Communicate to build consensus
As he got people and plans in place for the integration, Winner’s main priority was communicating to keep the company unified. But no matter how much communication he did, he wasn’t satisfied.
Fortunately, he got a chance to increase his efforts the second time around.
Just more than a year after Liberty acquired Ohio Casualty, it completed the acquisition of Safeco Corp., adding another company for Winner to integrate. Safeco will gradually become Liberty’s exclusive source for personal lines of insurance, and regional companies, like Ohio Casualty, will begin to focus solely on commercial lines.
This ongoing process will make constant, consistent communication even more important for Winner.
“The one lesson that I came through that process with is take what communication level you think you need and double it,” says Winner, who’s increasing his communication commitments by attending town halls at each office every quarter and setting up agency visits and dinners. “You can’t underestimate how much it takes to communicate, not only to employees but to your … constituents. You have got to stay in front of them and communicate constantly through that process.”
The first round of communication should strive to reassure employees and customers about the changes. To do that, share your plan, outlining how you’ll tackle the integration. It helps to deliver this message personally.
“That face-to-face communication from the leader of the organization, I think that helps to send the message of confidence,” says Winner, who also uses those environments to get feedback directly from employees.
Then keep everyone informed of your progress throughout the process, reiterating your main objectives as you do.
Use a variety of methods to make sure the message gets out. For Winner, written communication is the easiest way to circulate updates.
Winner’s updates often combine past and present. He’ll identify what the company has achieved in the past month as well as the goals on deck for the next couple of months.
That, he says, encourages consensus by building employees’ confidence in the plan.
“They can become overwhelmed with all the change and everything that’s going on,” Winner says. “But if you can show them the accomplishments along way, that, ‘Hey, we are getting things done, we are on project plan, and here’s what we’re going to do in the next 30 to 60 days,’ I think it starts to help break it down into something more manageable.”
While Winner still has some work to do, it all comes down to finding the strengths of everyone involved.
“You have to be very open to change,” says Winner, who led the new Ohio Casualty to 2008 revenue in excess of $700 million. “To be successful, you’ve got to be very willing to listen to the strengths of both sides of the organization — in our case it was four sides of the organization — and try to pick the very best aspects.”
How to reach: Ohio Casualty, (800) 843-6446 or www.ohiocasualty-ins.com
