9 June 2009
Ten questions to ask leaders as businesses emerge from the recession
You tell us what next steps internal communicators should be taking to ensure that organizations are fully equipped to thrive in a stronger economy.
by James Bennett , Online Managing Editor, Melcrum Publishing
UK house prices saw their largest month-on-month rise in seven years in May this year, the 11th biggest increase since 1938, global stock markets have made impressive gains following last September’s Lehman Brothers self-imposed implosion, while UK retail sales climbed by 6.3% in April, their fastest rate in three years.
The future of businesses will depend how you lead your teams, employees and stakeholders out of the darkness of the downturn and into the sunlight of success.
So can we finally consign the doom and gloom pessimism and talk of the recession to the recycling bin until the next one comes along in 10 years time? If so, then as communicators we need to start asking ourselves and our respective company leaders some stern questions, the main one being how we can shift from fighting a dwindling crisis to getting the most from the recovery. The future of many businesses across the world will depend on internal communicators and how you can lead your teams, employees and stakeholders out of the darkness of the downturn and into the sunlight of success.
The challenge for communicators
With that in mind I set you, our readers and Melcrum members, the task of coming up with the 10 questions you as internal communicators should be asking your chief executives now that the recovery is underway and in sight and always you gave us some great responses.
The biggest theme to emerge was that the end of a negative period of change should give companies and their communicators the ideal opportunity to introduce positive and long lasting change and changes, ones that can be set in stone and that will be in place for years to come.
Hollie Boughton, creative director at design company Tileywoodman agrees. “The silver lining of any crisis is the opportunity for change. In this case, there's an exciting opportunity to change our approach to communicating.”
In Boughton’s case she says the downturn has caused communication work to steadily increase leading her to predict that employee fatigue is not far away. But to combat this she adds that communicators should focus on quality and not quantity of message. Always easy to say but often very difficult to deliver.
“Consistent - not repetitive - messaging is crucial. There needs to be a greater emphasis on the quality of the message. It's now about value and not volume, and efforts to bring communications channels together - a huge task for some organizations. Ultimately, I think the results will show in leaner communicatios that do the job in a way that is easier to digest and measure accurately."
Once you have asked your executive team what proactive and long-lasting changes they can seize upon to improve the business, Joanna Lund, owner of consultancy Reputation Matters and former director of corporate communications (EMEA) at Kimberly-Clark, says the next step should be to ask what learnings, or "gems" as she calls them, has the business taken from being forced out of its comfort zone, what does success look like and how can you measure it? All key factors that can often get lost among the misery and corporate drudgery of an economic downturn.
Out with the old, selfish and corrupt...
The recession has however already had a positive impact flushing out and exposing feeble leaders, those that only had their own needs and wants in mind despite escalating losses. Fortunately many of them have now either resigned, been pushed out of their name plated mahogany swing doors and been replaced by brighter, younger and more honest CEOs, while the worst of them all have landed up in prison to sit there and think about the impact their corporate crimes have had on ordinary employees.
Managers and executives need to learn what they can do to keep people focused on delivering results. I would ask what are your leaders doing to be more visible?
Amy Damianakes, founder of consultancy Damianakes Communications agrees that now signs of recovery are beginning to emerge that leaders should be more accountable. And for that to happen internal communicators should take the initiative and raise the level of leadership communication in organizations. “Managers and executives need to learn what they can do to keep people focused on delivering results. I would ask what are your leaders doing to be more visible? Do employees understand the company strategy and goals and are their individual goals aligned?
Gareth Morris, internal communications manager at mobile phone manufacturer Nokia says he only ever prepares one question when in front of the company board. “I always ask: What would you like to happen in six months, one year and two years? Then I listen.” A simple question but one that, if the leadership is not prepared or united in a common vision, can stump many senior directors and executives.
Elaine Hander, an internal communications expert based in San Francisco, however, is not one to wait. In fact she says that we shouldn’t have waited this long to act positively. It was, in her opinion, all about reacting quicker in times of need. “Why are we waiting for the economy to improve? Why are we not finding the improvements to make in the economy and leading the way? After all, helping management see where they need to lead the rest of the company is a communication departments' role, isn't it?"
Measureable outcomes are key
The alternative is to take a more scientific approach to how your company should react to the aftermath of a period of boom and bust. Alistair Lamb, now a photographer, but previously an internal communicator, is a firm believer of his own step-by-step methodology. He says that to ensure the questions surrounding how to approach a period of recovery have a business impact they should be part of a communications process leading to measurable outcomes or KAPEM (knowledge, analysis, planning, execution, and measurement).
But remember, he adds: “The time scale for the completion of each KAPEM cycle is dependent on the business, the sector and the external environment. During times of crisis the cycle may be much shorter than in times of steady (or flat) growth.”
Whatever the answer we as communicators should be acting now to ensure we get on the right track to a successful corporate culture. Here are my three favorite 10 questions internal communicators should be asking chief executives now that the recovery is underway and in sight:
From Hollie Boughton, Creative Director at Tileywoodman:
- Who 'owns' each of our communications channels?
- Are we working with all of those owners?
- Are global and local teams aware of what the other is doing?
- Which channels do our people trust the most?
- Are all key members of our management team committed to communicating?
- How can we make the delivery of our messages easier and less time-consuming for everyone?
- Are we confident that we understand how our messages can influence employee behaviors and attitudes?
- Have we assessed all of our face-to-face contact points in each area of our business and identified the opportunities there?
- Are we prioritising our comms objectives and producing strategies that give each objective the right level of visibility at the right time?
- Can we offer our employees more opportunities to own how we communicate?
Joanna Lund - Owner, Reputation Matters
- Learning: What learnings ("gems") have we taken from being forced out of our comfort zone?
- Innovation: Are we embedding those 'gems' throughout our product/service offering, talent recruitment/retention, issues intelligence and control, corporate language?
- Skills: Have we upgraded our skills to achieve more with less (for our clients/customers)?
- Proximity: Have we reinvigorated our public/social networks?
- Dialogue: Have we evolved our understanding of their connection channels?
- Competitivity: What will our process be to secure and maintain future USP innovation and agility?
- Value: How will we structure to make client/customer value sustainable?
- Awareness: How will we capture and feed client/customer/public response into our continuous improvement?
- Relevance: Is our current business model still relevant to achieve all of the above?
- Vision: What does success look like and how will we measure it?
Alistair Lamb, photographer, and former internal communicator
To ensure the ten questions have a business impact they should be part of a communications process leading to measurable outcomes (KAPEM).
Stage 1 - knowledge
Stage 2 - analysis
Stage 3 - planning
Stage 4 - execution
Stage 5 - measurement
The time scale for the completion of each KAPEM cycle is dependent on the business, the sector and the external environment. During times of crisis the cycle may be much shorter than in times of steady (or flat) growth.
Stage 1 - Knowledge
Communications audit: Ask the questions that will allow the capture of the following data in a spreadsheet matrix - target audience (stakeholders) on the y-axis and communications channels on the x-axis:
- activity
- frequency
- key messages
- communications channel owner(s)
- cost
Business audit: Define how much the business vision/mission/goals have changed in light of the current crisis.
Stage 2 - Analysis
Communications analysis: How effective have our communications activities been in the past? Have the communications plans been adapted to reflect the new business goals?
Business analysis: Have the executive management board been changing the organisation’s vision/mission/goals more frequently than before and if so how closely is the communications team linked into this process?
Stage 3 - Planning
Ask the chief executive to brief the communications team on the current vision/mission/goals and explain what areas may change during the recovery phase.
Communications: Do our communications plans and activities (refer to the communications audit) align with the chief executive’s presentation? Adjust the communications plan to be in line with the chief executive’s plans.
Stage 4 - Execution
Board communications plan: Do we have a high-level communications plan signed-off by the executive management board? If not, have one written and presented to the executive management board.
Detailed communications and message plan: Do we have a communications and message calendar in place?
Stage 5 - Measurement
Data Collection: Have we put data collection and reporting processes in place so that the executive management board can see the (cost) effectiveness of our communication channels?
Surveys: Have we adapted our surveys for employees and external stakeholders to match the current economic and business climate?
Have your say
What do you think of the questions put forward and the process described by Alistair Lamb? Do you have any questions to add? Let us know below:
Recommended resources:
Ten commandments for leaders in tough times
Three brands become one: How Abbey managed communication and integration
Ensuring engagement while avoiding burnout
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