Vinitha, the CEO of Glitter Brands is confused. She gave it her all and so she thought her leadership team did to get her employees aligned on their new vision. As a leading apparel brand they were now boxed in by a host of competitors and were losing market share.
Over the last 12 months her leadership team faced severe criticism from stakeholders and employees for the state of affairs and she felt the new vision would turn things around. She invites her Internal Communications Head – Vishal for a chat along with the HR Director, Gita to gauge what is it that prevents employees from connecting to the vision. Here is what transpired between the three.
Vinitha: “It is disheartening that our employees, especially our managers don’t seem committed enough. Despite all the communication we did – town halls, web chats, leaflets, stickers and what have you they still seem disengaged. We took the ‘hearts and minds’ approach as well – letting managers decide how and when they will cascade the messages. We gave them the freedom to choose the format as well. We provided a cool looking kit that had all the possible messages on this vision. What is the issue?”
Gita: “Vinitha, you have every reason to feel miserable. It was by the best event we conducted to get everyone on the same page on this new vision – ‘to be the foremost apparel brand that our customers will love to wear’. The vision is focused on the customer and it is easy for all employees to comprehend and participate.”
Vishal: “Gita and Vinitha, the vision is great but even though we launched the vision there has to be ways in which our employees see more from the leaders”
Vinitha: “Are you saying we didn’t do enough? We were all over the place and in their faces – my entire team did many rounds of interactions and we got the managers into separate sessions to give them a better understanding of our new vision. We responded to each and every question. How can it be that they still don’t buy-in? We have other stuff to focus on – get our sales back up, add more clients, improve our efficiencies, tackle attrition, enhance our operations – we don’t have time to keep telling them the vision more than what we have.”
Gita: “I agree – we went overboard, literally with the vision launch. I did see every leader doing his or her bit. We even have messages in the washrooms – they just can’t miss it!”
Vishal: “Hmm. But those are just messages…we need to make it real for our employees.”
Vinitha: “This isn’t working. The vision needs to be in everyone’s minds and hearts. They need to feel for it like the way the entire leadership team feels!”
Vishal: “Vinitha, we need to think it over – to make the vision a part of everyone’s lives probably needs more.”
Vishal excuses himself from the meeting and as he walks back to his desk he wonders what else will make managers and employees see this vision differently. Is it only about the managers and employees?
What do you think?
How can you help Vishal revive a vision that isn’t resonating with the audiences? Keen to hear your views. Share them here!
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Businesses may exist to be profitable; but the success of a company is directly proportional to the engagement levels of its people. Companies invest in expensive external marketing, meticulous sales strategies and elaborate yearly planning; all of this in alignment with their overall vision. But the most important factor that delivers on these strategies and builds a successful business is “people”.
It is vital that the path of each employee aligns with the overall vision of the organization. Employees are thinking, feeling, individuals who are extremely sensitive to the environment they operate in. The problem in this case isn’t that they are unaware of the new vision of the company. But in all likelihood, they are unsure of their place in the journey towards becoming what the vision promises. It is possible that they feel confused about how their roles will change/evolve in accordance with the new vision, and how they can contribute in making this vision a reality.
The key here is to ask those difficult questions about why employees feel this way. The focus needs to be on whether employees have understood how the new vision will impact them, and if they feel empowered and encouraged to voice their opinions about various aspects such as how well they understand their roles, how they will grow professionally, are they given constructive feedback, is their leadership engaged with them, are they rewarded and recognised for good work etc. This gives a sense of how employees feel about being a part of a particular company at any point in time. But more importantly, the answers to these questions allow the management teams to take a closer look at where the gaps lie in terms of employee engagement and commitment to the vision.
Feeding back these results to the employees and taking firm steps in improving matters will go a long way in restoring employee faith. They will feel that someone is listening to what they have to say, and that someone cares. This is at times, enough to give that really important morale boost to a disengaged workforce.
Most employees ask these questions to themselves time and again – Do I add value? Does it matter to anyone what I do? Does anyone know I exist? It is very important that the leadership at Glitter Brands stays focused on how the employees feel about the direction the company is taking and whether they feel involved; by asking them about their apprehensions and taking suggestions wherever possible.
The vision of the company needs to resonate most with the employees as they are the ones who will execute it. In the case of Glitter Brands, this change is possible only by a high degree of engagement of the senior management, along with the managers and leaders with their teams in order to build a feeling of belongingness. In reality, we can never tell our employees enough that their work and views matter. It is worth investing this time and effort. The long term gains are a happy, cohesive workforce, and of course, a successful business!