The Corporate Storyteller

I was mystified to learn recently that a major organization, having announced the date that a new base-pay program for their salesforce would be launched, neglected to tell the staff that their checks would be delayed two weeks. What's worse, sales people learned about the delay on the day they were to have received the first check--only after they asked where their checks were!

How can any management team be so clueless, especially in an industry that's been hit so hard by the economy that sales have nearly disappeared? The new pay system was created to help keep the staff afloat--and the company in business--until new sales initiatives and the economy both improve. But the lack of support until now and the cavalier attitude about a two-week pay delay, which for some was a desperately needed lifeline, does not bode well for the company's chance of retaining those people when the economy improves and they have opportunities to go elsewhere.

I've always been amazed that many organizations forget that their employees are their greatest asset and should be the first to hear the complete story about management decisions and corporate changes.

Am I missing something here? Is there a good reason you can think of that would cause management to be so nonchalant about their people's ability to survive in tough times? Let me know what you think about the scenario I described.