Imagine launching a major media relations campaign with no research, no messaging plan and no media list. That non-campaign would be unthinkable for most PR practitioners. But
many corporate communicators approach their most important stakeholders - employees - with little to no communications planning.
The results of such haphazard internal communications can be devastating -- from diminished trust in management to massive turnover to labor union intervention -- especially in
the event that management must announce a significant change.
Ketchum Inside Partner and Director Peter Fleischer, of the global change management practice, lived that nightmare when he was called in by a manufacturing client that had
failed to communicate adequately to its employees about its financial situation. "If you're a dotcom and there are layoffs, you've got to be brain-dead not to have the
perspective that this is coming," Fleischer says. The most difficult situation occurs, he says, when it seems like only great news is released until the downsizing -- then
employees are completely devastated. Although Ketchum execs counseled their client to handle a downsizing with sensitivity, "their fate was sealed because they had not been open
about how the business operated." The client's management team announced the unexpected downsizing and then faced the gargantuan task of restoring employee trust and loyalty from
scratch.
Creating a Campaign
Whether a change is negative -- a downsizing -- or positive -- an IPO or acquisition -- employees view it as a crisis. Change management experts recommend treating the
announcement as you would any campaign targeting a key stakeholder.
"Change is always an uneasy thing for people," says Deborah Bowker, Burson-Marsteller's managing director for change communications in Washington, DC. "Even positive change
has to be positioned."
Experts cite key areas to address during a corporate change:
Research & Planning. Test the employee waters. Research these stakeholders
as you would any audience.
Fargo Electronics PR Manager David Schoeneck headed up communications at Graco Inc. when the company acquired a competitor. Schoeneck used the two months prior to the
announcement to discern how workers would react to the news. "I commissioned our outside PR agency to do a quick search and give me a labor climate think piece," Schoeneck
explains. It offered a brief look at what happened at similar firms when acquisitions took place. He also investigated the climate at Pyles, the company Graco was acquiring. Its
parent company was "rather remote," Schoeneck recalls. Pyles employees had only seen a representative from the company twice in a 20-year period. They needed aggressive
communications to feel comfortable with their new, much more proactive, parent company.
WellPoint, a California-based holding company, underwent a similar process when it acquired Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia. Blue Cross had never undergone a corporate
reorganization, while WellPoint "does it about every six weeks," says Ken Ferber, WellPoint VP of corporate communications. The integration team knew from the start that the two
companies had vastly different corporate cultures but it wasn't until WellPoint sent in a communications team to talk with Blue Cross employees and attend acquisition approval
meetings that they realized just how different. "Here was this West Coast company coming in," Ferber remembers. "I didn't get the cultural issue until I was there. I came back
to my boss and said, 'We're not ready.'"
Execution. The communications department should prepare messaging designed
to allay employee fears and underscore the positives of the change. That messaging
should address three key points, according to Burson Marsteller's Bowker: 1)
What's the big picture rationale for the change? 2) What's the tactical nature
of the change - how will it affect employee's work? 3) What's the personal effect
on an employee?
When it comes to delivery, major announcements should come from the top and involve as much face-to-face interaction with employees as possible. Town hall forums, one-on-one
meetings and even satellite feeds from executives can accomplish that level of interaction. Messaging should be distributed among managers at a variety of levels, as well.
"Employees want to hear from very senior leadership, from business unit leadership, and then they want a translation from their immediate supervisors," Bowker says. She also
recommends a "leave behind" piece because "there is some selective hearing that goes on."
As supervisors continue to communicate after an announcement, the corporate communications team should create ongoing dialogue between employees and senior management so that
employees internalize the change. Several months after the completion of the Blue Cross acquisition, WellPoint maintains a communications team in Georgia and offers a
confidential "Ask the Chairman" email service for its newest employees.
Measuring the Results. Once the change has taken place, take stock of
your communications campaign. "Get employees on the flipside," says Ketchum's
Fleischer. "Ask what they think the key message was, what did they think of
timing, did the grapevine get them information before we did, did you think
employees were treated fairly?"
Graco polled employees at Pyles about their satisfaction with corporate communication immediately following the acquisition, again six months later and then two years later to
evaluate how their ongoing communications were affecting employees.
"The nature of change is that there's not a single big change anymore, but a continual pace of change," Bowker says. "We encourage clients to periodically gauge employees'
level of understanding" in order to constantly prepare for upcoming internal communications.
(Contacts: Burson-Marsteller: Deborah Bowker, 202/530-4588; Ketchum: Peter Fleischer, 312/228-6800; Fargo Electronics: Dave Schoeneck, 800/459-5636 ext. 423; Wellpoint: Ken
Ferber, 805/557-6794)
Changing for the Better
No change is more difficult for employees or corporate communicators than a downsizing. Ketchum's layoffinsider.com outlines 10 common mistakes communicators make during an
emotionally-charged layoff:
- Treating layoffs like an event instead of a process. The impact lasts long beyond the announcement.
- Forgetting to put together a rebuilding plan. Never enter the layoff process without a long-term plan for rebuilding trust and re-energizing the organization.
- Failing to arm managers with adequate information. Managers need help to guide "water cooler" communications.
- Ignoring the survivors. Address guilt, anger and bewilderment among remaining employees.
- Forgetting important stakeholder groups. Start the planning process by identifying key stakeholders: employees and shareholders, customers, communities, families, unions.
- Underestimating organizational memory. Employees never forget.
- Failing to monitor the grapevine. Use informal and formal research to gauge employee opinion.
- Hiding behind closed doors. Be visible and engage in conversation with employees.
- "Not invented here." Lead by example; don't pass the buck during tough times.
- Laying off the wrong employees. Employees will be completely unnerved by the elimination of high performers so be sure layoffs are consistent with the rationale you
offer.
Source: Ketchum