Employee Communication Strategies in Action

The Employee Challenge:

After 40 years, the Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence had a sterling reputation and long-tenured employees who are passionate about improving the health and well-being of their partner's patients. However, in order to grow and expand their quality efforts into new areas and new states, they needed a name that reflected their broader capabilities and geographic footprint. Changing a name can be very challenging to employee pride and connection built over many years.

Solution: A Steady Drumbeat

Over six months, WrightEngage worked with leaders to introduce the concepts of the new name they were choosing. Opening the curtain to the reasons behind the change and openly discussing some of the options and asked for feedback. A month prior to the external reveal, we provided tools and presentations to use with partners in draft form, took feedback and built solutions employee's stated need. We created a video that explained the name change.

What Worked?

After launch, employees responded that it felt like a natural transition. The introduction didn't feel like a 'big deal' because they were prepared. On day one, they were advocates of the new name, telling their story and open to the universe of possibilities represented in Constellation Quality Health's future.

The Employee Challenge:

During a time of large changes due to being acquired, Signicast wanted to address the challenges employees were facing and proactively improve the communication and the understanding of every leader. After years of private ownership, the company was acquired to be part of a larger organization intent on both keeping the quality and traditions of Signicast that were instrumental to its success, while also ensuring the efficiencies that come from a larger organization.

Solution: Research Employee Understanding and Elevate Communications Capability

After a series of mixed focus groups to determine the challenges of groups across the company with both the changes and the messaging, the leadership team and WrightEngage aligned on a communications training approach that touched every level of leader in the organization. In the training, we used real world examples of messaging as well as events and deadlines happening in the near term and used that content to build tailored communications plans for each leader.

The Result

After launch, employees were skeptical that the ideas and practices learned would be implemented. However, the skills and ideas learned over the course of two weeks stuck with the teams and leaders were able to reference the approach as new challenges and changes inevitably arose.

The Employee Challenge:

The best time to challenge and test what you're doing is before you have to. After years of positive communication and engagement scores, the leadership wanted to know, 'What can we be doing better?' The communications leadership approached WrightEngage to do a 'third party' assessment of the team, systems and processes and challenge based on what others were doing.

Solution: Research, Testing, Proposed Changes

Over a month, WrightEngage did a deep dive into the online and in person experience of employees at Freddie Mac and the communications they received both from the 'center' led by the communications team, as well as the information they received on a regular basis in divisions from individual leaders. We examined feedback from surveys and interviewed executives.

The Result

By any metric, the team was achieving what they set out to do, but also, found themselves trying to accommodate individual requests for support that were outside of the mandate of the team, which we were able to create a greater boundary for managing. The team implemented new strategies based on the recommendations while continuing their successful practices to date.

The Employee Challenge:

A global mining leader, Newmont was growing rapidly after a large merger. As part of the future, Newmont formed a new, global commercial organization that would align all its market, customer and vendor facing divisions under a single leadership structure. With any large acquisition or merger, employees are often wary, unsure and fearful of the changes to come.

Solution: A New Platform, New Cadence, New Messaging and Introducing a New Future

Together, WrightEngage developed: A new messaging platform, A strategic communications plan to reach executives and regional leaders, A strategy for using internal social media to build community, Surveys and survey analysis to uncover resistance and questions, A clear and robust cadence of communication that would build trust over time.

The Result

In forming her team around the principles provided in the plan, the team had a roadmap for change and engagement to take them into the future.