Microsoft opens portal for employee concerns with ‘lessons learned,’ Rockstar Games spars with union in memos after firings

Greetings, comms pros! Let’s take a look at a few news stories from the past week and see what we can learn from them.

1 . Microsoft allows employees to share misgivings about tech use

Microsoft has given employees greater access to report concerns about how the company’s technology is used. GeekWire reported that the company is expanding its Integrity Portal to include a feature called “Trusted Technology Review.” The feature will allow employees to report concerns or potential policy violations they’re seeing with Microsoft technology usage. This follows allegations of the company’s technology being used in the Israel-Gaza war by the Israeli Defense Forces, with some Microsoft employees objecting to that activity.

“We continue to consider lessons learned and apply them to how we run our business and advance our mission in an increasingly complex world,” Microsoft president Brad Smith said in an internal memo. The memo also noted that Microsoft’s non-retaliation policy will apply to information put in the new reporting feature, and that employees can report violations and concerns anonymously.

Microsoft’s move communicates its willingness to restore trust by providing a two-way path for sharing information transparently. It signals to employees that their ethical concerns are important to the company and can make a real difference, and it shows the public that the company takes employee concerns seriously. Those are big parts of preserving an employer brand amid potential controversy.

Additionally, by communicating an emphasis on the non-retaliation policy, Microsoft will be able to create the necessary psychological safety that allows employees to express valid concerns that might buoy the reputation of the business. These things aren’t just good for employees — they can help the bottom line, too.

2. Rockstar Games battles accusations of union-busting in internal memo after firings

Video game developer Rockstar Games fired a group of employees in the UK and Canada after accusing them of leaking proprietary information. However, the fired workers were part of a group chat discussing unionizing at the company, with some already members of the Independent Union Workers of Great Britain trade union. The IWGB hit out at Rockstar in a statement given to IGN, accusing the developer of union-busting tactics.

“Rockstar continue to deflect from the real reason for these dismissals: they are afraid of hard working staff privately discussing exercising their rights for a fairer workplace and a collective voice. Management are showing they don’t care about delays to GTA 6, and that they’re prioritising union busting by targeting the very people who make the game.”

Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive, responded in a statement to Bloomberg.

“Last week, we took action against a small number of individuals who were found to be distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum, a violation of our company policies. This was in no way related to people’s right to join a union or engage in union activities.”

When they’re not handled correctly, union comms can prove to be a headache. They can damage employee culture, employer branding and the business itself. But thankfully, there are some concrete steps we went over in 2024 that communicators can take to approach union comms the right way.

• Acknowledge the rights of workers to unionize. Taking an antagonistic stance against unions is a great way to kill culture. Support the rights of your workers and stay quiet when you can.
• Align your communication with the company’s values. If your communication strays too much from your usual tone and language, employees will see right through it. Communicate in a way that’s consistent with how you’d normally reach out to your employees.
• Get your leaders ready to talk about it. In times of change, employees want to hear from the top. Comms pros should work with leaders to refine the talking points before, during and after any union activities take place.

3. Report: Clear communication helps AI adoption rates climb, stick

A recent study from EY found that employees who have a clear AI strategy communicated to them implement AI tech within their roles at a much higher rate than those who lack communication from their employers. The report stated that 66% of employees who reported clear AI-related comms from their employers use agentic AI, with employees lacking communication adopting agentic AI at a clip of just 39%. The trend continued when applied to employees who reported eagerly applying AI to their roles — 87% of those employees reported clear communication from their organizations on AI policies and procedures. In comparison, 69% of those eager about AI’s capabilities lacked clear messaging about the path forward.

The data is pretty clear here — if you want your employees to get ahead of the curve with AI, you need to communicate your company’s policies and norms with them clearly. In practice, that means communicators should work with IT to draft and share policies that provide concrete examples of what is and isn’t fair game for AI use. The more ahead of the curve your employees are, the higher their AI adoption rates will be and the greater their chances of innovating on behalf of the organization.

4. How about some good news?

• A polar bear in Canada happily chowed down on a giant pumpkin.
• Archaeologists discovered a 5,500-year-old ritual site in Jordan.
• Listening to music may cut dementia risks for seniors significantly.
• Ragan Training is great for communications pros to find inspiration and resources.
• You should be rewarded for your work. Find out how to earn an award here!

Have a great weekend comms all-stars!

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and trivia.