Like Six Flags, Let Workers Spread the Word

Knowing that the word "bankruptcy" conjures visions of job losses and drastic cost cutting, Shapiro released an open letter to all employees reassuring them that the company wasn't planning any layoffs or changes to benefits.

"Our brand and our operations are on solid ground," he wrote. "This process is strictly a financial restructuring of our debt and that's how you should view it and speak about it."

But what's striking is that he went on to encourage employees to discuss the bankruptcy with others: "As an ambassador of the company, educate anyone and everyone around you. Feel free to share this note with your own social network -- family, friends, neighbors, blogs, etc. Get the word out. People want to be informed."

Granted, Six Flags is in a comparatively enviable situation: It's not cutting off payments to suppliers or shedding half the workforce. If the news were really bad, Shapiro might not be so anxious for employees to talk.

But his communications strategy offers a useful lesson in the power of employee engagement. Your workers can be powerful advocates for you, if they're encouraged to take action. If you make sure they know what's going right for your company, they can help spread the word more effectively than a costly advertising campaign.

"Instead of controlling and centralizing the message, you have to set it free," says Andy Beal, author of "Radically Transparent: Monitoring & Managing Reputations Online" and founder of the online reputation monitoring service Trackur. "Employees are major stakeholders in your brand, and their actions contribute to the reputation of your business. Companies going through a major crisis should tap into their desire to help the company survive."