Managing corporate communication in turbulent times: partnering with human resources

Communication World, May-June, 1992 by Gary W. Kemper

Nothing seems out of the ordinary on your way to work that Friday morning. Maybe you read a little, catch up on the news, hum along with a few favorite tunes.

Then, you open the office door and see a tight knot of early arrivers standing around Sandy's desk. Their shocked faces say it all: On the way home tonight, your employer will be featured on the local business news. As you move toward your desk to pick up a copy of the bulletin everyone else is holding, the tune you've been humming changes. With a wry grimace you recall an old hit from the '70s, and you start singing to yourself, "It Can't Happen Here, It Can't Happen Here...."

But it is happening -- here, there and everywhere. It's a merger in one instance, a major market shift in another... organizations are "rightsizing," "restructuring," "retooling for the '90s." In one sense it really doesn't matter how you say it, it all adds up to the same thing: wrenching change in the work lives of millions of people.

Change of this magnitude presents a strong challenge to internal communicators -- a challenge that often reaches beyond the scope of their function alone. Does this mean that if you're in charge of employee communication, you'll stand by helplessly, watching the castle crumble around you and hoping to dodge a pink slip?

Maybe not. Some very successful organizations have found that a working partnership between employee communication and human resources is a powerful response to change. General Electric and Owens-Corning Fiberglas, among others, have developed change management strategies that merge traditional communication and HR department roles.

Jack Welch, CEO at GE, says his vision for the '90s includes a boundaryless company. "In a boundaryless company," Welch says, "internal functions begin to blur." One group doesn't design a program and then "hand it off to the next box on the organization chart. Instead, says Welch, they form a team that works on an issue or project from start to finish.

Work-place changes:What's going on out there?

Right now the challenge for many employers is a deeply troubled and disaffected work force. Change at today's chaotic pace sends a cold chill through the work place. Fear and anxiety run rampant, resistance rises, productivity drains away. The fact is that when there is a major organizational change, people stop doing their jobs and start asking, "What's going to happen to me?"

Attitude studies conducted among hundreds of thousands of workers reveal this profile of today's employee:

* Reeling from change;

* More suspicious of management;

* Stressed and pressured to the point of paralysis;

* Anxious for leadership.

For example, a 1990 Lou Harris & Assoc. study among U.S. and Canadia office workers found that only 38 percent are confident that management is honest in dealings with them. Even fewer -- 27 percent -- believe that management cares about employees as individuals.

In focus groups that the author conducted for an aerospace manufacturer in the Western U.S., employees said things like, "You don't want to draw attention to yourself for fear that will get you on a layoff list. So you just keep your head down, live from day to day, and hope for the best."

This is an extreme example; aerospace firms around the world are in the midst of a vicious shakeout. Nevertheless, these findings reflect the feelings of workers in many industries across the U.S., Canada, and (to a certain extent) the U.K., Australia and New Zealand.

|Partnering' to manage the effects of change

Employers who manage change successfully recognize that employees want:

* A good working grasp of the situation;

* Confidence in top management;

* Job options and recognition;

* Human support networks;

* The ability to contribute and to influence.

The three needs listed last straddle the fence between traditional communication and human resources responsibilities. To be responsive, the two groups should work closely together. joint development of change management plans, as well as teamwork during implementation, help ensure that the results of their efforts are accepted and used throughout the organization.

But perhaps more importantly, the two groups should form a common front to market their partnership strategy to management. The reason is simple: Organizational turmoil is often caused by -- or at least accompanied by -- a period of reduced income. As a result, competition among managers for scarce resources is even fiercer than usual. In this setting, it is far easier to sell a CEO on an action plan when it is sponsored by two or more senior staff members, rather than one manager acting alone.

What makes continuing change bearable?

And there can be no doubt, top management must be part of the solution. When the work place is chaotic, employees overwhelmingly prefer face-to-face communication. From mahogany row to the security shack, the demand from people at every level is: "Talk to me! Now!"

And not just talk -- "Listen to me! is an equally pressing request. Yet, two recent studies indicate that management is not listening. A Towers Perrin study found that among employees surveyed, less than half believe management is aware of their problems. The Hay Group studied more than one million workers in over 2,000 organizations. Only 34 percent said that management listens to them.