To an outsider, change communications might appear to be another innocuous name that PR pros have assigned to the arduous task of guiding internal communications programs. But to companies it's surfaced as part of the mortar for building on future business goals.
Progressive businesses use change communications to usher in downsizings, restructurings and competitive takeovers through benchmarking, anonymous surveys and Q&A sessions. Face-to-face meetings, focus groups and road tours with employees have become the quintessential ingredient in communications management.
These tactics are being been used by such thriving companies as Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Rubbermaid [RBD].
"Internal communications has long been viewed as something tactical [such as an internal newsletter], but we do two things to manage change communications: One, we link everything we do to business strategies and two, we build measurable goals into the process in terms of employee behavior," says Nancy Ford, senior VP of Ogilvy PR, Chicago.
From the Bottom Up
Regardless of the nature of the transition, organizational/change communications hinges on giving employees access to management and addressing their concerns. The time you spend on the process is contingent upon the complexity of the changes.
For instance, change communications is the PR tonic VTEL [VTEL], a $200-million-plus video telecommunications company based in Austin, is using to build a new corporate culture.
The 750-person company evolved out of a May 1997 merger that combined VTEL with its then-No. 3 competitor Compression Labs, San Jose, Calif. After in-depth research, its internal five-person PR team and Ogilvy decided that to build a shared vision, it had to send its new CEO Jerry Benson to speak with employees in informal meetings worldwide.
"We hired Ogilvy in October to conduct surveys to find out what employees were thinking about our new company and we're now implementing a plan which focuses on putting Jerry on the road to visit our various sites," says Barry Rumac, senior director of corporate communications for VTEL. "He's been to San Jose, Austin and King of Prussia [Pa.] and we'll be sending him to Europe and Asia-Pacific."
"Leadership credibility is the big component in making corporate culture changes," adds Ford.
More Than Just a PR Cliche
While Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin waits for the Fall hearing in a lawsuit levied by the federal government to block its acquisition of Northrop Grumman Corp. [NOC], it's relying on the discipline of organizational change to affect the process.
Lockheed Martin already has information packets ready for its 45,000 new employees should the deal go through and has coordinated (through the two companies' corporate communications staffs) joint statements to keep employees abreast of news, according to Pete Harrigan, VP of management communications.
The packets were similar to what was used years ago by the company during another crucial change.
Then, Lockheed Martin spent $2.5 million on an in-depth corporate change campaign to help it manage the closely watched Lockheed/Martin Marietta merger.
Lockheed Martin execs have a quest to build a new corporate culture where every employee feels that he or she has a stake in the organization by building cohesiveness - a tough thing to achieve when your company is a puzzle of 50 separate operating entities.
So, the company publishes a monthly four-color newspaper that shares execs' frank assessments of where the company's headed. It's March 1998 edition, for example, took on the Department of Justice's and Department of Defense's push to quell the Lockheed/Northrop Grumman merger.
The newspaper, which receives a $1 million budget yearly, echoes what Lockheed Martin's leaders tell employees when they visit business units to interact with workers.
Driving the PR Pack
Change communications is surfacing as the steersman impacting how house plastics goods giant Rubbermaid will integrate a newly acquired business into its overseas operations which are based in Brussels.
Today, Rubbermaid is knee-deep in a communications program designed to ease its January $143 million acquisition of its international competitor Curver, Goirle, Netherlands. The backbone of its work is bringing together two corporate cultures. There are about 10 plants in Europe and it hasn't been determined which will remain open.
To help troubleshoot what will be eventual layoff announcements, Ogilvy helped Rubbermaid identify bilingual key point people at each plant to act as a communications leader and filter.
"It's important to position your leadership as more than one person," cautions Ford.
It's wise to plan major meetings between execs and employees as early as a year out. Also, the forum has to be adapted to the leader's style, Ford says. If an exec isn't comfortable in front of a large group, let him or her interact with groups of five or 10.
(Nancy Ford, 312/397-6007; Barry Rumac, 512/437-2598; Pete Harrigan, 301/897-6171)
Audit
Businesses can spend from $10,000 for a one-time communications audit to $1 million for long-term PR tutelage to streamline the communications surrounding tricky business challenges.
Source: Nancy Ford