There

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Theres Change. . . . and Then Theres BIG
CHANGEImplications of the BOB Era and How Public
Relations Professionals Can Lead Organizational
Transformation

• Kathy Lewton, Steve Seekins, Ken Trester
• APRs Fellows
• Lewton, Seekins Trester
• Public Relations Society of America International
  Conference
• October 28, 2008

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ChangeYou know it dont come easy

• The forces demanding change have been like a
  tidal wave . . . . .
• But in a post-BOB economy, when everything is
  moving at warp speed, the forces will be
  overwhelming and will overwhelm our organizations
  unless . . . . . we can manage change
• And create a culture where change is the norm
• ? Change becomes a core survival strategy

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Full ppt deck available at www.LSTLLC.com
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The forces demanding change are ever more
powerful

• In an economic downturn, nothing stays the same,
  change is inevitable
• When consumers or businesses spend for anything,
  they will expect and demand both quality AND
  service
• Focus on quality now has a life and momentum of
  its own -- customers will expect the very best
  no tolerance for errors or mistakes
• Unhappy consumers know how to dial 1-800-LOCAL TV
  REPORTER
• And a highly visible group of companies doing it
  right and getting the headlines makes it harder
  for the rest of the pack

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And yet, our organizations and our people . . .
. .

• Are by nature resistant to change
• Are built on policies, procedures, process
  Weve always done it/never done it THAT way
• And now when people are fearful, angry, unsure
  they are even less likely to be able to hear,
  let alone listen and act

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Its not the best of timesto push for change

• Employees those who arent fleeing are tired,
  frustrated, cynical
• Managers can be apathetic, or downright
  antagonistic
• ? Powerful leadership and communications are
  absolutely essential

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When simple change is not enough, and
transformation becomes the norm. . .

• Always remember
• Culture eats strategy for lunch!

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Enter the hero(ine)

• The CPRO/CCO transformed into
• Chief Culture Warrior

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CEO Cant Do It Alone

• CPROs are in ideal position to help
• Environmental scanning Trend spotters -- hear
  the drumbeat, collect and own data, sense
  danger that failure to change can bring
• Have tools for telling and selling defining
  and describing the new vision, and persuading
• And can adapt them for a situation where the
  audience is nervous, afraid, in a panic
• Work effectively with management peers who are
  the critical forces in transformation
• We can partner with the CEO to calm the waters
  and lead transformation

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To begin our transformation, we need to figure
out?How transformation works(and doesnt) ?
Whats going on in our organization (and with
our CEO) ? Where we fit in all of this(and how
to claim our seat at the table)
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And the survey says
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McKinsey global survey found

• Organizations need to change constantly, but
  achieving a true step change in performance is
  rare
• In recent survey, only a third say that their
  organizations succeeded in making it happen

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What McKinsey found

• New McKinsey global survey on organizational
  transformation found that most organizations seek
  transformation in order to move from good
  performance to great. Those that succeed
• Have well defined financial and operational goals
  AND a genuine NEW LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE
• Had HIGHLY VISIBILE CEO
• Had large-scale COLLABORATION across biz units
• Had COMMUNICATIONS THAT HAD BALANCED FOCUS
  building on successes while also addressing
  problems
• ENGAGED employees at all levels

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And the failures (2/3 of companies surveyed) . .
. . .

• Ill defined goals, and goals that were not a
  stretch but lack of clarity was the biggest
  problem
• AND (surprise) ineffective communications
• Low visibility CEO
• Messages skewed either too much focus on
  problems, or only focusing on the good things and
  the future, and ignoring the problems
• Communications programs used one or two tactics,
  didnt push messaging to front lines

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Then we drilled down in an industry where change
is the norm for survival

• Surveyed CEOs and senior PR/marketing leaders
  about culture change and where PR/Communications
  fit
• Hint ER, MRI, IV, CT, MI, , HMO . . .

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First, PR Communications Pros

• Surveyed more than 60 very senior practitioners
• Most at VP/SVP level and 20year veterans
• We reported some of these findings in the June
  issue of PRSAs Tactics

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Culture change critical to strategy, less so for
survival
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CPROs most commited to change
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Culture is managed in many ways no magic bullet
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Culture is managed in many ways no magic bullet
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Top management fully committed it goes downhill
from there
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CPROs on culture change team, but not as leaders
(yet)
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Why NOT leaders?
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Then we looked at culture change from the CEO POV

• CEOs not scientifically selected, but very
  representative of hospital types
• Couple of huge academic medical centers,
  multi-state system, urban non-teaching, urban
  community hospital, several suburban hospitals
• Range in size and geography from NYC to
  N.California and Utah, Michigan, Ohio and
  others in between

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Q1 What do they want to change?
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Many say its customer service

• We want our employees to FOCUS on delivering good
  customer service
• We need to become more driven by needs of the
  customers

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Some say its all about employees

• I believe that happy employees will make for
  more customer satisfaction . . .
• BUT I do not really have any data to prove that,
  nor do we have a plan to make it happen.
• ? Calling the CPRO!

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Others say quality is job 1

• Well its quality I mean thats all there is.
• Anyone who says do something else without the
  grounding in quality is just wasting time, trying
  to dance around the edges. You do quality,
  everything else falls out from it you get
  better service, you get growth, you get bottom
  line benefits.
• Skip quality and all youre doing is marking
  time till you dont have a choice.

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Some wanted to change more fundamental values

• Every place Ive worked Ive focused on the need
  for a positive culture its about people,
  helping them reach full potential.
• Its about being open, transparent . . . how
  leaders behave, communication, no blaming,
  treating people with respect.
• ? When times are hard, we need to communicate
  more.

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Especially true in BOB era

• National W/S survey two weeks ago More than half
  of U.S. employees have not heard from their
  companies leaders about the impact of the
  financial crisis.
• 71 percent felt their companys leadership should
  be communicating more about the economic crisis.
  
• 70 feel that their company will be negatively
  affected by the crisis -- 26 expect layoffs, 62
  say employer will have trouble meeting goals.
• At companies where leaders have communicated with
  employees, 86 percent said that senior executives
  or management who have discussed the crisis were
  seen as believable and trustworthy sources.

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And some want to change it all

• We started with a good culture, but it was
  disconnected from patient service, so now were
  integrating it all including service, quality,
  staff development and growth, with bottom line
  impact.
• Its a BIG BITE we are changing the entire
  way we operate.

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Key insights

• CEOs at high performing organizations realize
  that achieving a common vision (what should we
  BE) is critical to achieving the desired result
  and CPROs can and should be involved in both.
• Some clearly ID employee satisfaction as
  foundation for any change and recognize
  communications as a core competency.

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Q2 How do you manage change?
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Some arent sure.

• We dont have a formal change management process
  but we need one.
• Im not sure where this will be managed
  needs to be close to me, Community affairs?
  Maybe marketing??
• Our marketing staff and quality team are the
  leaders of this initiative.
• It has been interesting to see them working
  together since that is not necessarily a regular
  fit here.

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Most say the buck starts here

• I manage the process. Me. Hands-on. If
  youre going to ask every employee to change the
  way they think and act, the CEO has to do the
  same, be the person at the lead in every meeting.
  
• It cant be a speech and then introduce
  someone else who is responsible.

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Some say engage senior leadership

• Top and middle management have to drive it but
  they dont get that yet.
• Its Baldridge senior management team are the
  leaders. It starts with us. We have the
  scorecard and track our resources. Communication
  is essential!

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Some bring in outside experts

• Im using a consulting firm to help make it
  happen, using their standard approach. And I got
  the two unions to participate.
• We were starting from ground zero, so we brought
  in an acknowledged leader and said tell us what
  to do.
• Its a science and your garden variety
  executive or manager doesnt know the science.

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Many created formal structure

• We created an entire infrastructure headed by
  one of the leading experts on quality, with a
  fully formed team. They report to me and its Job
  1.
• Using Root Learning approach, we reach every one
  of our 15,000 employees.
• We use a Plan for Excellence and its the basis
  for how we plan, how we communicate. Its values
  lay the foundation for goals corporate, unit,
  individual performance.

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Communication is critical

• We work hard at communications. SVP PR/Mktng is
  on senior management team and reports to me. I
  meet with the communications team monthly so they
  know what Im thinking.
• Early and prompt feedback is critical, as is
  holding people accountable.

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Leadership is the bottom line

• You dont manage culture you create it. You
  have to live it, model it, set examples, lead by
  example. Breath optimism into the story.
• We have to be seen as engaged. Its how we model
  the behavior.

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Key Insights

• Most get that it starts at the top no ifs,
  ands or buts its the CEO responsibility
• After that, theres less uniformity
• Some use the add on method give it to someone
  as a new part of their existing job (so its not
  Job 1, but Job 43)
• Some hire consultants (so its the consultants
  program, and then they eventually go away)
• The ones that seem most successful pony up hire
  staff, create a fully embedded quality team.
  They dedicate substantial, if not massive,
  resources.

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Key Insights

• CPROs not often mentioned unaided as part of the
  team making the whole thing happen . . . . but
  when probed, most (not all) get that the
  function should involve the CPRO as a leader
• And the presence of some CPROs at the CEOs right
  hand, as lead change agent, shows that we can
  play this role.

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Q3 What are the barriers to change?
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1 is middle management

• Middle management feels disenfranchised by
  change, so you have to drag them along.
• Managers are neither hired nor trained to be
  LEADERS. We had to teach and train and require
  and motivate and reward. But they CAN ALL do
  it.
• People dont like to change what theyre doing,
  especially when they think things are going
  pretty well.
• But since I fired three directors, that may
  change the dynamics.

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Then theres the challenge of sustaining momentum

• Keeping going. This is not a one-month thing
  its FOREVER. So if you cant do it, then get
  out now.
• Its hard to sustain momentum among the staff..
  You can change ops and systems, but its people
  who impact the customer.
• Taking a short-term view. You have to say this
  is long-term and stay the course, but its hard
  to keep the workforce engaged through a long-term
  process.

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The this too shall pass mentality

• I inherited a place in shell shock from the
  initiative of the month. They had so many of
  these short-term, gimmicky programs customer
  service training (a 45-minute video), MBO,
  gainsharing the employees now look at any new
  initiative with great cynicism.
• They figure theyll wait it out, keep doing
  what theyre doing, and it will go away.

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Key Insights

• Changing attitudes of middlemen and middle
  management is a key task and as we all know,
  extremely difficult
• Have to cast change as a win/win in realistic
  terms and involve them in leading the process

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Key Insights

• Every team member must have culture change as
  part of their performance accountabilities, which
  means a massive communications effort that never
  quits just keeps on going
• Chief communicators can help articulate a vision
  that enhances motivation.

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Q4 Where do PR/communications fit in the quest
for transformation?
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Center stage . . .

• Their leadership has been a critical success
  factor. We had to create from the ground up an
  entire communications system, dozens of
  facilities in several states and it had to be
  based on first-line supervisors as the
  communicators.
• WOW! Our PR team created the system, the
  training, DID the training, for months. Now they
  manage the info flow. It is the rock of our
  success.

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From delivering messages . . .

• PR creates and delivers the messages. Marketing
  identifies the key markers and keeps the
  scoreboard.
• . . . . . To managing process
• Each of our strategies has an oversight team that
  the communications people manage. They document
  the plan and make sure it feeds back to the board
  and medical staff.

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At the heart of . . . communications

• Communications is essential we do round the
  clock town halls. Used to be 10 participation,
  now were up to 34. Plus newsletters and blast
  emails and videos of patient stories and banners.
  We are trying to reconnect our employees to our
  purpose.

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At the heart of . . . communications

• We need robust communications. We actually
  created a new internal communications department
  because its so important.
• Communicators give the organization clarity.
  They need to stick to the message and the plan
  and most of all, support management with
  optimism.
• I expect that my communications team will have
  the pulse of this very decentralized
  organization. They bring valuable insights and
  info to the table.

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And some put us on the fringes

• Well, sort of peripherally, I think. In a
  support way. I mean, they manage the channels
  the quality team needs to use to disseminate
  info. And they do take our success story out to
  the media. But I dont think of them as integral
  to the process beyond what they already do.

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Waiting in the wings . . .

• We give them direction to be more strategic and
  more challenging but we have to give them a
  climate that allows them to do that. We are
  failing to tell them this is our expectation.
• I need them to be creative and strategic right
  now, theyre more likely to be tactical.

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Waiting in the wings . . . .with high expectations

• Now that I think about it, this is where culture
  change really belongs. But our people do not
  seem to be strategy focused I need to change
  that and see if they can respond. They have done
  nothing to date, but I havent asked them.
• I expect them to be skilled strategists, to
  disagree with me and come up with new ideas not
  just in culture, but in marketing.
• I need strategic thinking, creativity and
  judgment.

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Key Insights

• Marketing and communications people are owning
  important parts of the process at some places,
  barely remembered at others
• Some CEOs say they havent yet told their CPRO
  that they expect strategic counsel
• BUT should they have to ask or tell?
• We must find the strategies for driving culture
  change, working with the CEO and senior
  management team.

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Key Insights

• High performer CEOs clearly understand the value
  of internal communications, rating it above
  external PR.
• BUT CPROs often relegate internal communications
  to a newsletter editor and concentrate on
  marketing communications, advertising and media
  relations

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Key Insights

• High performing CEOs understand the real value of
  creativity cant get results with old methods.
• Creativity should be our sweet spot
• CPROs key skills analyze the market, develop
  strategies and manage communications are
  central to transformation. So we should be
  central to the process.

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The BIG Take Aways Lessons Learned from the
Research
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BIG Take Away 1

• Every CEO gets it. Not one said Change?? Why?
• They clearly have moved beyond denial (FINALLY)
  but are at various stages of What now?
• We should be the answer people
• And for us, that means no more waiting to be
  asked or called the change train has left the
  station

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BIG Take Away 2

• Culture change is never over
• You cant plant a flag and say Were done
• The messages and desired behaviors have to be
  sent and reinforced FOREVER
• So make culture change the primary focus of your
  role and your teams work

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BIG Take Away 3

• Theres some dissonance in here somewhere
• CEOs said culture is being carefully managed
• Last year half of CPROs said culture just
  happens
• Either the CEO is kidding him/herself, OR . . .
• The CPRO is out of touch or out of the loop

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BIG Take Away 4

• There is a clear role for marketing and
  communications teams
• Some CEOs clearly get it learn from what they
  have their CPROs doing
• If you work for someone like those who dont seem
  to get it, dont wait to be asked.
• Even if they dont see YOU in the role, figure
  out how you can get there. Start with the
  barriers that exist -- speak out, step up,
  present your plan.

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BIG Take Away 5

• Its all about working with YOUR CEO
• No silver bullet or magic formula.
• Cant ask this on PRSA ListServ
• YOU have to dig down and understand your
  organization, your CEO and the strategies that
  will work
• ? Take a closer look!

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(No Transcript)
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Step 1 Get inside the CEOs head

• Some CEOs are process oriented and care about
  systems, metrics.
• SO you have to talk Baldridge
• Some are people oriented and care about attitudes
  and behaviors
• So you have to help with visioning
• Some are political and care about relationships
  and power bases
• So you have to help them by creating a planning
  process thats inclusive and gets all the right
  people involved (friends and enemies)

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Getting Inside the CEOs head

• Three typical archetypes
• The innovator, already out in front wants you
  on board with him/her and probably sees a
  specific role for you
• Resigned but willing wants you to help figure
  out how to do it, you can design your own role
• Resistant needs you to convince him/her (then
  make it his/her idea and work it behind the
  scenes)

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With CEO, use right ammunition to take your best
shots

• Bring data so CEO can identify issues and answers
• Bring new tools
• Trot out outside experts
• Bring outside models that work to the table
• Partner with colleagues in middle management -
  mobilize them

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Step 2 Be a strategist
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Strategist Know where your organization is NOW
(post-BOB)

• We often try to move people toward a new vision
  with no clear sense of where the people are in
  terms of attitudes, opinions, morale, commitment.
  
• Use comprehensive internal research on the
  variables most likely to affect ability to
  change.
• Assess attitudes, needs, concerns and commitment
  of key players such as middle managers and first
  line supervisor

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Strategist Strategic priorities foundation for
transformation

• Culture needs a foundation must match strategic
  priorities desired market positioning
• Customer service strategy means focusing on the
  behaviors and skill sets that will deliver
  customer satisfaction.
• Quality positioning requires addressing
  organizational effectiveness.
• Low-cost position means focusing on efficiency
• No one can afford to focus on just one strategic
  priority and totally ignore others -- BUT one
  driving imperative makes transformation easier
  because theres a clear vision that supports the
  need for change.

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Step 3 Bring it all together

• The CPRO/CCO transformed into Chief Culture
  Warrior can lead transformation
• With a clear vision of strategic imperatives
• With deep and broad understanding of the
  organization and its people as they are now
• With effective marketing and communications
  strategies and tools to change attitudes and
  behaviors
• And by partnering with operations execs who will
  lead the effort to re-tool policies, procedures
  and processes.

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STEP 4 About Face!

• Culture is determined by what we DO. It is
  memorialized by what we SAY.
• Both are important, but one must precede the
  other.
• To be the change agent, the Chief Culture
  Warrior, instead of communicator
• First be the doer, then the sayer.