A privately$-$held, rapidly$-$growing software development firm in Wisconsin is extremely successful. As a result, the original founder has recently sold the firm at a substantial profit. The new owner, a publicly traded corporation, intends to relocate the firm to consolidate it with its existing operations in Florida. The HR manager intends to relocate with the firm and is concerned about the impact that the geographic and corporate cultural differences will have on the other staff members. The HR manager knows that some knowledge loss and employee attrition is inevitable but wants to do all that can be done to mitigate the impact. The HR manager is also concerned that if news about the relocation gets out before the firm announces it$,$ employee reactions and customer perceptions may be adversely affected and more difficult to manage. The firm$$s move is scheduled to be complete within the next two years.

The HR manager is trying to minimize turnover and retain talent in the face of the upcoming relocation. Which action has the best likelihood of increasing employees$$ willingness to relocate and look at this change positively?

Answers

Issue an employee opinion survey to identify employee concerns.

Request that senior leaders hold focus groups and employee lunches to share information.

Schedule a staff meeting with all employees that is led by the president.

Start an employee blog to keep staff informed about the move.