Out of a workshop last week, we developed a few ideas to help a client think about how they prepare for a sudden announcement and I thought the headlines might be interesting to share.
Step 1 - how good are your antennae?
You can never avoid the horrible situation when something comes completely out of the blue - your CEO has been caught fiddling expenses or a major customer has suddenly collapsed. However, the vast majority of crises take some time to brew - the challenge for an internal communicator is to be tuned in to what is going on.
A formal issues management exercise might not be necessary but making time to walk the halls and corridors is always a sound investment. Ask "what other information channels will give me an insight into what is happening or bubbling under?"
Step 2 - get a specific plan
As an outsider it is often surprising how far communications can progress without defining a basic plan. Admittedly, as an ex-General with whom I worked once said 'no battle plan lasts longer than the sound of the first bullet', but starting without any direction is the route to guaranteed failure.
The rules of normal planning apply, but there is an added emphasis on making sure that people know of the existence of the plan (so they don't start making up their own conflicting plans), actually know what is expected of them and are aware of the authority behind the plan. In other words you need to get the plan AGREED - and that probably involves some negotiation with people like HR, Legal and Customer Comms as well as Media Relations and the CEO's PA.
When planning your messaging think about the twin dimensions of time and trust which are rarely in abundant supply - the following matrix suggests some generic strategies. The approaches here may well not be relevant, but are a good starting point point for your own brainstorming - the essential point however is to work out how much you can use your senior leaders and line managers. Plenty of people will have arguments why senior leaders should be spending their time elsewhere or why there isn't time to brief line managers; arguments which will have merit but will need to be tested and challenged where necessary.
Step 3 - prepare collateral
Don't underestimate the time and effort needed to produce even the most simple materials. People don't respond to requests for help with Q&A's and when they do they want you to include something banal or frankly patronising! And Legal or Investor Relations will do their level-best to either wring any actual facts or tangible meaning out of your communication. If you are not careful you'll be left with a CEO letter that has all the credibility of an advertorial written by Saddam's information minister.
Remember you're writing for the audience and it's no one else's job to ensure the stuff you're pumping out is actually helpful to anyone!
So factor in time for a few fights and a bit of flouncing around if that's what it takes to fight the corner for the internal audiences.
Think about including very clear instructions in any briefing packs that set out in words of one syllable:
- What we are announcing
- What is the message we want to get over
- When is it happening
- Who is doing what
- Where leaders can check information
Step 4 - Announce
There's a terrible moment in every communicator's life when you discover that those emails you thought had been sent are still queued up at a server somewhere or the CEO's video message has reached everyone except the site that is being closed. In the final analysis the value of internal communication is often entirely contingent on the quality of the experience.
But...that won't come as a surprise to many communicators will it?
Step 5 - feedback
The announcement has gone out and imagine your horror when you wander up to the CEO's office and find her surrounded by the usual sycophants telling her how wonderfully well her double announcement of job cuts and bigger executive bonuses has landed! What do you have to say?
Unless you have a mechanism for gathering feedback and reaction you'll probably be in a rather difficult position so plan for it and deliver it.
You don't have to be terribly scientific about it - you just need to have covered more ground than anyone else (which isn't usually all that much - but in the land of the blind...).
Informal approaches include calling around a dozen people across the business and seeing how they reacted personally. Beware asking other managers or inviting people with a vested interest to interpret reaction for you - you want to talk to real people yourself.
This might involve collaring a few people as they come out of the town hall meeting or making sure you're lurking in the canteen or coffee queue. The essential point is that you need to have an answer when you're asked about what people are saying.
More formal approaches include compiling questions posted on discussion boards or the intranet or, if you have time, think about doing some simple discussion groups.
And, importantly, don't be too quick to rush to the boss with your findings - what is said first will be what is remembered. So make sure that you have given the message time to land and ferment and that your feedback is actually useful.
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