Roll out your plan
Imagine employees’ reactions when they opened an e-mail joking they would soon be working for Fred Staffing. Throughout the planning process, Staffmark employees routinely received e-mail teasers to build excitement about the rebranding and to put circulating rumors to bed.
“The climax of excitement really occurs after a long process of these feeds,” Kohnke says. “We felt it was important to keep it in front of them so when it happened, they were ready for the big call.”
From the initial news of the rebranding to the final announcement, you have to keep your stakeholders engaged in the process by building anticipation and squashing rumors. Use e-mails and even staff or client meetings to communicate, without giving away exact details, what it is you’re doing, why it’s being done and how it will individually affect stakeholders.
For Staffmark, that meant explaining to employees rebranding doesn’t mean downsizing and explaining to customers they’d still be served by the same staff. For all constituents, it meant more resources.
Kohnke and his business unit leaders, all of whom were a part of the rebranding team, developed a plan that sent questions or concerns directly to them to be answered. From there, they determined whether the questions warranted individual answers or companywide clarifications.
You need to be prepared to deal with employee chatter throughout the process, but an important place and an easy way to cut down on noise is by making the final announcement to all employees at once.
“To tell everyone at the same time, everyone feels equally important to one another,” says Kohnke, who unveiled the new brand during a companywide conference call. “They’re appreciative of being part of that communication. There’s no bandying about of rumors or speculation.
“I would highly recommend that, and you can’t leave that to a committee, you’ve got to do that yourself.”
Everything must be in place so that once the announcement is made, employees have everything they need to immediately start the transition and can contact clients with details.
Staffmark sent rebranding kits to each location the day before and, partly to build suspense, told employees they would have to wait to open the boxes until the unveiling of the new brand. The kits were filled with T-shirts, mouse pads and other trinkets, but more importantly, they included descriptions of the company’s new name, mission, vision and values.
“The plan has to be done,” Kohnke says. “Basic communication materials have to be provided; there’s got to be some training that quickly has to occur — for example, phone-answering etiquette and providing every employee with information as to why the change was made with an idea that just continues to follow through with that great excitement of the change.”
And that’s just the start. Once the announcement has been made, you need to increase your level of communication and visibility in order to answer follow-up questions and deal with any resistance from employees and customers, notably those involved with an old brand.
“Just get out there and talk to your employees face to face. Don’t sit behind a desk,” Kohnke says. “So get out there, talk to customers and make the pitch face to face.
“I was the guy who was on the other end of the conference call, I’m now here face to face, and I’m interested in hearing what you have to say. In some cases, it takes some time for them to acknowledge (the change), but at least being honest with them, being specific with them and, again, overcommunicating is something we felt that was very, very important.”
How to reach: Staffmark, (513) 651-3600 or www.staffmark.com
