Measure twice, cut once: Preparing to communicate the new brand internally Maurice Harris, Director, Internal Communications 25 Feburary 2013.

Measure twice, cut once:Preparing to communicate the new brand internallyMaurice Harris, Director, Internal Communications

25 Feburary 2013

CONFIDENTIAL – FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY

FirstGroup Profile and Org Structure

2

FirstVehicleServices

GreyhoundFirst

TransitFirst

Student

FirstGroup America

14,000

800

CONFIDENTIAL – FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY

Internal Communications Profile

3

Field OperationsInternal CommsCorporate HQ

The model conceptualizes innovation, competitiveness, and organizational effectiveness as organizational outcomes of employee engagement promoted by effective internal corporate communication (Welch, 2011).

CONFIDENTIAL – FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY

The Role of Internal Communications

4

• Psychological presence at work (Kahn,1992)

• The antecedent to high performance (Barrett, 2002; Schuster, 1998)

• The #1 driver of employee engagement

• The top factor behind successful change

CONFIDENTIAL – FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY

FirstGroup’s Strategic Focuses

5

First StudentEFFICIENCY

First Transit & First Services

EMPLOYEEDEVELOPMENT/REBRANDING

GreyhoundREVITALIZATION/

CUSTOMER SERVICE

CONFIDENTIAL – FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY

Identifying the Problem: Different Businesses, Similar Opportunities

• Lack of access to information networks

• “Us v. Them” mentality

• Top-down decisions based on assumptions

• The perpetuation of ineffective communication vehicles

6

CONFIDENTIAL – FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY

Quantifying the Problem

7

16% of Salary Budget!(Hempel & O’Conner, 2008)

Of the factors that influence employees to work for one company rather than another, open communication ranks highest (Therkelsen & Fiebich, 2003).

CONFIDENTIAL – FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY

Communication Research Methods

8

• Self administered questionnaires• 21 locations

• 715 Non-management respondents

• 60 management respondents

• Observation Studies

• Focus Groups• 3 locations

CONFIDENTIAL – FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY

Findings

9

• Employees understand the importance of communication to their specific role as well as their engagement in the company.

• In general, most non-management staff were not receiving any company communications, even when managers were asked to share it widely.

• Managers are overwhelmed by the amount of communication they receive and would like help streamlining, organizing and prioritizing it.

• Employees want access to technology that will allow them to communicate more easily across the company.

CONFIDENTIAL – FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY10

Revise…Reset

• (Re)Define the expectations• Leverage internal comms as an external

marketing catalyst• Make “Culture” a strategic imperative

CONFIDENTIAL – FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY11

Thank you.