Strategic Communication of a Negative Message for a Change Initiative

Learning Objectives
Use your research and understanding of an organization in order to develop an effective negative message.
Choose a strategic approach for a negative message based on its target audience.
Demonstrate effective goodwill, positive-emphasis, and you-attitude in a negative message.
Purpose and Description
This assignment will allow you to practice the application of audience analysis and positive emphasis while delivering an effective negative message (clear, concise, complete, and correct).
For this assignment you will use your selected company/audience from the audience profile assignment to compose a negative message in email format.
You will have creative license to create details like names and dates for your message, but please follow your chosen scenario closely.
Communication Scenario
Your company is changing its human resources software provider. Employees will now be using a different site /format/software to log their time, request time off, view their benefits information, etc. This new software will go live in one month. The old software will be terminated in two months time.
There was another software change two years prior and that change did not go over well for several reasons: using the software was not as intuitive as promised; there were several integration problems with the other software programs used by your company causing many work delays and much frustration; and your organization has many long-term employees who are not digital natives,
The change will result in required training for all employees. The training will be provided online, must be completed outside of work hours, will require 2-4 hours depending on how well each employee learns the material, and due to financial constraints, unfortunately cannot be paid in salary, but will add one vacation day during the next fiscal year. The training will need to be completed by a specific date.
Your manager has tasked you with informing all employees (your peers / direct reports / team members) of this change and the requirements due to that change.
You will need to ensure that your message is professional and that it accomplishes the following:
Utilizes the audience focus addressed in the audience profile assignment.
Informs all employees of the change in software.
Informs all employees of the training specifics required of them.
Addresses the negatives
Informs all employees of the resources that are available to aid this transition.
Presents any possible information with a positive emphasis.
Explains benefits to the company and employees (i.e. financial, professional, other).
Uses a goodwill ending: positive, personal, and forward-looking.
Include an informative and specific subject line, a clear and concise organizational pattern (see Ch. 9), and end with an electronic signature.
Audience
Primary: All company employees
Assignment Components & Expectations
Utilize your research from the audience profile to identify and cater to the primary audience.
Demonstrate awareness of audiences other than the primary.
Analyze and apply audience benefits, including audiences other than the primary.
Compose a message that includes all the information needed by the audience.
Use of positive emphasis, goodwill, and you-attitude.
Apply effective email etiquette and formatting techniques.
Successful use of subject lines, buffers, reasons, refusals, alternatives, and endings.
Resources
Chapter 2: Adapting Your Message to Your Audience
Chapter 3: Building Goodwill
Chapter 6: Communicating Across Cultures
Chapter 9: Delivering Negative Messages