Customer 1: Communication improves leadership
A group is in the midst of a major transformation that has also intensified competition within the company. One of the production sites wants to position itself for the future and also position itself well within the Group in order to add new products to its portfolio and at the same time remain interesting as a fixed pillar of production within Germany. Where is the lever? As is so often the case – in communication.
An analysis revealed that managers, especially those in production, have not been particularly effective to date. This is not surprising, as communication is often not one of the required skills in these areas, career paths are usually pursued on the basis of technical expertise and suddenly you are a manager, responsible for those with whom you have just worked at the same level.
What did we do?
Our aim was to support managers so that they can fulfill their role more effectively. Especially during and after a transformation, they are once again required to explain strategy and goals to their teams and motivate them to achieve them.
As a new workshop format, we have developed a management lab in which managers reflect on their role once a quarter and are provided with methods and tools to conduct conversations well and effectively. The sessions are designed to be practical, without much theory, but filled with examples and ideas that are directly applicable. In addition, the “Leadership Update” provides a wrap-up of the previous lab. The labs are aimed at all managers in the company, but the “blue collars” in particular reflect that they are grateful for these skills because their employees have (or use) fewer information channels at their disposal than their colleagues in the office.
In addition, we developed a newsletter, which is also displayed as a poster newspaper in production. It primarily contains topics from the strategy and short interviews with people from the production teams to increase their visibility.
Customer 2: Communicate internationally
A successful medium-sized family business produces in Germany but sells its products worldwide. The constant growth has not only multiplied the number of employees, but also the international company locations. How do you develop a communications department so that it can also manage international communication in the future and find a way to integrate the other locations?
Our experience: Internationalization is always a particular challenge for the communications team. English is often not suitable for all countries and certainly not for some employees at headquarters, some of whom have spent their entire working life at the company.
What did we do?
Our suggestion is obvious: growth. The comms team must grow, expand the existing roles and skills and build up an international network of comms managers. An interface must be created in Germany that looks after colleagues worldwide. This is the only way to discover cultural and communicative differences and similarities. On this basis, a technical communication solution can be found that is compatible for everyone. Sensitivity is required to break down language barriers. In our view, it is always important to maintain the identity of the company and to convey to employees that something is being added without anything being taken away. The language issue must therefore be decided individually at each location.