Insignia Talks

…about the power of communication to create, manage and protect reputations

Recent turbulent economic times have created seismic shockwaves for global business.  Change – which was already accelerating at an astonishing rate – has gone into hyper-drive.  Business re-engineering, outsourcing, downsizing, offshoring – and sometimes site closures – are now an everyday occurrence.  Change is an essential part of business life even in “normal” times, certainly for those organisations that want to remain competitive and win greater market share.  But the way that change is communicated will have a major influence over its ultimate success – or failure.

It’s generally accepted that the key factor in a successful business transformation project is leadership.  And inspirational leadership requires effective, engaging communication.  With many groups – employees, customers, suppliers, investors, works councils, local communities and more – all having a stake in a major change programme, it’s very easy to under-communicate or allow confusing messages to be sent out.  Insignia can help you effectively communicate through major change with expertise in communication planning, stakeholder mapping and engagement, key message development and plan execution.

Change management is never easy to achieve: without well planned and flawlessly executed communication, it can be nigh on impossible.

Case study
When this manufacturer of consumer goods decided to close its Spanish manufacturing facility with the loss of 800 jobs and move it to Poland, they knew that reaching stakeholders with carefully crafted, well-timed messages would be crucial.  Led by Insignia’s Jonathan Hemus, the consultancy team developed a comprehensive communications plan to reach staff, local, regional and national government, suppliers, customers and the press.

Communication training for senior executives and the development of communication resources materials – Question and Answer documents, briefing papers, statements, announcements and news releases – were crucial.  Equally important was on-going communication counsel as the process developed over almost two years.  Despite a number of major hurdles to overcome, the programme was ultimately seen by government and the media as a case study of how to implement change professionally and responsibly.