Communicate the message
Though it’s impossible for Loepp to communicate face to face with all 9,000 employees, that doesn’t mean he can’t keep his
message concise and understandable.
“The less complicated you are in your
messaging, the better,” he says. “If you try
to get something done, use two or three
points and be clear, because the more complex any messaging is, the less clear it is.”
When Loepp took the position, he started
using technology to get his message across
to employees.
“One of the things that I instituted when I
took the position is we do a webcast every
first Monday of the month,” he says. “It’s a
lot like a podcast, really, where it’s sent and
every employee gets it.
“I take a subject matter that is an important issue impacting the business, and I do
about an eight- or nine-minute webcast
that is e-mailed to every employee on their
PC. Of course, in our written communications we follow up with it, too.”
Loepp has been amazed with the feedback from the communication. Employees
have been engaged in his messages and
have been communicating with him.
“The feedback on that has been phenomenal where people feel like they are
part of the process and they can sort of
touch you,” he says. “I get a lot of e-mail
responses back, but a lot of verbal positive comments that people feel like you’re
sharing with them what you are trying to
do with the company. When you see folks,
it’s really amazing on how they react to
you, whether it’s in the elevators, in the
cafeteria.”
To get honest feedback from your message, it’s important employees know that
you genuinely want to hear it, and you take
their statements seriously.
“You have to demonstrate that you sincerely want to hear what employees have
to say, and that you enjoy having the opportunity to connect with them through conversation and correspondence,” he says. “I
am very big on that. I write back to employees who have questions or comments
about my monthly webcast messages. I
speak in person with employees across the
state by holding up to 10 town-hall meetings each year. I typically share my perspectives on major happenings around the
company, and I try to be very transparent.
If we are underperforming in a certain
phase of the business or if we are facing a
major challenge, I try to be very open and
honest about it. At the end of these town-hall sessions, I typically field as many questions as employees have for me.
I’ve found that, generally, employees aren’t
afraid to ask a tough question and they
appreciate an honest response, even if it is
just to say, ‘I don’t know, but I’ll look into it.’”
The webcast also helped employees get
to know Loepp, which is important to get
buy-in. It’s especially important in Loepp’s
case because of the big shoes he had to fill.
“When you have a transition like we did,
and my predecessor was here 18 years, I
think it’s important for people to get to
know you and feel comfortable that they
have a leader they can count on,” he says.
“I think it personalizes things. I clearly can
see that people feel more comfortable
today than they did two years ago when I
took the job — that people feel we are
moving in the right direction.
“This has allowed them to feel like you
are a little bit friendlier, a little closer to
them. So, it’s allowed people to be a lot
more direct than generally you see. People
are motivated that we are trying to move in
the right direction, and you can feel it.”
HOW TO REACH: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, (313)
225-9000 or www.bcbsm.com
