Getting into workers' heads

Companies aim more marketing at their employees

David Ranii, Staff Writer

When Colonial Bank of Alabama introduced its new advertising campaign this month, it didn't surprise the bank's 5,000 employees. The bank took pains to preview the campaign, created by Raleigh ad agency Howard, Merrell & Partners, to its workers in the fall. It debuted the homey ads featuring the bank's new theme, "You'll like it here," at 28 "brand rallies" across its territory.

Workers munched on burgers and hot dogs and received cardboard "suitcases" emblazoned with stickers showcasing the five states where the bank has branches. The suitcase was stuffed with more details about the ad campaign -- and a bank T-shirt.

"We are focusing on the fact that employees are our brand ambassadors," said Merrie Tolbert, vice president and communications manager at Colonial. "They bring the brand to life, so to speak."

More than ever, companies are turning their marketing inward.

Armed with research that shows that effective internal communications can boost performance, corporations are devoting more time and money to disseminate key information to employees.

The goal is to make sure workers buy into the company's program and, just as importantly, jump-start positive word-of-mouth about its products and services.

But such efforts come against a backdrop of increased employee cynicism.

There was a time when workers spent their entire careers at a company and eagerly bought into its initiatives. But waves of corporate cutbacks and scandals have undermined the loyalty between employer and employee.

There is a fine line between sending out vital information and pushing a message so hard that some workers perceive it as brainwashing. Internal campaigns are important, any management book or guru will tell you, but if you overdo it, you can turn off employees.

Indeed, most managers realize that they won't ever reach everyone.

"The number that is thrown around is that, within the business world, 5 percent of the employees at any one given company aren't engaged, they're not interested, and you're not going to ... [get through to] those folks," said Kim Lott, who heads the employee communications section of the Public Relations Society of America.

Lott also is manager of John Deere's commercial and consumer equipment division, which is based in Cary.

But the hope is that others can be reached -- at least with the right message. So in their quest for more effective communications, companies are going beyond newsletters, employee meetings and other traditional routes.

Some examples:
* When John Deere's commercial and consumer equipment division adopted a new strategy, it introduced a "Smarts Squared" trivia game to ensure that workers were well-versed in the five elements of the strategy, such as "technology leadership." Employees played the game on factory floors; there also was an online version.

* When Durham-based pharmaceutical services giant Quintiles Transnational adopted a new campaign for recruiting employees -- "Work Worth Doing," developed by Raleigh-based Capstrat -- it also aimed the campaign and Q&A format at its workers. One of the company's key goals is employee retention.

"You are branding the [employment] experience," said Steve Brechbiel, Quintiles' director of global human resources. "We are taking more care, on the HR side, to be sure our internal and external messages are in sync."

* Companies are using new technology to disseminate their messages. Some executives are blogging and creating podcasts. The internal video magazine at Deere's commercial and consumer equipment division, meanwhile, has progressed from VHS cassettes to CD-ROMs to streaming video online.

"Companies are recognizing that having a formal [internal] communications effort contributes to the success of the business," said Deere's Lott. "Employees are your greatest asset."

Sharing information
To be sure, many employees are dissatisfied with the information they are receiving.
A 2006 survey by consulting firm Towers Perrin showed that less than half of the 15,000 employees surveyed think that they are getting the information they need about competitors. Many crave more information about their company's customers.

Still, corporations are making strides. The survey found that 46 percent of employees said they were satisfied with the amount of information they received about competitors, up from 39 percent a year earlier. And 59 percent reported receiving sufficient information about customers, up from 53 percent.

One challenge for companies is figuring out the best ways to communicate with employees.
"I will tell you, one thing we're not doing is podcasts," Lott said. "I have seen mixed reviews on that. How much do people want to take their iPod and listen to something from work?"

In September, SunCom Wireless, which has 1,900 employees in the Carolinas and Pennsylvania, hired its first manager whose primary focus is internal communications.

"A lot of companies focus externally to achieve results," said Paige Layne, SunCom's new corporate communications manager. "But if you focus internally, you can also achieve results."

Layne is spending her first few months surveying workers to figure out "what the employees want in terms of communication, how often they want it [and] who they want to hear it from."

Research has shown that many employees want to hear key information from their immediate supervisors, said Lisa Ward of Raleigh-based communications firm Capstrat.

Boosting value
Consequently, some companies give supervisors "talking points" about new initiatives to ensure that they are delivering consistent, accurate messages.

A study of 335 North American companies found that those with effective internal communications had a higher market value, and delivered a 57 percent higher return to shareholders, than companies with less effective internal communications programs. The study, released in March, was conducted by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, an employee relations and financial management consulting firm.

That kind of data probably is contributing to the increased emphasis on internal communications.

"It's no longer viewed as a 'soft' function," Deere's Lott said.

The shift is an evolution, not a revolution.

"It's nothing new from what smart companies have been doing for a long time: capturing the hearts and minds of their employees and getting involved," said Michael Herman, chairman of The Catevo Group. The Raleigh-based communications and business consulting firm developed the employee games for Deere.

Having dedicated, happy workers, Herman added, can reduce employee turnover and sick days and boost efficiency "by people getting involved in what they are doing."

The stakes are high.

"At all times, you really need to keep your employees in the loop," said Maureen Parish, senior vice president at Howard Merrell, the Raleigh ad agency.

"They are either going to make your initiative happen, or they'll get in the way of it."