Advice From The Trenches

Never Forget Employee Communications
From the desk of Emily Zazado, Managing Supervisor

In tough times – in events like product recalls, strikes and company closings – clients are often most concerned with getting or getting away from media coverage. No doubt this is important. But, whether in good times or bad, I always tell them to look at audiences from the inside out and start at home.

You never want an employee to hear news, whether good or bad, from the media first. And all employees must be communicated with on the issue before or at the same time as external audiences. That means everyone from executives, to the finance department, to human resources, to call center support. Anyone on the company’s payroll.

Why is this so important? Because employees are the essence of a brand. Every employee, no matter what their role, is a salesperson for what you stand for.

So, keep the internal lines of communication open in a crisis mode. Here are a few ways:

• Hold a “town hall” meeting to discuss all questions.
• Send a signed letter detailing the issue and your company’s response to every employee. Be sure to be open and honest.
• Hold a meeting with managers to deliver news on the issue and answer questions. Then have managers do the same with their departments and so on. Trickle down effect must all happen in one day to minimize rumors and misinformation.

And don’t forget to keep communicating internally on a day to day basis. Here are a few ways to keep employees informed and engaged on a regular basis:

• Hold round table discussions with senior staff to give employees the chance to hear the “whys” behind what you do and to give them a chance to ask questions and give feedback.
• Set up informal brown bag lunches to educate each department on other departments’ functions.
• Create a company newsletter. Whether by e-mail or hard copy, a newsletter is a simple but effective vehicle to communicate the company’s vision and latest news.

So don’t forget. As we always say at The Powell Group, “You have to start at home.”