A formal business letter in full block style that uses the indirect approach to break the following bad news to your employees.

Task: write a formal business letter in full block style that uses the indirect approach to break the following bad news to your employees.

Bad News Scenario: You are president of a Communications Agency with 3 small offices spread out around the Metro Vancouver area, in downtown Vancouver, Richmond, and Abbotsford. You must close all 3 satellite offices and relocate your staff to 1 central hub in Coquitlam. These are your reasons: 

1. The Vancouver office is in a building that recently had a fire. This was a sudden, unforeseen event. No-one was hurt. The employees know this. Due to water and smoke damage, the building will be permanently closed. 

2. You were already preparing to close the Abbotsford office, as its building was slated for expropriation for a condominium development. The employees know this, although it would have happened 1.5 years from now. 

3. Business costs (rent) are high and business practices have been shifting related to global events. 

The news of the move is unexpected. You have had to move quickly to find a new location in a hot real estate market, which hasn’t been an easy task. High property taxes and corporate rental rates have forced you to relocate to Coquitlam, many kilometres from your previous office locations. You know that several employees may be inconvenienced by this change, as they live within walking distance of your current locations. Some staffers do not even own cars for the many-kilometre commute. 

You have a limited budget for tech upgrades. While the occasional work-from-home day is possible, current privacy laws mean you will need to upgrade your computer systems if you are to permit any employees to work from home more regularly. This is a costly upgrade for which you do not currently have the necessary funds. 

On the plus side, the new building is state-of-the-art, with ample parking, dining options, fitness and childcare facilities, and easy access to public transit. The increase in square footage and money saved in rental fees means there will be no layoffs because of the relocation. 

Compose a formal letter to employees informing them of the changes.  

Uses effective writing strategies characteristic of the indirect approach emphasizing order (structure), tone, and clarity, such as o the 4-part structure (including buffer statement and forward-looking goodwill statement, as appropriate)

o neutral-to-positive yet professional tone o solution-oriented focus (offers alternatives, emphasizes reader-benefits) 

o maintains credibility (bad news is clear) 

o uses passive voice and placement of bad news strategically within sentences (dependent clause, independent clause)