a portfolio

By Karuna Kumar

Some people call him an anti-American terrorist. Some call him a maniac and some call him a sire of the Internet age. He is the man on the run with the biggest leak in history. Julian Assange, the name polarizes people. Between the portrait of a messiah and the face of a manipulative hacker, his image hangs precariously somewhere in the middle.

The Leak

Assange, the mind behind the extraordinary leak of half a million classified US State department cables that were revealed in November 2010 has been a historian’s dream but a diplomat’s nightmare.

From reports of worldwide significance like the dangers of Pakistan’s developing nuclear weapons to diplomatic title tattle, the cables have revealed information that is highly sensitive in nature inviting a furore of questions about the right and wrong; the ethical and unethical, the perils of digitization and the role of new media in society.

Investigations into the issue have revealed that these cables were among the huge electronic archives that the US state government had put under a system program called SIPDIS. It stands for Secret Internet Protocol Router Distribution Network and the purpose of it is to make it easier to share information among US government agencies.

Further research into the source of these leaks uncovers the name Bradley Manning, a former soldier who has been allegedly charged with leaking confidential information and is currently awaiting a court-martial.

Understanding different perspectives

Through various events, a cloud of perspectives and opinions have enveloped this issue. Fingers are being raised at the authenticity of the leaks, the possibility of the leak being above the law, the intentions of Assange being anti-American and the credibility of Assange himself.

On one hand, the current defeat of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act in the US is a reflection of the extent to which the leaks of government documents have affected lawmakers and on another, the release of his book, WIKILEAKS – Inside Julian Assange’s War on Secrecy, in collaboration with the Guardian, has sparked off a movement among citizens and journalists alike who have embraced the role of activists of freedom of speech, independence of the press and the public interest.

“I think that there are two issues: the state department cables and WikiLeaks. One is embarrassing and of political significance, the other is a process with an intrepid story and interesting personalities,” says Dr Dannie Jost, Resident Philosopher at the World Trade Institute while speaking at an event recently held in London organised by the London Communications and Engagement Group on the issue “WikiLeaks – Does it Matter?”

An anti-American agenda?

Revered Columnist of the Washington Post and Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Michael Gerson expresses his firm rejection of the idea that information should always be free. In his column titled ‘WikiLeaks gives dangerous ammunition to a tyrant”, he says, “Secrecy is often the precondition for political opposition in an oppressive society and secrecy can also be a necessary protection for honesty. The quality of disclosures in the confessional would be diminished if confessions were posted on YouTube.”

Holding the same school of thought, Mark Fitzpatrick, Director, Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Programme, International Institute for Strategic Studies and former US deputy Assistant Secretary of State remarks, “Assange’s intentions were purely guided by antipathy for America. How can we trust the intentions of a man who has risen from being a hacker? This is purely hacker anarchism and is an Anti-American agenda.”

Contradicting this, a senior journalist from the BBC who did not want to be named, responds, “I don’t know much about Assange’s motives. Putting the world to rights and exposing wrong-doing appear to be high on his agenda. I think it would be too simplistic to just try to brand him as being anti-American. In fact, I would like to question as to what is happening to the American serviceman who is the source of much or most of the controversial material. The conditions under which he is being held amount to a gross breach of his human rights and he should be rapidly brought before a court or released.”

Role of media

The question then arises whether the media is fuelling an antipathy for Americans or is it actually acting as a conduit of truth revealing what should be in public interest? “The role of media will never change. Just by its definition media mediates, carries information and enables interaction. I think that it is our view of the media that is evolving. Media is powerful stuff and all politicians know this. However, we also have to recognise that media is a business, a necessity and an evil at times,” Jost points out.

The senior journalist from the BBC remarks, “I don’t think it has changed the role of the media. It is mainly the sheer size of the material and the channel through which it was released which makes it different.”

In response to whether the media should have helped in the release of these documents, he adds, “Once the documents or the information came into the hands of WikiLeaks, publication was in my view the only possible course especially for material which threw light on serious breaches of human rights and responsibility for loss of life.”

To this one can add that in this given age and time, where news and information has taken the shape of a global commodity, do we need to reconfigure the meaning of public interest? What may be of interest to one may bring much trouble and humiliation to another.

A sustainable model?

On another note, given that Visa and Mastercard withdrew their support of WikiLeaks through tremendous pressure from the US government, for how long can this model of media, acting as an international activist, sustain itself?

“Any actions taken by credit card companies against Wikileaks on political rather than credit worthiness grounds must be labeled abhorrent. But this area does point to the Achilles heel of a very small and inexperienced organisation when taking on the powerful armoury of states and big business”, explains the senior journalist from the BBC.

“I find the process, the narrative, and the discourse fascinating, necessary and inevitable. The media landscape is evolving, technology is pulling it by the ears, and we are watching the show. Humans (society) want to know and as long as we want to know, the media will adapt to fulfill our information demands,” says Jost.

Bringing another perspective to fore, Matt O’Neill, Managing Director of ModComms Limited, a specialist communications agency says, “Let’s be clear about something. WikiLeaks in itself didn’t draw much attention at all. It was a concerted and co-ordinated mainstream media effort that did. Der Spiegel, The Guardian, Le Monde, El Pais and The New York Times were the ones that really shone the spotlight when releasing selected diplomatic cables. As much as the Internet glitterati would love to believe WikiLeaks and its ilk represent a new power, I believe they are currently deluded. It still takes a mainstream media narrative to bring issues to the attention of the wider public.”

In the tug of war between independence of the press, freedom of speech and the other stakeholders who have titled this issue as immoral and unworthy, it is difficult to judge whose win this is in the end. “The guy with the big gun will win in the end! They say that the pen is mightier than the sword, but they said nothing about guns. All kidding aside, I think that authentic words are not to be underestimated. Reality and future are first a Gestalt made of words,” Jost remarked.

Challenge for the internal communicator

Referring to the communications industry in particular, O’Neill says, “Internal Communicators and HR professionals may find in the future that part of their job description includes developing ‘insider threat’ programmes as highlighted by the Obama White House recently. This could include designing activities aimed at highlighting employee propensity to leak sensitive information. That to me, seems a practical implication for in-house practitioners of the near and mid-term future.”

This event has lead to many implications and is a wake-up call for politicians and companies to recognize the arrival of new media, technology, digitization and the perils that come with it. What effect this eventually would have and what fate awaits WikiLeaks is an answer we all eagerly await. However the gamut of issues it has raised concerning the media, the citizens and the state cannot be overlooked.

By Karuna Kumar

“Any transformational journey requires innovation both in what you do and in how you do it.” That’s the description Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies, gives to the journey he made to make HCL one of India’s largest technologies company.

Nayar believes that “the asset base of his organisation resides in the talent and creativity of his employees” who determine the internal culture of HCL. He is a strong advocate of the management approach that puts employees first and customers second which happens to be the title of his recently released book. In the insightful book, he shares his approach of management and relates how he transformed his company into becoming a market leader with an engaged workforce.

The journey

Through various chapters in ‘Employees First, Customers Second’ (EFCS), Nayar explains how his thinking migrated from old to the new. He attempts to break through the traditional hierarchical structure to one that decentralizes power, responsibility and accountability for value creation. The cultural influences to this approach of management and the need for honesty, transparency, trust and dialogue at all levels of the organisation is what Nayar stresses in the latter part of the book.

Managing Gen Y employees calls for a new set of capabilities. Amid the current boom in knowledge-based businesses, the need to have an excited team of individuals to take on one challenging task after another is pertinent for a company’s productivity, according to Nayar. “There lies an inherent value in every employee, in his or her knowledge, creativity, commitment to tasks and capacity to collaborate and focus,” he writes.

He begins to narrate his journey of organisational transformation that started as early as 1976 when HCL took shape in a barsaati, (the Indian equivalent of a garage) through the efforts of a group of young entrepreneurs. Nayar describes the year 2000 as the profound moment of change. “In the year 2000, we fell into rough waters and competition took over HCL by surprise,” he recalls. In the book, he explains this period as one that made him realise that HCL was using a wrong mix of services for a changed marketplace.

“When the brakes fail, the change is instant and you have no choice but to try to think of options for action.” With this thought Nayar dives into a sea of strategies and begins a process of organisational transformation.

To describe his tactical approach he divides the book into distinct chapters, each detailing an aspect of the EFCS approach.

Reflections in the mirror

The first chapter, titled Mirror Mirror, describes the process of creating the need for change. Nayar explains how he forced his employees to look into the mirror and recognize that the change in the company had taken place for the worse. He asked his employees to point to aspects that they didn’t like about the image they saw in the mirror. He directed their thoughts by asking them to perceive the future as the romance of tomorrow and motivated them to press the accelerator of change to the floor even when logic was telling them to step on the brake.

“Once you have created the need for change there is often a significant gap between the intent to change and the actual act of changing,” Nayar points out in the book. Creating a culture of change is what the second chapter of the book entails.

The reason for this gap as pointed out by Nayar is a lack of trust among employees.
Giving HCLT’s example he elaborates, “At HCLT, we focused on one specific trust-building action: pushing the envelope of transparency. When you bring this information out in the open and make the challenges public, employees feel included.”

Inverting the organisational pyramid and building a structure of change is one of the more profound approaches explained by Nayar in the third chapter of the book.

“Even when people see the need for change, after a culture of trust has been created, and employees have started taking actions towards positive change, structural flaws can still get in the way of optimal results,” Nayar says.

For HCLT, the problem lay in not identifying and supporting the efforts of value creators who are placed between the customer and the employee. The value creators stood accountable to managers who are typically located at the top and do not directly contribute to the value zone. This isolates the higher management from the process of value creation and robs the actual value creators of the recognition they deserve. A radical change in this organisational structure is what made the difference in HCLT.

Thinking out of the box

Nayar dissuades people from conducting new age business with centuries old structures and recommends that companies seek sustainable change through radical organisational restructuring.

Pointing out one of the structural flaws, Nayar says, “The leader holds too much power in a traditional management system which prevents the organisation from being democratized and hinders the energy of employees.”

Recasting the CEO

In the fourth chapter, Nayar talks of the role of the CEO and how transferring the responsibility for change can give a competitive edge to a company in a knowledge economy. “As CEO, you must stop thinking of yourself as the only source of change. Others must be seen as the source of change. CEO’s must start transferring ownership of the organization to the next generation of leaders who are closer to the value zone.”

To create a company that is self-run and self-governed, one in which employees feel like owners and are excited about their work and constantly focus on change, the employees must be seen as the source of change by the CEO. “One must think carefully of the office of the CEO and not just the role of the person who holds the job at the moment,” Nayar says.

Blue ocean droplets

Nayar calls each of these actions catalysts of change and explains, “Catalysts are simple actions, rather than elaborate programs of organisational change that plod on for years and years and can help transform a locked up culture into one that can constantly evolve.”

As “blue ocean droplets,” Nayar says, these small ideas can create an ocean of change and enable a company to enter an entirely new performance zone, no matter what its current situation may be. “It just takes one catalyst idea, one droplet to begin the transformational journey.”

Creating your own path

Nayar concludes the book by saying, “You must make your own journey. Your thinking phases are likely to be different from ours. Your catalyst may be different too. One thought, however, should be fundamental to all our journeys; turning conventional management upside down by putting employees first.”

So what do other companies think of Nayar’s management approach?

We asked Sandip Mallik, HR Director of Aviva India, if Nayar’s approach would work effectively for his industry and his company.

“With 180+ offices spread across the country delivering a consistent employer experience is extremely difficult. Unlike IT companies that consistently feature in the top employer lists we do have a single campus or two to work on.”

He adds, “We therefore bank very heavily on two things. One, a defined engagement calendar which is announced at the beginning of each year for every single location, irrespective of size; and two, more importantly, leadership behavior which creates the culture and work environment on a day-to-day basis.”

So does Mallik agree with Nayar’s school of management of putting employees first and customers second?

“For us, all stakeholders drive our success. I am very familiar with the employee first model but that too is eventually meant to benefit the customer or the other stakeholders like the shareholders or the society at large. We are sharply focused on all four stakeholders – shareholders, employees, customers and the society. It is never a tradeoff between one or the other.”

He elaborates, “I can’t imagine a successful company making a choice of one or the other. The employee first campaign is more a branding strategy to differentiate workplace practices from other companies. It creates the right kind of buzz for employees and leads to differentiation as we compete for the same resources.”

Adding a human touch

While Mallik differs with Nayar in terms of approach, the recognition of employee engagement seems ubiquitous.

“All of us, regardless of country or culture, have a sense of our own significance – that we matter, that we deserve to be treated with dignity. Interactions which abuse that sense of ourselves tend to frustrate and anger us, while those which acknowledge and appreciate us are highly satisfying,” Mallik explains.

He continues, “We at Aviva recognize that small human touches can make a huge difference to an employee’s experience. It is very clear to us that by taking extra care to recognise employees as individuals, each and every time we engage with them, we will connect more powerfully, serving their needs better – and our business will benefit from their engagement and loyalty in return.”

Simply worth a read?

Nayar’s book with its systematic approach and tactical layout makes for an impactful read. It succinctly encapsulates Nayar’s journey to transform a traditional hierarchical structure that hinders decentralization of power into one that engages the workforce and accelerates the company goals and productivity. The book is inspiring in the way it validates the reasons for change and encourages leaders to make that bold step.

In support of Malliks view, choosing one stakeholder over another may not seem pragmatic to many companies, particularly small businesses. The approach cannot be considered as a capsule for guaranteeing a company’s performance.

Nevertheless, the book makes for an intriguing read and throws a fresh perspective into organisational restructuring and employee engagement.

By Karuna Kumar

“We’ve gathered here to examine the changing media landscape and address the creative and commercial challenges we face, along with opportunities to develop new partnerships and collaborations,” is how Media Festival 2010 Director Louise Benson kicked off the third annual event in Manchester on the 17th of November.

In the opening address, Festival chair, Julie Meyer, CEO of Ariadne Capital welcomed attendees with an interesting perspective for multinational companies:

“The opportunity really is in how we create high growth firms which break through and become global leaders. As an investment firm, we look out for companies that have a couple of winning characteristics. First of all – a lean operating model with low fixed costs; their inputs should match outputs and they should be using technology and finance cleverly.

“We see ecosystem economics at play. The companies that are winning understand their place in the ecosystem and they are able to architect the most inclusive business model for the sector.”

Following the opening keynote was a panel discussion chaired by Krishnan Guru Murthy, prominent anchor of Channel 4. Making up the panel was Feargal Sharkey, CEO, UK music; Nick Rind,CEO, CTI Digital; Dave Bird, Manchester Metropolitan University Business School; Paul Clennell, Chief Technology Officer, Media City UK and Julie Meyer.

One of the questions that got the panel talking was, “Is there any point having a government strategy for creative industries?”

Sharkey’s response was particularly thoughtful. “You could say the exactly same argument for any other bit of the economy. The basic fact of life is we want to ensure that any or every young creative person in the UK is getting every bit of support and opportunity they can.”

Other topics that were highlighted through the course of the discussion were funding for the creative entrepreneur, the successes and failures of local television, the business of content creation and the skepticism of the media entrepreneur.

Day Two

The second day of the conference opened with an enlightening session presented by Andy Cameron, Interactive Creative Director at Weiden + Kennedy, speaking about ‘Content for the future’.

In his address, Cameron stressed how the online platform has revolutionized the way we create content. When acknowledging the smartphone sector, Cameron said, “In a couple of years, there are going to be more smartphones accessing the internet than desktop and notebook PCs put together. That’s a big deal. That changes the game for all of us.”

Looking at future trends in market share across various smartphone operating systems, Cameron stated that the two big players are going to be Symbian or Nokia and Android, holding Apple as an exception that has made big profits despite a relatively small market share. Cameron emphasized the importance of  creating content that fits into this changing trend, referring specifically to apps.

“Let’s end up with a vision of the future where apps move off the mobile device and become pervasive, ubiquitous, where they move into all kinds of other devices in our lives.”

Cameron’s keynote was followed by a panel discussion on ‘The gamification of everything’ and “What’s next in Global TV?’.

While the former elaborated on the prominence of interactive games and the current burgeoning gaming industry, the latter took a look at the future of TV and how it interplays with online content. On the distinguished panel were Peter Smith, President, NBC Universal; David Booth, Vice President Programming, MTV networks; Dan Korn, SVP Head of Programmes, Discovery Networks Europe. The discussion was moderated by Alex Connock, CEO of Ten Alps.

Booth started off the discussion explaining the kind of journey MTV international has encountered over the last 12 -15 months:

“We’re at the tail end of a brand equity study whereby we are really trying to understand what it means to be a teenager in a modern society and what we’ve found is that our audience is completely different from what it was when we grew up. They don’t necessarily rebel. They rebel but they rebel against pessimism. They’re very positive in their attitude.”

Smith offered, “We think there is a swing back to scripted drama. Programming that really cuts through the clutter. One of the other things we’re going to do is move into reality.”

“At Discovery we are lucky – we’ve got very strong factual franchises which work globally. Alongside those franchises, I think what we’ve tried to do is have a series of real scale. The interesting thing about Discovery is we’ve got this wonderful factual brand but actually in entertainment we’ve not had the same amount of success. Two other trends which I think are interesting are the observational, classic documentary and growth in the news category,” Korn pointed out.

The panel went on to discuss online strategy and the mobile phone strategy for films.

Other discussions that followed through the day delved into understanding  the flexible media company of the future; exploring the business models of digital publishing; multi-platform storytelling and commissioning.

Day Three

The third day of the festival began with a keynote address by Richard Halton,  Chief Executive of YouView.

“Content really is the secret of success for any platform that has those two magical letters, TV, in them and I think the vision that we have for YouView is very much a content centric one.

“For content providers, YouView is there to provide a really simple environment, technically, to allow people to publish content and earn revenue from it. For ISPs, it’s the opportunity to convince customers that they really should have bought a 50 meg broadband connection all along and for consumer electronics manufacturers, we’re developing a really simple set of standards, for them to follow, to make a set-top box and retail into the market, which is exactly the same model that’s followed today, to make Freeview devices for UK homes,” Halton explained.

A valuable three days

All in all, the media festival was instrumental in igniting curious minds with sparks of insight about the past and foresight for the future – defining a sense of direction for the present.

By Karuna Kumar

It’s won an award; has the support of 95% of its employees and engages a large number of staff on a weekly basis. It’s a simple tool called Fanclub created by the innovative minds at O2 for a workforce of 11,500.

“Simply put, it is an internal social networking site that offers an experience around a single purpose – to create personal fans,” says Jenny Burns, Head of Internal Communications at O2.

At the heart of O2’s strategy is the ‘Customer Promise’ charter that aims to deliver the best customer experience and draw customer loyalty to the brand. The initial idea was sparked off by the need to fulfill the main elements of the customer promise and recognize talent that is instrumental in fulfilling the customer experience. Internally the challenge for employees at O2 is to deliver customer promise to the best of their capabilities.

Research undertaken by Burns’ team unveiled an innate need for employees to use an online tool to recognize the efforts of colleagues. As a result, O2 came up with the idea of launching a micro-site that would act as vehicle by which peers could acknowledge each other’s efforts. Thus Fanclub was born, recently winning the award for best Internal Comms campaign in the Corporate & Public category at the PRweek awards.

A user-friendly structure

The structure is simple. Each user has a homepage where he/she can upload a picture and profile information so that peers can recognize them. Like Facebook, the site allows for social interaction with friends, enabling colleagues to ‘applaud’ one another for successfully fulfilling the customer promise objectives. (‘Applause’ refers to comments published by colleagues online).

Once you applaud a colleague, he/she receives an email notification. Likewise, when logging on to Fanclub, the user is informed of the applause.

For Burns, the effectiveness of the feature lies in the fact that the recognition comes from people’s peers.

Join the club!

To demonstrate the impressive engagement level the site has helped to achieve, just look at the database. According to Burns, 11,000 out of 11,500 O2 employees are already active users.

“It is a means of instant gratification where peers can recognize each other’s efforts on a minute to minute basis. At present the micro-site sees almost 2,500 applauses each week. In terms of numbers, 20% of the employees get applauded on a weekly basis,” Burns explains.

She adds, “Senior employees often make it a part of their diaries to do so, for example on a Friday morning. The good part is that the site is accessible through smartphones as well.”

It is interesting to note that an initiative that began as a test piece for social media has hit such high numbers within a short span of time. Burns explains, “The only comms we did around Fanclub was viral. We started talking to people about it and nominated some to spread the word. We also have a tool called ‘nudge’, which essentially fulfils the purpose of a polite reminder to the users about updating their profile and “getting their act together.”

A means to celebrate

There has been debate in the corporate circles about the extent to which employees can be given freedom to express their views openly. For Burns, it’s not really an issue.

“We don’t monitor the platform since we believe it’s about celebrating each other’s achievements. There is no place for negativity. Besides, we do place a lot of trust on employees for using the site beneficially.”

Keeping the momentum going

Launching a new form of internal communication is one thing, but keeping the excitement around it alive is quite another.

To keep content fresh, Burns and her team have added a new application called ‘Fansnaps’, where employees can upload pictures around a topic. The photos can be personal or business-related.

Also, Burns says,

“Each week, our CEO picks out one of the 2,500 applauses exchanged on the site and awards the person recipient a holiday voucher worth £1880, which we call the 1880 winner.”

Superfans

In addition to day-to-day recognition, O2 also hosts an annual event called Superfans, an award ceremony recognizing the employees who have been most proficient in fulfilling the customer promise.

“Last year, we had over 1000 employees spread across three locations. A live video link-up connected the three events, which were hosted by Matthew Horne, James Corden and Reggie Yates. This year around we are expecting around 800 guests and are planning to call on a music band,” Burns explains.

Despite the recession, compromising the Superfans event is never an option for Burns. “It is a big part of our engagement calendar,” she says.

Integration with other IC channels

On a futuristic note, while Fanclub is a standalone micro-site, there are plans to integrate it into the company intranet early next year. In addition, O2 plans to seamlessly integrate the micro site into SharePoint 2010, which the company is set to adopt in early 2011.

“This way we can fully integrate the homepage into the respective employee user systems. It would be more personalized and all the personal activities can be seen on the homepage,” Burns points out.

The secrets to O2’s success

Fanclub has revolutionized the traditional employee recognition model at O2 and is an exception to the conventionally followed top-down approach.

Having carried off the successful Fanclub initiative, Burns’ secret was to not complicate the tool.

Her three best practice tips can serve as inspiration for companies trying to adopt social media internally:

“One, companies should have a clear focus. They must link their strategies to their business plan. Two, it is important to understand employee’s needs and to create a desire for the tool among employees before launching it. Last but not the least, it is important to ensure more functionality in the infrastructure.”

In short, Burns says, “Keep it simple and have a finite goal. It is a business tool and everybody should be aware what they are expected to use it for.”

By Karuna Kumar

“A global shortage of qualified linguists” was one of the profound concerns expressed at a meeting of 76 international language service providers at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris back in June.

The same concerns were echoed in our interview with Ian Andersen, External Communications Adviser at the European Commission’s Directorate-General (DG) for Interpretation.

The challenge

The European Commission, EU’s executive body, had issued a declaration together with over 70 other international and regional organisations calling for more awareness among universities and schools about the learning and career opportunities for interpreters, translators and other skilled language professionals. With a mission to put multilingual communication at the core of community decision-making, Ian Andersen recognizes the greatest challenge for his office in the next ten years is “to replace half of our interpreters in a number of key languages.”

Those who were hired in the early 70’s and early 80’s have worked their way through the system and are seemingly retiring all at once.

Andersen explains, “Over the next 10 years, we will be losing about half of our English interpreters and 40% of our French, Italian, German and Dutch interpreters. So, it is quite a challenge to find people in all these new languages.” The European Commission currently works with over 20 languages.

Quality management

Andersen emphasizes the significance of getting the right people into the job – those who can understand the challenging nature of work and adapt to it. According to Andersen, hundreds of people are tested every year, but very few people (a mere 20%), actually make it to the positions.

“Quality is an essential issue for us. We have regular listen-in reports usually carried out by the head of the unit, which are then compiled and advice is given to the respective interpreters.”

The nature of interpretation is grossly different from translation. Once the product is out there, it cannot be taken back and revised. The element of timeliness makes the job of an interpreter all the more demanding.

The make-up

The structure of the European Commission is complex and has often faced criticism for being highly fragmented. The Commission is divided into departments known as Directorates-General (DG’s); each covering a specific policy area or service, headed by a Director General. Director Generals report to a commissioner appointed by the Member States.

The EU institutions employ a little over 4000 interpreters. There are about 1100 staff interpreters; about 600 for the commission, 400 for the European Parliament and 100 for the European Court of Justice. In addition, there is a joint pool of approximately 3000 freelancers.

New media – the new interface

Using social media as an interface to connect with the new Generation Y and attract talent for the interpreting service, is a big part of Andersen’s communications strategy:

“We took a hard look at who our potential audience is and tried to redesign a campaign that would work. We thought that the kind of people we would be looking for – with an international outlook, knowledge of languages and  a likelihood to study abroad – live on social networking sites. We thought here is the perfect vehicle.”

The interpreting service began using YouTube to create videos and distribute to schools and other institutes in a pursuit to create more awareness.

So what kind of traffic are the videos seeing?

Andersen says, “We made a video for English to European interpretation and it is currently running at 40,000 hits. And our French equivalent is running at almost 30,000 hits.”

While the numbers on YouTube were quite strong, Andersen opted for an even more engaging platform – Facebook. In an effort to use more channels and increase publicity through more socially oriented means, DG interpreting service created a fanbook page, which currently has 10,000 friends. The page is used to engage in a daily dialogue with the visitors via postings of facts about the services, institutions and languages.

Andersen explains:

“When Jacques Delors, a former President of the Commission came to speak in the European Parliament the other day – on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the German unification – we shared the event information on the page and it turned out to be a very popular piece. So the page can be used to post many different things from the very mundane stuff like how many microphones does this service manage to the more technical, historical and political talk about interpretation.”

Facebook – the main vector

Facebook has been the main vector for DG-Interpretation. While Andersen believes that advertising can be a beneficial way to reach out to people and could bring a strong return on investment, he is categorical about the benefits of the viral spread. “If you put a message across and it gathers a million hits, it is nirvana for the social media communicator.”

Measurement

So while social media efforts are in place, what are the real measurable outcomes?

To this Andersen responds, “We have different problems in different countries. In the UK, there has been a decrease in people who study the languages in the past 10 years. So we have understood that we need to create awareness about us at the pre-University level. In other places, it is important to create awareness at University levels. In terms of real outcomes, the registrations for the two most revered interpreter schools in Paris were up by 140% and 60%. For the best interpreter schools in the UK, we are looking at about a 100% increase in applications.”

Convinced that their efforts are having the right kind of effect on the ground, Andersen is conducting a detailed study on what part of the social media campaign works. His goal is to create a benchmark for pre-campaign awareness.

Technology as a threat

In contemporary times, a fear of technological innovations replacing human resources looms large. The propensity to embrace machines as compared to hiring actual interpreters is sure to hit the industry.

Andersen’s thoughts on the subject?

“Machine translation is great to get a general idea but often we have seen that we take more time to post-edit the machine translation than to translate it correctly in the first place. Text to speech can be simple, where a voice of the computerized program simply reads out the message; the trick is from one language to another language. There can be multiple ambiguities that the machine can process. You need a sensitive human to make a choice as to which of the double or triple layers of meaning make actual sense.”

As an afterthought, he adds, ‘There is also a difficulty of dealing with accents which will be even more difficult for a computer system. I don’t think the generation we are recruiting should be worried at all. It is the next generation that might face this issue.”

The road ahead

With a futuristic outlook, Andersen explains that regional differences and the approach towards language have a profound role to play in deciding the areas where more efforts need to be made.

In France, he says, people are quite interested in their language, and traditional media “took very well to our campaign.” In the UK, there has been less interest from the media but Anderson and his team are looking at Radio 4 programs as a medium to lure more interpreters.

Convinced about the changing dynamics of new media and determined to use them strategically, Andersen is a man with a mission – to motivate Generation Y to help make sure that Europeans working together in the EU will continue to be able to understand each other – even if they do not share a single language.

Follow EUInterpreters at http://twitter.com/EUInterpreters

By Karuna Kumar

“There seems to be some confusion about what’s going on here. About 1/5th of Pakistan is now submerged under water and 1/4th of Pakistan is in ruins,” exclaims Omar Salim Khan, an agriculturist in Lahore, Pakistan.

The scale of the floods that struck Pakistan earlier this month has been monumental. Monsoons, flash flooding and landslides have conspired to bring massive devastation to the soils of Pakistan. The devastation has been so dramatic that the U.N. Headquarters in Geneva are on a wild goose chase ascertaining the number of people that need help. Pakistan’s government has claimed that over 20 million people have been affected; the UN places the number at 6 to 8 million who are in need of immediate assistance.

Waters continue to rise and the ruthless tides continue to swamp more districts in the south. Among battered ruins, the homeless and the hungry make their way through the thick sludge; if that’s not grim enough, bouts of bomb blasts plague regions close to the Afghan border amid the devastation.

Pakistan in crisis

The situation in Pakistan is anything but stable.

“This is a major economic crisis and affects a big chunk of the industry. It is very worrisome for the commercial and agricultural banks in particular that have given out loans to many farmers. With the already high inflation rates, the current disaster brings forth a situation that is fraught with peril,” explains Khan.

Pakistan’s national grid is a major source of power for most companies in Pakistan. However, due to its unreliable nature, companies depend on generators for their power supply, which increases their production costs. Due to high inflation rates, the cost cannot be passed onto consumers and needs to be absorbed by the business, leading to losses. This is a major source of concern for employees of most businesses in Pakistan as their salaries bear the brunt of it.

Currently there is a growing pressure from the IMF to introduce major economic reforms in exchange for a multi-billion dollar bail out package. The basis of sanctioning the bail out package is a reduction in electricity tariffs, which is met with much reluctance by the Pakistani authorities. On the other hand, a popular view is that structural reforms, made a few years ago, have brought financial stability to the business environment in Pakistan.

External influences the internal

Such instability in the external environment has led to ramifications on the internal working and operations of businesses. Employees, the human capital, are at the core of this disaster. Submerged in agony and fear, they are expected to continue work as usual so as to maintain production efficiencies and in turn help the Pakistani government.

If one trait stands out in the Pakistani culture, it is resilience. Observing Tetra Pak in Pakistan, a global packaging firm gives a true picture of what it means to carry on with business in a state ravaged by flooding and its aftermath.

Case Study : Tetra Pak, Pakistan

“Tetra Pak’s business, like other businesses around the country, is affected as our customers are facing problems in product distribution, milk collection and shelf offtake. The Pakistani government, in light of the crisis, has reduced GDP growth forecast by half percent and that will in general result in slower growth in this fiscal year. However, it is hard to gauge the extent of the damage at this point in time,” says Sobia Aslam, Communications Manager at Tetra Pak, Pakistan.

Tetra Pak has donated €100,000 in kind to the flood victims. The company is donating this money in the form of packaged milk and distributing it with the help of its customers. It is also working with Pakistan Poverty Fund and distributing their products under staff supervision.

Sobia adds, “Tetra Pak Pakistan’s employees are saddened by this unfortunate disaster and are very supportive of relief efforts. Employees, realizing the magnitude of the crisis, have donated 2 days’ salary for this purpose, in addition to direct personal contributions.”

Responding to the question of how the current situation has affected the internal working of business in Pakistan, Azhar Ali Syed, Managing Director of the multi-national packaging firm says, “We are finding it difficult to bring in expatriate staff to Pakistan for short or long-term assignments due to real and perceived security threats. On the one hand, it is making it difficult for us to provide world-class service to our customers but on the other hand, we have increased the pace of developing local talent to handle more complex and specialized tasks.”

In some cases, for reasons more obvious than not, the impact on blue-collar employees is greater in terms of the high food inflation and the energy crisis resulting in load shedding. However, Tetra Pak is trying to reduce the financial burden on low-income groups through fair remuneration packages. The security situation, that has affected all employees alike, is yet another problem that Tetra Pak is trying to deal with.

In this hour of agony, motivating employees, encouraging them to get to work and maintaining internal efficiency is crucial for Tetra Pak in Pakistan. To this, Sobia says, “Communicating with employees at this critical time is imperative and the management has made sure that employees know about what is being done in terms of relief efforts and that they are involved in the activities themselves. The senior management has been sending weekly reports on the floods to lower management, sharing updates and their impact with all employees.”

Syed adds, “We have taken a number of measures for workers’ safety and comfort at the work place. We are involving all employees in the continuous improvement of the working environment.”

The other side of the picture

While the management at Tetra Pak seems to be in control of the situation, many people like Saulat Raza, a businessman from Jhang Punjab who works for the government, are in deep agony. Grappling with the immediate misfortunes of the floods, he expresses his quandary:

“I am facing major problems in getting on with my business. There is a lack of electricity and raw materials. The communication networks have also been damaged. My employees are unable to get to work. Of those who do get to work, I’m unable to provide them any salaries for the work they do. I fear losing them as I’m unable to provide them any job security,” Raza says.

He points out, “Employees at big companies are more relaxed as those companies are financially stable. Employees of national companies are worried as their jobs are at stake.”

These floods have affected about 13% of the entire population of the country. This grim number includes nine million children who are directly suffering. Khan says, “A big shortfall in crops this year will result in importation and loss of foreign exchange leading to a rise in local prices, that are already stifling the common man. The KSE and LSE indices are already sliding due to these developments.”

United we Stand, Divided we Fall

A strange thing about disaster is that it brings people together. Marc Wright, a global communication consultant recalls, “I remember when we were doing some comms audits with Barloworld in South Africa in the late ‘90s.  It was the early days of the new South Africa and violence in parts of Johannesburg was endemic.  We discovered that staff loved coming to work because they knew that they were not going to be shot at or mugged once they got into the compounds of the company. It is a sobering thought that in times of social change the workplace can become the only stable haven in people’s lives.”

A few drops of optimism inundate this dismal picture. Unity and the pertinence of the phrase – “United we Stand, Divided we Fall’ has awakened the people of Pakistan. Across varied industries, employees are working together to fight tough work environments and overcome this disaster. Sobia, Syed, Khan and Raza share an optimistic outlook of swimming through these tough tides and reaching the safe shores in good time.

By Karuna Kumar

Fighting with dismal work environments, relocating to new jobs, fearing the axe of job cuts falling down on them, living on a hand-to-mouth existence with meager incomes. No, it isn’t a Stalinistic Gulag. It is just the plight of blue-collar workers in a recession, which to them is more of a depression.

The state of blue-collar employees has been a heartening one. The West is drowned in corporate restructuring, while the East is slowly realizing how significant a role blue-collar workers play in their labour intensive economies. The colour coding is reflective of a socio-economic class and stands in contrast to the white shirted men sitting at their desks. The difference is stark and apparent – literally and metaphorically.

Inequalities and disproportions

There has been a growing income inequality and labour market displacement in developing countries like India. Income growth has been disproportionate in recent times. Sandwiched between the increasing demands of their work and lower wage growth, blue-collar employees struggle at their work. Engagement is considered more of a privilege rather than a fundamental need. However, one cannot ignore the effect that has on productivity, eventually leading to disruptions in work caused by unions.

In India, the local and national economy has been dependent on the blue-collar work force for most of its manufacturing units. In addition, a tide of global companies are outsourcing labour from India. This combined with the growing demands of expanding the manufacturing and agriculture sector has made staffing companies identify the blue-collar segment as a future growth driver.

Structuring the blue-collar workspace

Companies like TeamLease Services Pvt. Ltd., India’s largest staffing solutions company is on a major recruitment spree in Rajasthan, the northwestern state of India, known to have a large pool of untapped blue-collar workers. The company plans to increase that head count throughout the city, from 10% of the workforce to 15% by this fiscal year.

Platforms like www.bharatmazdoor.com are being created to facilitate corporates to reach out to skilled blue-collar workers. Companies are also identifying the need for better integration and collaboration with the rest of their work force.

Changing landscape

Fundamental problems of lower wages, instability in the work place and low growth prospects surround blue-collar employees. Aniisu Verghese, an independent industry observer and a global management consultant, says, ‘In India, blue-collar workers work with lower pay and lesser benefits. There also exists a fear of losing the job at hand during a downturn. The other challenge is that blue-collar workers tend to have contractual obligations that make the amount of information provided to the them, limited.”

While the need for blue-collar employees is well established, what requires some deliberation is whether organisations are working hard enough to make them feel valued in the work place?

Case Study – Max India Pvt. Ltd.

Nitin Thakur, Head of Communications at Max India Ltd., a multi-business conglomerate focused on service oriented businesses, is focused on unveiling this situation. Max India Ltd. is one of the largest private sector service companies in India. A visit to their website indicates a clear seven point agenda to serve human capital. From providing meaningful role to individuals to measuring performance objectively and paying fairly, the company aims to practice a carefully developed charter for the greater interests of their human resources.

“Max India’s operating model is to have all business vested in its subsidiaries. Our manufacturing unit at Okhla in New Delhi forms one of our most vital SBUs. We depend majorly on blue-collar employees for that unit. The ratio of blue-collar to white-collar employees, is 70:30. As part of our operational structure, we have integrated all our manufacturing operations in a single location and largely have people from similar ethnic groups,” explains Thakur.

He adds, “Being a large unit, the issue of engaging blue-collar employees is crucial to us. We work through forming employee committees and empowering the employees by making them a part of these committees and giving them decision making powers. Not only does this produce high engagement levels amongst committee members, but also creates a positive buzz about the particular initiative through word-of-mouth.”

The notion of ‘labour’ as we know it, no longer exists. The blue-collar worker today is skilled, tech-savvy, ambitious and as much a part of modern India’s consumerist culture as any other segment of society. The nature of work for the blue-collar employee has also changed over the years. Previously, painting car bodies would be the job of the blue collar. Today, handling the painting robots, is the task at hand.

Thakur feels that practices should be put into place to ensure that the interests of blue-collar workers are protected.

He emphasizes, “To be able to communicate with blue collar employees, it is important to use tangible and interactive mediums. Often, the communication mediums we use are event-led. For instance, if we want to promote the feeling of social service, then we would do it through an event, say a blood-donation camp, which will be organized by the employees themselves. This sense of ownership leads to the message being internalized.”

Worker empowerment and job enrichment

Managing people is difficult especially when the nature of their work and workplace environment is fundamentally different from the Manager’s. Despite efforts of team building, worker empowerment and job enrichment, there still exists a barrier between employees and management.

“Most organizations do realize the importance of integrating this group in every possible way. Through town halls and engagement sessions, leaders attempt to address the concerns of blue-collar workers. Opportunities for them to blend in with the rest of the workforce and to join the higher levels based on high performance measures are catered to. The workers are included in most organizational communication, official connection programs and every viewpoint is considered during decision-making,” Aniisu points out.

Action vs reaction

When asked how responsive blue collar workers are to Max India’s event led initiatives, Thakur says, “If you use event and engagement based tools, then the blue-collar workers are more responsive. From my experience, creating a sense of involvement amongst the blue-collar employees can help register the message far better. They feel valued and wanted, which helps break the class-divide that invariably develops amongst the white collar and blue collar work force.”

A hopeful outlook

Nitin and his team are optimistic of blurring the great divide between white collar and blue collar employees and are committed to changing the blue collar work landscape.

“India Inc’s mindset towards the Internal Communication function and managing the blue collar workspace has undergone a change. However, this function cannot be self-serving. It will get importance and weight only in those companies and sectors where it has the possibility of making the maximum impact.”

Could the gap between the employee who irons his shirt first thing in the morning and the worker who wears fresh ones only once the whistle blows, be narrowing? If communicators like Nitin have their way, it just might be possible.

By Karuna Kumar

The hearts of billions of football fans skipped a beat when Andres Iniesta kicked off the ball in Soccer City, Johannesburg and scored a half volleyed shot from a pass by Cesc Fabregas, defeating The Netherlands 1-0 and giving Spain their first World Cup title. What a moment it was in sports history!

The 30-day pageant had finally come to an end. The triumph of Spain was splashed across all media and loud fanfare and cheer filled the air. Spain relished the honour, giving coach Vicente del Bosque his winning moment.

From the football pitch to the boardroom

Looking at that triumphant win retrospectively, there was more than one lesson to be learnt; lessons that reflect on managerial and leadership skills that can be taken into the corporate space.

An interesting observation for the discerning manager would be the uniformity in the style of playing, the techniques used and the strategies adopted by the football teams throughout the 60-odd matches played during the World Cup. One could say with conformity that a certain level of standardization had been adopted into the game.

According to Permjot Valia, an angel investor and owner of the fund management business, Flight and Partners, “There is a global feel that has permeated into the game. Most of the players have travelled outside their home country and have played in foreign surroundings. For me, that is crucial. Talent should travel outside their home country as that makes them more adaptable and flexible.”

Today almost all football players are playing for clubs all across the world. They learn and adapt to the best playing techniques and understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The tools to compete with have become more accessible which invites more competition, making it more fierce and strenuous.

So was Spain’s win expected?

”I always believe that teams that have too much talent do not do well. Superstars bring big egos onto the team, which are difficult to handle. But Spain proved me wrong,” Valia admits.

On a different note, Rob Sheldon, owner of the Kew Park Rangers Football Club, categorically states, “I always knew that Spain would win it. They are highly trained, levelheaded players and work well as a team.” Sheldon was so confident that he even put a bet on them.

Teamwork

Spain’s victory was a strong example of the importance of teamwork to reach a greater end.

“A great team is one where the players can hold the ball well, defend well and score good goals,” explains Sheldon.

The rules of the game are the same for sports and business; what is different is merely the stage where the players perform. As an attribute in business, teamwork must be given as much significance as other attributes of individual excellence.

“France (fell short) because they were not a team. There were many internal issues between players and a distinct backlash between the players and management,” Sheldon adds.

Valia says, “For me, teamwork is what synchronises the effort and gives it a direction to move forward. It is as much a crucial element for football teams as it is for management teams. Helping each other overcome mistakes and obstacles together is key to a winning team – whether it is sport or business.”

Collaboration

Along with teamwork comes collaboration. “The Spanish team may have had seasoned goalkeepers, great ball jugglers, sound dribblers and strikers, but if these individual talents had not blended into a team, they would not have been able to win the World Cup. Teamwork is the key to fine performances,” Sheldon points out.

Just as the country is bigger than the President, so is the team bigger than the individual. What differentiates a group from a team is the sense of interdependency. In a team, each one is dependent on the other to perform and build a level of trust with each other. That’s the word “team” in its essence.

“In business we need to ensure that everybody understands what they need to do and that they feel the same sense of responsibility towards the company goals. You need to make people realise how they fit into their organisations,” Valia explains.

Failure breeds success

A pertinent question here is, was failure the key to success for the Spaniards? More often than not we concentrate too much on the successes than the failures. Without the backbone of many wins, Spain had a modest start in the World Cup finals. A defeat at the hands of Switzerland in the first match was less than motivational.

“I consider the loss to Switzerland as a miracle in disguise for the Spanish team. A sense of loss unites people. It makes them take notice of their weaknesses and work on them. The presence of the external threat works well internally. They all understand that if the team doesn’t stand up together and fight, everybody is bound to lose,” Valia says.

Leadership

Leadership plays a key role in any win. It is a leader who sets the tone for the success of the team.

The leadership style of del Bosque is evidence to true sportsmanship. He laid down essential lessons for the leaders of the corporate world. It is not just about passion, rivalry and emotion; it is all about bringing out the best in people. Having won five league titles himself, del Bosque had a measured approach towards the win. A conciliatory nature enabled him to deal with the star- studded dressing rooms and maintain the unity and performance levels through the game.

“I think what worked in his leadership style was that he kept his emotions at bay from the players. Unlike others like Maradona, whose emotions were all over the place, he held his calm throughout the game,” Sheldon notes.

Valia adds, “Vicente had an indispensable role to play here. He is a coach who draws on the knowledge and experience of the players to inform his decision-making. His cerebral nature and composure led the team players to a strategic win. He is a fine example of elegant, effective and collaborative leadership.”

Insurgents vs incumbents

The corporate world can be divided into two: incumbents and insurgents. Incumbents refer to companies dominating markets, while insurgents refer to those struggling to survive and aspiring to outbid incumbents.

The one lesson that stands out through the World Cup is of unknown insurgents having the capability to unseat incumbents, almost overnight. The win of the Spanish team, a team that has only two European championships and one Olympics to its name, has demonstrated this lesson quite illustratively through the various games.

Working right

Nurturing players from a very young age seems to be the mantra for successful teams. There are no shortcuts to developing talent and reaching the top. It is a process – a gradual one. Inculcating an environment of sound professional growth and learning and investing in the training of talent, is a wise decision on the part of managers.

“It is often thought that the more money that is spent, the better the outcome of the game will be. This is a faulty thought. Real Madrid Football club usually acquires a surfeit of expensive players, but most of the players in the Spanish team were from Barcelona, a club that has always taken a more academic approach to football,” Valia points out.

Sheldon, a devoted Arsenal fan, adds, “I think it is more about choosing the right players and training them right.”

Passion

Motivation is the magic that makes things work. An authentic relationship between team members encourages a positive environment and motivates players to walk that extra mile. A streak of passion with a few great talents is the perfect recipe for a winning team – on and off the football pitch.

By Karuna Kumar

It was a peculiar building and in a casual glance, seemed to me, to be under construction. That was my first impression of the Headquarters of Marks & Spencer at North Wharf Road. Inside, it was anything but that. A towering glass building with yellow coloured pillars and a huge entrance with blue-collared men and women running in and out.

As I waited patiently to meet Tanith Dodge – the woman behind the company’s laudable employee engagement statistics – I noticed how every nook and corner of the office conveyed a sense of belonging. Seated beside a group of Marks & Spencer employees chatting about the sunny weather and their weekend plans, the environment seemed quite relaxed.

A huge LED scroller explaining a new initiative introduced in the organisation was an appropriate prelude to my interview with Dodge. She greeted me with the company’s progress report in hand ready to discuss the inner workings of the legendary organization – 126 years old and a true benchmark in the retail sector.

It was through a partnership between Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer, a cashier in Yorkshire, that Marks & Spencer was born. A policy of selling only British made goods made M&S stand out in its reputation in the 20th century. Today, it has over 21 million people visiting their stores each week.

Core to an organisation that has survived two world wars, a depression and several recessions including braving the recent credit crunch are the employees who carry the organisation on their shoulders. As Director of Human Resources at M&S, Dodge oversees 76,000 employees in multiple regions and has worked with the company for 2 years.

“Ever since I started working in HR, the role of HR has evolved. In the 70s it was more about welfare and industrial relations. HR now plays a much more strategic role for the business and is focused on the people agenda”, Dodge explained.

Challenges and key tools

Internally, challenges are common given the size and scale of M&S. Some of the most significant ones, according to Dodge, are maintaining customer focus and employee engagement.

“Responsible leadership has always guided us to ensure that our employees are fully engaged in their place of work. We are genuinely interested in our employees well being. We employ extensive research tools to understand our employees and learn about who they are and what they want. We earn the trust of our employees and do not take it for granted. That is the DNA of our organisation,” Dodge pointed out.

Looking at the numbers, the admirable work ethic appears to be paying off. In 2009, the retailer’s employee survey, ‘Your M&S, Your Say’, revealed its highest scores in staff attitudes towards the company, their managers and their jobs. Almost three-quarters (74 per cent) of the scores were positive despite the announcement of job losses, 27 store closures and the capping of the company pension scheme at the beginning of 2009.

M&S has been collecting and acting on staff opinions via the survey since 2006. “The survey is now also used to collect specific feedback on managers, to ensure that they are provided with feedback from their direct reports, as well as their departments, on what is key to increasing employee engagement,” said Dodge.

Plan A

In January 2007, M&S launched ‘Plan A’ – setting out 100 commitments on the most important social, environmental and ethical challenges facing its business. These commitments extend across 5 pillars of Plan A, namely: climate change, waste, sustainable raw materials, fair partnership, and health. A current report on the implementation of Plan A states ,“Plan A, three years hence, has been able to develop new products and services to help our customers live more environmentally friendly lives, has made a bigger contribution to local communities, engaged our employees and saved £50m this year.”

The commitments outlined under the Fair Partner pillar of Plan A suggest how new ways of engaging employees have been put into place by M&S. Encouraging staff to volunteer in the community and offering them free home insulation have been two such initiatives. “This is a step undertaken by the company with an aim to raise the morale of the employees and increase their motivation in implementing Plan A,” remarked Dodge.

In addition, M&S has launched an employee well-being portal to help people make beneficial lifestyle changes.

Reorganisation of the HR Department

Perhaps one of the most profound internal achievements Dodge has overseen has been the creation of centralised People Policy Support Teams – a system that efficiently manages employee relations across hundreds of stores. “Duplication of effort was what we wanted to work against. From administration to training to addressing employee grievances, there is a lot that HR manages on a store-to-store basis. There was a lack of centralised policy so I wanted to encourage shared learning and a platform for best practice.”

That platform included a database for HR managers identifying key solutions to common problems encountered at stores as well as a centralized HR hub, resulting in the reduction of time spent on certain issues. “Managers can now call dedicated HR hubs and file queries, whilst referring to case law examples where the same problems have been encountered,” Dodge explained. In total, there are 10 hubs, linking 65 HR professionals and 47 business partners.

The result of Dodge’s efforts has been a consistency of approach which has enabled line managers to take greater responsibility and have performance-related conversations with the staff.

‘People Thursday’ is one of the innovative transformation projects brought about, where managers in all stores set aside time to deal with ‘people issues’.

Lead to succeed/Lead to manage

Investing in good people is something Dodge considers central to the M&S business. One of the talent initiatives she has introduced has been ‘Lead to succeed’ aimed at developing leaders. It is targeted at 350 most senior managers.

“The program focuses on developing their core attributes and helping them to internalise M&S’ values as a leader. We have designed it with the challenges being faced by M&S in mind and we’re supporting it with essential coaching,” Dodge explained.

She added, “Since launching in 2009 the program has been a huge success. We have witnessed development of our senior managers and the way they challenge problems within the organization.” So how does one assess the leadership skills of managers at lower levels? “For the other levels of management, we have ‘Managing for change’ and have initiated leadership programs at all levels. We have developed a holistic approach on talent investment,’” Dodge pointed out.

With the most recent employee opinion survey receiving a response rate of 94%, M&S’ initiatives seem to be working. “The score on positivity was 74% and this is the highest employee response we have had to date,” Dodge revealed.

Looking ahead: Project 2020

“Project 2020 is a big project for Marks & Spencer. It is an initiative that is designed to bring about improved change in the way we operate. We have reviewed our strategic priorities and have set long-term aspirational goals,” Dodge explained.

The focus of Project 2020 is to restructure M&S’ supply chain, implement new information systems and improve operational execution. Particular focus has been given on its multichannel operations and brand communication with customers.

As a recent report suggests, M&S has been implementing numerous programs with the purpose of ‘upscaling’ communication. Focus groups and conferences are conducted on a quarterly basis. “This initiative will be working from top to bottom-down through the hierarchy chain. Work needs to be done in the area of change management and how senior leaders make change happen as a part of their leadership strategy,” Dodge explained.

Meanwhile, Dodge continues to look at the bigger picture. ”We are looking at ways of making our HR function more consistent internationally, whilst schemes such as performance management and Lead to Succeed have already been rolled out globally there is still more work to do. It is important to anticipate future demands and prepare ourselves for the challenges that lie ahead.”

By Karuna Kumar

Charged, enthusiastic and an impassioned globe traveller is how one would probably define Adrian Cropley. From leading IABC Victoria to doing voluntary work to opening a retail store (and eventually a restaurant), Cropley is a man of diverse ambitions.

Having immigrated to Australia in his youth, Cropley was exposed to change at a very early age. “I migrated to Australia at the age of 11 which was quite a traumatic change for me. I think adjusting to change is something I carry from my schooling years,” recalls Cropley.

His academic roots ultimately led to a path toward human resources and a job at Ericsson where he would become the Director of HR.

“It was about 15 years ago, when I was told to take up the role of internal communications from the then-CEO. My first response was, ‘what on earth is internal communications?’”

To best understand the concept, Cropley went in search of delivering the true meaning to internal comms.

“It was not about the company newsletter and organizing events, it was more about strategy. I introduced a strategy for internal communications that got adopted on a global level and I travelled places to execute that strategy,” he explains.

One of those places was Asia, where Cropley grew his team to 8 with a strong focus on the intranet.

Ahead of his time

At a time when few companies fully understood the value of effective internal communication, Cropley was busy creating a robust strategy for executive communication.

“I developed a strategy to produce a number of communication channels dedicated to the CEO. We developed a personalised CEO brand called intouch to communicate with the employees. This included regular news updates through e-mail and arranging breakfasts and lunches as an open forum for employees to approach the CEO and share ideas, views and opinions.”

Intouch TV was also created to broadcast interviews with the CEO and discussions about a product or service.

Cropley’s multi-channel initiative led to an IABC Gold Quill Award in 2004.

Introduction to IABC

After working with Ericsson for 15 years, Cropley accepted a redundancy package and went off to see the world. After his globetrotting, Cropley set up his own consultancy, Cropley Communication and developed a relationship with IABC. “I started my association with IABC because of its sheer exposure to communicators across the globe. I was introduced to a network of peers who could help develop me as I grew a new business endeavour.”

Cropley started volunteering at IABC Victoria, Melbourne and then acted as Vice President for IABC Victoria the following year. At the same time, he became involved with the Asia-Pacific region. Thereafter, Cropley applied for the International Board of which he now serves as Vice Chair. In his current role, Cropley brings profound international exposure and an innate curiosity to understand various cultures.

For example, in spite of organizations becoming more global in their communication strategies, Cropley thinks companies need to think locally within the cultural contexts. He does not support the view of applying the same approach in different countries and believes in tailoring strategies to varied cultures. It’s not only about language and translation; delivery and tone are also important during communication.

“If you are working in the Philippines, the one thing you will notice is that people are always happy. Feedback there is given in a very humourous way. On the other hand, Japan and China have a very formal culture. Status is very important in those countries,” Cropley points out.

Helping achieve global best practices in internal communication

One of the most interesting projects Cropley has worked on of late has been helping Unilever develop its internal communicators as the company positions itself to doubling the business by 2020.

“Last year, I met the Head of Internal Comms of Unilever for the Africa, Asia and Middle East Region, Helene Bradley-Ritt. Her goal was to develop her communicators and take them to the next level. The underlying idea was to develop a global best practices strategy for internal communications teams inside the organization. Along with the development opportunity for communicators I saw an opportunity to get Unilever to partner with IABC and its accreditation program”.

IABC partnered with Unilever to deliver an accreditation program for internal communicators from 9 different countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The coalition of Unilever and IABC brought about an accreditation program that would align the way in which communication is delivered inside the company.

Cropley explains:

“We reached out to senior level managers across various regions and started some development programs. We then lined up the portfolio with two things – one, a project that the communicators would implement in Unilever and two, a review of the communication function with some learnings and recommendations of what needed to change. We decided to take the IABC accreditation process and matched it up with a business need and a business outcome.”

Cropley developed both a week long residential training program with Unilever plus virtual models for marketing, media relations, corporate social responsibility and ethics. IABC also helped Unilever to develop an accreditation exam for their communicators that included oral presentations. Cropley and the IABC accreditation council worked to deliver a new model to align communications right across the company.

“Having in-house training really supports the development of communicators and also raises their status across the organisation. We also undertook a measurement process to understand how the accreditation had made a difference.”

For Cropley, the experience has been simply amazing with plans to expand the project in Asia in September.

Ready and determined

As Vice Chair, Cropley is looking forward to carrying out his new role at IABC.  He sees tremendous growth potential in regions like China, India, Brazil and Mexico.

“I will be looking into two things during my tenure as Vice Chair – one is how we grow our membership globally and build strategic links across the globe and the other is how we further build on our accreditation and development offerings to grow our business. We need to use our content and share it strategically with our community. You will surely see a lot of momentum over the next few years.”