Who's the highest ranking communications executive in your organization? If you're following the latest prescription for success, you'll likely say it's your CEO. In an
age of globalization, merger mania and rapid-fire technology upgrades, chief executives have become front-line spokesmen in communicating how their companies are managing change.
How can clear messages from the CEO help drive a new direction for a technologically altered industry? Or shape the successful marriage of two corporate cultures? Or
inject new life into a tired old brand? And what is the role of the PR counselor in supporting the CEO in the spotlight? These were among the questions posed during a
recent conference call of more than 45 corporate communicators, organized by the Public Affairs Group (PAG)/Best Practices in Corporate Communications. We bring you excerpts of
the conversation, printed with exclusive permission of PAG:
"We're in the third year of a turnaround that has resulted in a genuine culture change. Our CEO [knew he] had to walk the talk, and allied his points with human resources. A
lot of the measurement and compensation [strategies] support the messages of the CEO. For example, we decided that we were going to be a value-focused company. It was the CEO who
led the charge to go to the front line and get input and engagement on values. When we came up with a set of values that the front line felt good about (and that we felt good
about), then built our [messages] around those values. And the front-line compensation and evaluation is partly [built] around those values. By making our CEOs "walk the talk,"
they actually become part of this communication and gain a tremendous amount of credibility."
-Barry Mike, Pizza Hut (TRICON Global Restaurants)
"We had an IPO about 18 or 20 months ago. We were in a situation of rolling out a new strategic framework, which was essentially our mission, our vision, our values, our
strategies and our goals. [The challenge] was bringing together of our own officers. We [later] did a mini-survey of 200 of our employees at random to find out [whether they]
understood the direction of the corporation. It was higher than we thought, with about a 94% approval rating. They understood the bringing together of two parts of the company,
and they understood where the company was going. The way we did that essentially was to put the CEO on video and distribute hundreds of copies of that video out to the field."
- Joe Curry, Convergys
"Our CEO has been around since 1963 and is not planning to go anywhere, which helps in terms of the continuity of message. One of the things that has made his communications
so effective with employees is the fact that if you take a look at his annual report speeches five years ago, four years ago, three years ago, you'll realize he's talking about
the same things today. He's consistent, clear and tenacious about the direction he wants to take the company. There is no doubt about what he's focused on. What we've been able
to add, in terms of working with him, is a framework around that message. He builds upon it every year."
-Jill Feldon, The Limited, Inc.
"Today, good communications counselors play dual roles with their CEOs. You simultaneously have to be the student of the business and the business plan (because it's what's
guiding the CEO), but at the same time be the educator on how communications can help deliver that plan.
Good communication starts with employees who understand where their CEO is coming from, and vice versa. It's one thing to do regular polling on employee understanding of [the
CEO's] messages, but what are we doing around measuring folks' business literacy and understanding of the business plan?
The issue of measurement and tying it in to what the CEO is trying to achieve and educating the CEO starts at the end. That is, start with what the business is trying to
achieve. What is the CEO on the hook for? What is the board of directors asking him or her to deliver? Working backwards from there, figure out as many ways as possible to
ensure that you're delivering [employees who understand] what is going to support the plan and deliver those results. From there, you will be able to explain to the CEO the
inter-relationship of being clear about these goals, and what you need to do operationally to get there. You can also be clear in terms of explaining to people how they fit as a
group (and individually) into that larger scheme of things."
- Bob Libbey, consultant to Best Practices (formerly with UnumProvident)
"We are going through a corporate branding process right now because we are in the pre-IPO stage. We are fortunate [that] our CEO is one of us - he used to be head of the
Hill & Knowlton office. AFC is the parent company of Popeye's, Churches chicken, Cinnabon and Seattle's Best. As a part of that corporate branding process, we've focused on:
1) getting the vision, mission and messages clearly articulated; 2) putting them in writing; 3) making sure they are [reiterated] in all the communication vehicles (speeches,
corporate brochures, employee gatherings, employee communications, etc.). We also did a recent survey of our employees, and about 75% could recall the mission and knew the
different messages. We think it's working. Now we have to take the message to Wall Street."
-Ellen Hartman, APR, Fellow, PRSA, AFC Enterprises
"We got a new CEO almost 12 months ago. During the past year there has been speculation about the changing nature of our business from the [traditional] telecom company, as we
diversify inter-media and other sorts of areas. This is quite distracting for staffers. [Plus] we changed the name of the company about four years ago. Being a long-standing
telecom company, [our desire] to diversify has been a challenge. We've been trying to use the CEO: 1) as our brand champion - having him out [emphasizing] the brand attributes in
his speeches and 2) talking [about those attributes] with staff. Given the size of the country and the staff being spread geographically they way they are, it's not easy for us
to be able to get our CEO out to the many remote parts of Australia where we do have vast numbers of staff."
-Robert Gibbs, Telstra