Marketing..

PR 101

Your most important audience - employees

By Gini Dietrich
As published in: Franchise Times - January 2009

Remember the old telephone game where you start a story and by the time it is told the fifth or sixth time you barely recognize it? That's what communications is like in uncertain times.

Constant changes in the economy can confuse employees. Volatile times force leaders to streamline costs and manage budgets tightly, forcing communication to fall off the radar screen completely. In tough times, many executives do the opposite of what their stakeholders need them to do. Instead of opening up and sharing information, they clam up. When this happens with employees, your best brand ambassadors lose their voice and motivation, with a negative, bottom-line affect on your business.

Before uncertainty and fear make their way into your business, take time to communicate with one of your most important audiences - your employees.

Why is it necessary to communicate with employees? There are much more important issues on my mind, you may think

The down economy inevitably pushes consumers to view many products and services as commodities, focusing solely on price. Customer service is your point of competitive differentiation.

• How knowledgeable are your employees?
• Are they willing to take the extra step to exceed expectations?
• Do they put themselves in the customer's shoes?

Your employees are the first line of communication with your customers and the best advocates for your franchise. If your employees are not aware of what is happening in your organization, be assured that uncertainty - whether knowingly or not - is the message your customers are bound to hear.

Remember the old telephone game where you start a story and by the time it is told the fifth or sixth time you barely recognize it? The same is true in the office. A passing comment is overheard as "news" and travels among employees, becoming worse and worse with each person who hears, and then repeats it.

Make them part of the process

As the troubled economy forces your customers to be thriftier, you, too, may ask employees to take on more responsibility without the promise of additional compensation. Communicate changes in your franchise to help your employees understand their role in sustaining the business. Especially in a down economy, engaging employees helps to improve morale and ease fears about job elimination.

Don't talk at them, talk with them. Involve employees in the process.

Gini Dietrich is chief executive officer of Arment Dietrich Public Relations in Chicago. Gini can be reached at gdietrich@armentdietrich.com or 312-787-7249.

You may feel the weight of the world on your shoulders, but why are you going it alone? You hired your employees for good reasons and to add value to your organization. It makes perfect sense to make them part of the process.

For instance, when business is slow, you may need to cut back on perks. Ask employees for suggestions. You may be surprised by what they come up with and including them in the decisions helps them get on board with the recommendations.

You also can engage employees by allowing them to provide feedback. Set up a recurring meeting to allow leadership to speak directly with employees and provides an opportunity for employees to ask questions. Also, make certain there are confidential ways to let employees submit questions or voice concerns.

Stay busy

When times are slow, take the opportunity to get the house in order:

• Is there a process to streamline?
• Is now a good time to dig in and research a new vertical market or location for future expansion? Is now a great time for business development?
• Can you use your internal resources to learn a new technology or market differently?

These ideas not only gives employees something to do, but helps your franchise emerge from the slowdown stronger and more focused. Assign employees specific initiatives and insist they set goals and responsibilities on their own. Create work teams so employees share in the projects. Word travels fast and by involving employees, you quickly get the message out that you are thinking ahead of the current slump and your employees play valuable roles in the process.

Above all, level with them

You may be tempted to hide the truth from employees, but they are perceptive. The unknown is often scarier than the truth.

In these tough times, sending messages with your employees' best interests in mind inspires loyalty. Make sure they understand how valuable they are to you. Telling, and showing, your employees you care about them and their futures with the company makes them less likely to jump ship and more likely to do whatever it takes to help.

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Franchise Times - January 2009