Case Studies – Increasing the Effectiveness of Internal Communication
by Raha Naddaf, staff writer
(note: all case studies are in PDF format)
2002
Sprint United Way Campaign, Sprint
While approximately 21,000 of Sprint’s employees were based
at the company’s headquarters in Overland Park, Kan., that
number reflected a 12 percent reduction in the company’s headquarters
workforce from the prior quarter. Understandably, morale was low.
After carefully evaluating this climate, Sprint Corporate Relations
announced an employee United Way (UW) contribution goal of US$2.2
million based on a formula developed over the years. Because the
company had never experienced a downturn in employment, there was
no way to know whether the goal was attainable. Corporate Relations
developed a comprehensive communication plan that was designed to
utilize the latest technological tools to promote and distribute
information to internal target audiences. In addition, a special
UW homepage was created for the Corporate Relations web site. This
site served as an ongoing resource for employees seeking information
on the UW Campaign. As a result of their efforts, the team received
full support from senior management for the UW campaign. Each officer
named representatives for all UW campaign positions, and many distributed
letters of support to their management teams.
Coast
Capital Savings/Surrey Metro Savings Merger, GPC International,
Vancouver, British Columbia
Credit unions are a success story of the Canadian financial services
industry. These “near-banks” have millions of customers;
in British Columbia, four out of 10 people belong to one. Although
credit unions offer almost all of the same products and services
as banks, in order to compete with them they have had to evolve
from fairly small companies into much larger ones with increased
financial leverage. In order to keep up with the pace of change,
Coast Capital Savings and Surrey Metro Savings, Canada’s 2nd
and 3rd largest credit unions respectively, sought to find a suitable
merger partner, and to implement a merger that would take the new
organization to a size significant enough to compete more effectively
with major banks. A member and employee communications program designed
to achieve the required level of support to approve the planned
merger between the two companies was needed. Through a successful
communication strategy that focused on a single, integrated plan,
addressing all key stakeholders, the team was able to keep employees
energetic throughout the long campaign and received an 84 percent
approval vote for the merger.
Rohm
and Haas Participation Campaign, The Vanguard Group
As a result of several mergers, Rohm and Haas was maintaining three
401(k) programs with three different 401(k) providers. In order
to increase efficiency, the separate plans were consolidated into
the Rohm and Haas Company Employee Stock Ownership and Savings Plan
at the Vanguard Group. Prior to the mergers, participation rates
in the Rohm and Haas 401(k) plan had been excellent, with more than
85 percent of employees contributing to the plan. However, following
the consolidation into one plan, the participation rate stood at
just under 80 percent. The Rohm and Haas Benefits department identified
increases in employee participation rates and participant contribution
rates as their top education objectives within the 401(k) plan.
A print-based campaign comprised of postcards successfully increased
employees’ contributions to the Rohm and Haas 401(k) plan:
Of the non-participants who were targeted, 10.5 percent elected
to join the Rohm and Haas 401(k) plan.
It’s
Our Business—Building Commitment in a New Business, Fishburn
Hedges/Logistics Solutions, Consignia
The UK Post Office group was rebranded as Consignia, which was
designed as a corporate, business-to-business brand, with its three
component businesses—Royal Mail, Post Office Counters and
Parcelforce Worldwide. Given the amount of change within the organisation
in a relatively short space of time, Fishburn Hedges was appointed
to work with Logistics Solutions to launch and establish the new
business and ensure that
- All employees understand and support the direction and strategy
of the new business
- Employees understand the dynamics of the market in which Logistics
Solutions operates
- They are inspired to believe in the ability of the business
to deliver its strategy and goals.
An internal marketing program was designed to inform, engage and
create a sense of identity amongst the employees. Via various channels
such as briefing sessions, a branding briefing pack, a newsletter,
a video and an audiocassette magazine program, the communication
team was able to obtain buy-in from the traditionally difficult
audience—middle managers, continuity—a widespread understanding
that everyone is in this for the long term and commitment from senior
management—in word and deed.
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