Are Lacking in Four Core AreasIn spite of the healthcare industry's robust merger activity, merger communication strategies still are missing the mark in four critical areas of employee communications that range from "announcement communications" to communications audits.
Compared to other industries that are in the throes of merger fever, healthcare employee communications needs to become more innovative in the following areas:
- "Announcement communications" that involve conveying immediate targeted messages to key audiences from employees to stakeholders;
- Two-way communication that involves listening to employee concerns and customizing executive messages to address them rather than "top-down" executive messages that don't acknowledge employee views and attitudes;
- Employee personal values that motivate employees' work ethics and shape their belief systems toward the organization; and
- Communications audits, key measuring tools that communicators can use to benchmark merger communications objectives against results.
In the second quarter, the hospital sector's merger activity shot up 68% to 52 transactions from 31 deals in the first quarter and is leading the healthcare industry in consolidations, according to a report released earlier this month by Irving Levin Associates, a healthcare research and publishing firm based in New Canaan, Conn.
Although healthcare communicators are making significant strides in creating a smoother merger process for employees, the financial services industry and industrial firms are leading the way with targeted "business literacy education" initiatives, says David H. Jackson, a partner with William M. Mercer and practice leader of its healthcare communications division.
These initiatives, which involve educating employees about an organization's critical business issues - ranging from how it generates revenue to client needs - have strong application to healthcare.
Here, HPRMN highlights the latest innovative employee communications strategies that can be customized for healthcare merger campaigns. These techniques also will be addressed in seminars at the American Hospital Association's Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development conference in Philadelphia, Aug. 29 - Sept. 1.
Personal Values Research
Personal values research, used for the last 10 years in politics and consumer marketing initiatives - including Levi Strauss & Comp., Federal Express [FDX] and IBM [IBM] - now is being used in healthcare to assess the values that drive employee behavior.
The technique involves extensive individual interviews (one- to two-hours long) with employees from various departments to gauge the motivation behind communication barriers. Issues that tend to be addressed include management-level frustrations and perceptions about corporate-wide fairness.
In the healthcare - particularly during a merger - having a keen understanding of where employees are emotionally coming from empowers communicators to develop corporate messages that will be heard and respected, says Marcia Austin, a senior managing director at Hill and Knowlton's (H&K) Tampa, Fla., office.
H&K, with 98 healthcare clients, provides personal values research services in conjunction with Berrier Associates, a consulting firm in Narberth, Pa.
During a merger, this research helps communicators:
- Reach critical employee groups like nurses, doctors and administrators with customized messages. For instance, if you know that a core concern of nurses is to achieve personal satisfaction, merger messages should address those sentiments;
- Measure how effective the organization's communication channels are. Nurses and physicians often want "face-time" with upper management, making town meeting forums an important communications vehicle;
- Prevent the rumor mill from getting out of control. Strategic merger messages help set the record straight. In the absence of the right kind of merger information, employee rumors and misinformation often fill voids.
Planning Face Time
A cardinal merger sin is convening employees or community members at town hall meetings and creating false expectations with announcements like: "This will be a merger of equals," when it really isn't, says Tammie Potvin, a principal with Pritchett & Associates, a Dallas-based consulting firm.
It's critical to plan prime "face-time" with employees and upper management and preparation for these meetings is as important if not more. It should include:
- Briefing mid-level managers for the onslaught of employee questions and concerns;
- Diffusing potential employee-hostility by using "up front, candid language" when communicating about the merger. For example, if you don't have all of the answers, admit it. But also emphasize a timeframe for corporate updates. This approach builds credibility not uncertainty.
- Tapping into the informal grapevine with skilled messenger teams. These teams should include department opinion leaders with whom employees have an established comfort level. They should be invited to all executive merger meetings and relied on to deliver updates to employee groups.
(William M. Mercer, David H. Jackson, 410/347-2856; Pritchett & Associates, Tammie Potvin, 972/789-7970; Hill and Knowlton, Marcia Austin, 813/221-0030; Berrier Associates, Robert Berrier, 610/668-9303)
Merger/Acquisition Planning Firms
If you're in the throes of planning communication initiatives for a merger or acquisition, here's a list of consulting agencies that specialize in M&A strategy.
APM Management Consultants
Chicago, IL
Phone: 312/470-8600
Contact: Thomas Wegert, mng. director
Berrier Associates
Narberth, PA
Phone: 610/668-9303
Contact: Robert Berrier, president
Fowler Healthcare Affiliates
Atlanta, GA
Phone: 770/955-5957
Contact: Frances Fowler, president
HealthCare Concepts
Greenville, SC
Phone: 864/288-8386
Contact: Edward Stall, president
Hill and Knowlton
Tampa, FL
Phone: 813/221-0030
Contact: Marcia Austin, senior mng dir.
Reynolds & Company
New York
Phone: 212/826-1818
Contact: James Reynolds, president
SMG Marketing Group
Chicago, IL
Phone: 312/642-3025
Contact: Steve Lenz, director
William M. Mercer
Baltimore, MD
Phone: 410/347-2856
Contact: David H. Jackson, principal
Source: HPRMN and American Hospital Association's Directory of Healthcare Strategic Management and Communications Consultants