.

Team	Changes landing this quarter	Turnover this month	Mood check	Action

Under 50 people: tell staff the story yourself, in person, and answer the questions that come back. Check mood and turnover each month so you see fatigue early.

Done when: managers were briefed before their teams, every team heard the story in person, and the question log shows answers.

Adapted from our own programme steering packs (PSP, 2012).