Bridging cultures in employee communications
Growth through merger and acquisition is notoriously tricky. This challenge gets magnified when there are multiple cultures across geographies in play. Giving stakeholders a voice in the process increases the chances of success.
Service
Publication design, editorial strategy, internal communications
Client
Tata Chemicals
Four continents
Published in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Gold Quill
IABC gave the publication its top award
Define: Tata Chemicals acquired businesses in Kenya, the UK, and North America. As part of the integration, it recognised the vital role of employee engagement throughout the process.
We applied the principles of Appreciative Inquiry to capture the varied perspectives of these new employees to think about the new opportunities. The findings were presented to the business leadership.
Design: We recommended creating a new internal communications channel, which didn't feel like it was being imposed from the corporate centre. The objective was that it should feel local to all employees while delivering global stories.
We assembled an international editorial board to contribute ideas and represent local interests.
The verbal and visual styles were designed to have appeal across cultures. The focus was on people and the common interests that lie beneath apparent differences.
Deliver: We conceived and launched Confluence, a company-wide in-house journal.
magenta introduced publications best practice and managed the process of producing quarterly editions. The result was a publication that had credibility across the company, and reflected the diversity and shared purpose of its employees.
Using Appreciative Inquiry, we turned the internal conversations away from the challenges of integration and towards the opportunities on the horizon.