Today's Wall St. Journal addressed an issue which is becoming more prevalent as bad news from Wall St. continues to pour in. One of the questions that managers face is how to respond to fears and questions from their staff. Employees are worried about the health of their companies and the stability of their individual jobs. Many managers have their own personal fears and feel unequipped and uneasy about sending the wrong message.

The first thing to remember is that you are a role model to your employees. They are watching your reactions and if they see you panic, they will panic. The worst thing you can do is to say nothing. Productivity will grind to a halt while your staff rushes to fill the void with speculation and rumor.

Second, recognize that you won't be able to allay all of your staff's fears or answer all of their questions. You can continue to be a leader that they can rely on to provide information and help minimize distractions. Here are a few suggestions:

• Be candid, not transparent. Share your company's business results with your team - good or bad. Don't make 'upper management' or Human resources the bad guys. They are concerned about the well being of the company and it's staff just as you are.
• Direct your team's focus to the things that they can control. Complaining about the company or the economy isn't going to make them feel better. Instead, review the impact that their work has on the company's bottom line. Discuss how the department's work affects revenue, costs or other resources. Remind them that the best thing they can do to protect their job is to achieve the goals and measurements that they are missioned to do. Take the opportunity to brainstorm ideas on how the department can be even more productive.
• If layoffs are imminent, share the information with your team as quickly as you can. You may have to wait for approval due to legal restrictions but as soon as you get that approval, tell your employees. You want to give them as much time as possible to figure out their next steps. In many companies, the HR department can prove to be a valuable resource in helping you to structure the conversations with your team. Make sure they are aware of any financial seminars or job placement services that are available.
• Get back to normal as quickly as possible after a layoff. Be accessible to those team members who weren't affected as they will have a mixture of feelings ranging from relief to guilt. Again, HR and your employee assistance programs can be invaluable.

Finally, be even more proactive in taking the pulse of your team during a stressful time. Interact with and observe their demeanor as much as possible.  An employee who starts coming in late, has emotional outbursts or is making a lot of personal phone calls is giving you warning signs that they may be overwhelmed with the situation. You want to be aware so that you can give them some guidance or refer them to HR, employee assistance or other resources.