Why communication of strategy frequently fails

Citation

Speculand, R. (2012), "Why communication of strategy frequently fails", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 11 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/shr.2012.37211faa.009

Why communication of strategy frequently fails

Article Type: HR at work From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 11, Issue 6

Short case studies and research papers that demonstrate best practice in HR

To launch a new strategy in an organization, many CEOs call for a town hall meeting to announce in person the new direction. In addition, e-mails are sent out, posters go up around the back office and briefings are held. After this initial burst the communication of the strategy then, unbelievably, simply evaporates. This happens far too frequently, in too many organizations. As communication is becoming easier and easier we are becoming poorer and poorer at communicating updates on the implementation of the strategy.

What is the goal of communicating strategy?

When I ask this question to leaders in workshops, the typical response is to inform everyone what the new strategy is and how it impacts the business. This is not the goal.

The goal of communicating strategy is to:

• •

  share it;

• •

  explain what to do;

• •

  motivate staff members to take the new actions; and

• •

  constantly update progress against the strategic objectives.

Communicating strategy is only one small part of the goal, and we are not even good at doing this.

Kaplan and Norton (aka the Balanced Scorecard) report that 95 percent of staff members cannot tell you what their company’s strategy is (Kaplan and Norton, 2005).This means that leaders have taken the time to communicate the strategy and yet the front line still do not know what it is and if they don’t know what the strategy is, then how can they take the right actions to implement it?

There are two key reasons why the communication of strategy is poor in so many organizations:

1. 1.

   initially leaders only communicate what the strategy is about (not what to do); and

2. 2.

   there is no second wave of communication (updates against strategic objectives).

Strategy is designed at the top but implemented from the bottom. Communication is the link to make this happen.

Communicating the new strategy

Explaining to staff members the content of a new strategy is only the first part of communicating it. Unfortunately, even this step is often managed poorly. Leaders frequently over complicate the message or confuse the audience with too much information or are just too indifferent in sharing the strategy.

There are three key components to successfully launch the communication of a new strategy. Leaders must:

1. 1.

   explain what the new strategy is and why the organization must change both emotionally and logically (from the heart and the mind);

2. 2.

   tell people the actions they must take to participate in the implementation; and

3. 3.

   motivate staff members to take the right actions.

When you initially communicate strategy you must not just tell your people what is happening, you must also tell them what you need them to do. For example, should they start selling to new markets or join a redesign team or identify new clients? You must clearly articulate the right actions they must take and then make sure they are motivated to take them.

When Rolls Royce communicated its strategy, it got it right (Rolls Royce, 2012). It created strategy storyboards (translating the strategy and what had to be done into visual images) and delivered 4,000 presentations over 6,000 hours, around the world, from 75 leaders who were trained to conduct the briefing.

Use positive reinforcement

Once leaders have told staff members what the strategy is and the right actions they must take, they must then make sure staff members are motivated to take the right actions. This can be achieved by leaders giving positive reinforcements. In some organizations, staff members take the new actions to implement the strategy but receive no recognition for their efforts and, as a consequence, they stop taking the actions. Or even worse, they move further back as they become disillusioned.

The most powerful positive reinforcement you can adopt is not money; it is praise from the immediate boss. This is because the person in a company whose staff members listen to more than anyone else is their immediate boss and recognition from them is very powerful. Leaders must reinforce by leading by example and when they see staff members adopting the new strategy they must say “thank you”.

Second wave of communication

After the launch of the strategy in an organization, the communication dissipates with surprising acceleration and, with it, the interest in the implementation. If leaders only pay lip service to the implementation then staff members will only pay lip service to it. Leaders must not only share the strategy from the front, they must also lead by example from the front.

When the staff members hear very little about the progress of the implementation or what is working or the impact of the new strategy, or when their boss stops talking about it, they stop participating in it. To successfully implement strategy, leaders must initiate a second wave of communication.

Getting the messages across

We have studied the implementation of strategies in businesses for over ten years (Bridges Business Consultancy, 2010) and the second wave of communication is a best practice among companies that are excellent in execution. The second wave differentiates from the initial communications because it is not about building awareness and getting people on board and motivating them. It is about informing people of the progress being made against the strategic objectives.

The larger the organization, the larger the challenge in achieving this, as it is harder in a global company, for example, to know what is going on and to communicate it to everyone. Technology, however, has eased this challenge. One company created the software so that every morning as soon as an employee logged on, an electronic notice board appeared explaining the exciting progress of the implementation of the strategy. It could be a success story from a specific country or customer feedback or a measurement update.

Implementation of strategy never goes according to plan. Whatever was designed in the boardroom is never what happens once you start the implementation. Therefore the leaders must constantly update the whole organization about what is working and what is not. In the example above the organization used an electronic notice board. This worked as most staff members had their own computer. The medium used to communicate the messages is almost as important as the message itself. In other organizations they have used TVs in the canteen or an implementation wall. In every organization, implementation will always be unique because it has to fit culture and it is the leadership’s responsibility to identify the most effective way to communicate in their culture.

Second wave messages

To ensure the right message is being communicated at the right time through the right medium, we recommend that there is a senior leader overseeing and owning all the strategy implementation communication. The leader may come from the communications department but just as often in our experience they come from the team responsible for the implementation, for example, the project office or strategy office or HR department. The teams who are driving the strategy implementation are the people who will be providing the consistent updates.

The communication enablers in the second wave are:

• •

  Success stories – staff members need to be emotionally engaged in the implementation. Success stories speak to the heart and encourage the right actions.

• •

  What works/what doesn’t work – create a learning organization so that success can be duplicated and failures can be eliminated.

• •

  Strategic changes – as the implementation progresses, it may be necessary to go back upstream to tweak the strategy.

• •

  Progress against objectives – in the initial communications you announced what needed to be achieved. Staff members need to be informed of the progress against those objectives.

• •

  Lessons learned – sharing the experience is critical for success.

The role of social media

Social media has made communication considerably easier and considerably less expensive. Social media does not replace traditional internal communication but complements it. One of my key messages when I address leaders is “Communicate to your staff the same way your kids communicate to their friends”. Some leaders are just on the periphery of the new media world and for many it is their children who are teaching them Web 2.0.

When leaders communicate their strategy many only adopt traditional media, such as newsletters, posters and town hall meetings. Leaders must communicate to their staff members in the staff members’ preferred medium, not just in a way in which they are comfortable. An organization-wide blog, for example, provides an excellent platform for staff members to not only read about the implementation online but also to communicate back on the implementation journey in real time. It is also easy to update and manage. Reflect for a moment on how much effort goes into publishing a corporate newsletter and immediately the benefits of a blog can start to be understood.

Robin SpeculandRobin Speculand is Chief Executive at Bridges Business Consultancy.

About the author

Robin Speculand is Chief Executive of Bridges Business Consultancy Int. (which is 11 years old this year) and a bestselling author. His latest book is Beyond Strategy – The Leader’s Role in Successful Implementation. His work begins once clients have crafted their strategy and are ready to begin the implementation journey. He is a masterful event facilitator and an engaging keynote speaker. Robin Speculand can be contacted at: bridges@bridgesconsultancy.com