How true leaders will emerge from the Peugeot Citroen crisis

With news that Peugeot Citron is preparing to close its Ryton plant in Coventry with the loss of 2,300 jobs by mid 2007, Professor Graham Jones, director of performance development consultancy Lane4 advises that its bosses and those of other companies in similar situations need to keep communicating with their workforce in order to ensure the best possible morale so that productivity remains constant and the customer is not affected.

He said: ìAt times like this communication with your entire workforce is key. There is nothing worse than rumours and Chinese whispers. Companies must recognise that while job losses are often inevitable, there are still going to be people left who will need both empathy and support.

All too often those who still have jobs with the company are regarded as the lucky ones and as such get very little support during this difficult time. And lucky they may be - their jobs are safe, but as far as they are concerned, the question is For how long?.

It is vital that organisations focus on reducing any uncertainty that exists and on ensuring that its workforce at other plants understands the path the company is taking towards the future.

Many companies announce redundancies and expect their employees to accept their fate. But they need to rationalise their actions, explaining that making redundancies is the final option, having explored every other avenue.

It is up to the board to be cohesive in ensuring that the same message is communicated internally as well as externally and that the organisationís staff discover their futures first hand rather than discovering ílatest developmentsí in the press and on the news, as is reportedly the case with the workers at the Ryton plant.

It is at times of pressure such as this real leadership skills are required and that the real leaders really come to the fore. Those who hide in the boardroom or behind official company statements will in time fall by the wayside.

Lane4 is a performance development consultancy founded by Olympic gold medal winner Adrian Moorhouse and renowned sports psychologist Professor Graham Jones.

For interviews with either Adrian or Graham, please contact Sarah Thomas, Seema Lalloo or Louise Ellis on 020 7388 9988