When Microsoft announced it was laying off 12,500 employees in a 1,100-word email, it inadvertently sparked a discussion on company communication. How can business leaders effectively communicate company changes to their staff? What is the protocol?

Big or small, changes are changes, and they need to be reported to employees accordingly. By approaching discussions with factors like timeliness in mind, leaders can have more success in talking with their teams.

In this article, and with added insight from Jenny Dervin, the former Vice President of Corporate Communications for JetBlue, Chris Cancialosi outlines three lessons to be learned from Microsoft’s recent layoff.