The Case
Over the last two decades, General Motors' U.S. market penetration declined more than 10%, while competitive pressures from both domestic and foreign automakers increased
significantly. Given that the U.S. constitutes a lion's share of GM's business, the company went through a series of reorganizations to better align itself to compete. But the
move left employees confused about GM's overall business goals and how they could contribute to improving business performance. Internal research revealed "better communications"
as the number one improvement employees said they'd make if they were running the company.
The Strategy
In an effort to keep its employees better informed, GM has ramped up its internal communications staffing, hiring more than 100 "business integrators" in the past year and a
half (PRN, March 27). As a next step, this team has developed a "scorecard" system to audit the internal communications process, measure its effectiveness and pinpoint
areas in need of improvement. The ultimate goal is to engage employees to improve business performance.
Benchmarking
To shore up its competitive intelligence, GM hosted a two-day benchmarking symposium in February 1998 to explore the best practices of other successful companies. Participants
included heavy-hitters such as 3M, AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Motorola, Royal Bank of Canada, Southwest Airlines and others. Six of the participating companies ranked among
Fortune's 1997 "100 Best Companies to Work For," and eight ranked among the top three in their respective industries on Fortune's 1998 "Most Admired Companies."
From the event, GM identified several keys to internal communications success:
- Content of internal messages should link every employee back to the business plan. Messages should enjoy strong leadership support, and should reinforce, rather than
compete with each other. - All company locations (in this case, North American plants) should utilize common communications processes - including a common "media infrastructure" - to reduce message
variation. - Measurement procedures should track both processes and outcomes to determine the effectiveness of the internal communications plan.
Keeping Score
GM senior managers were already using scorecards to track efficiencies related to quality, safety and costs, according to Kathy Collins, director of communications research. In
keeping with the company's move toward a more open-book management style, the employee relations team developed a scorecard to gauge internal communications effectiveness. Here's
what the scorecard audits:
Processes - Core common processes include: monthly department/team meetings; annual "diagonal slice" meetings that bring front-line employees face-to-face with senior
level executives; weekly newsletters containing site-specific information; quarterly video broadcasts by senior execs (with follow-up Q&A handled by top-level site managers);
and an annual state of the business meeting. Process scores are based on the frequency of actual activities vs. the number of planned activities.
Content - Each communication vehicle receives a score based on the degree to which it ties topical issues back to the business plan.
Effectiveness - An effectiveness score is assigned based on how well employees can act on the information provided (and ultimately, the degree to which employee action
results in improved business performance). "We're trying to drive behavior," Collins says. "So if [the communication vehicle provides only] 'information,' it gets a low score.
If any employee can act on it and those actions support the business plan, it gets a high score."
The scorecard also factors in an "environmental" grade, based on responses to GM's employee satisfaction surveys (which include a communications effectiveness subscale).
Outcomes
GM has implemented the scorecard system in nearly all of its 104 North American plants, and posts score sheets on the ewalls of each plant. It's too early for quantitative
results, Collins says, but anecdotal evidence indicates that the strategy is working. "Employees, managers and UAW leaders are looking at the walls and [talking] about how
communication can be improved," she says. "I was a foreman in a plant years ago, and it's exciting to see how much making the data public can drive changes in behavior. Plus,
for the first time within GM, management and communications professionals can speak the same language about communications effectiveness issues." GM plans to take the practice
global in the next few years.
Environmental Barometer
GM's annual employee survey serves as the basis for the "environmental" score on its communications scorecard. Some sample statements from the survey:
- My supervisor acts on my ideas, suggestions and concerns.
- I have the opportunity to participate in solving problems that affect my job.
- My supervisor is kept well informed by upper management.
- Communication here is well planned and efficient.
- I understand the reasons for decisions within my plant or staff that affect me.
- Top management is visible and accessible.
GM Road Map
HQ: Detroit
Employees worldwide: 388,000
Communications staff worldwide: 700
Communications staff in the U.S.: 300
Plants in North America: 104
This case study is based on a presentation made by Kathy Collins, GM's director of communications research, at the Institute for Public Relations symposium, "Putting
the Yardstick to PR: How Do We Measure Effectiveness Globally," held April 3 in Washington, D.C. Collins can be reached at 313/665-3125.