A comprehensive campaign helps Gap employees embrace cultural change.

When Paul Pressler joined Gap Inc. as president and CEO in 2002, a major goal was to help the global clothing giant restore its business fundamentals and align each employee around a common framework--a shared way of thinking--that would better position Gap as a growth company that's also a great place to work.

With that in mind, Pressler and the executive leadership team realized that Gap had to undergo a significant cultural transformation. Employees needed to learn how to stop operating by division and to come together across functions, borders and brands, including Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Forth & Towne. The executive leadership team established a new way of thinking and acting that would become central to the corporate culture: a shared purpose under which to unify all employees, a set of values by which to inspire them to deliver on the purpose, and a set of behaviors to enable them to help the company achieve its goals.

Communication challenge

Introduced in 2004, this cultural transformation became known as Gap's Purpose, Values and Behaviors, or PVBs. The internal communication team had an unprecedented opportunity to develop and execute a comprehensive communication and rollout strategy that would at once educate, empower and re-recruit employees to get behind the company and the PVBs, making Gap the great growth company it aspired to be.

The plan needed to reach the entire employee population--more than 150,000 individuals worldwide. With such a large audience, the team segmented employees and devised a unique strategy that employed a gradual cascade effect, making the task of reaching all audience members more manageable and more effective, and essentially helping the PVBs become part of Gap's cultural DNA.

Solution and implementation

To begin, the communication team focused first on aligning Gap's 2,000 senior leadership employees. This step was critical--historically, these leaders often worked according to their specific brand's or job function's agenda, not with the entire company in mind. Integrating the leaders, garnering their support for and understanding of the PVBs, and then allowing them time to "soak in" the information was imperative so that they would feel empowered to effect the same cultural change within their own teams. Full-day immersion meetings called Leadership Summits were developed to accomplish this goal. The meetings were highly interactive and engaging, requiring active participation. Once the senior leadership had been fully immersed in the PVBs and given time to process the information and incorporate the guidelines into their work, they were able to effectively share the cultural shift with their teams.

In order to communicate the guidelines to Gap's remaining employees, customized and culturally relevant communications were required. Executive and senior leaders held 60-minute presentations during regular business update meetings to introduce the PVBs. These presentations were scripted to inspire teams, generate enthusiasm and set the stage for the full rollout.

The communication team designed interactive workshops about the PVBs for headquarters employees, which were led by leadership staff according to brand. These workshops defined and applied the guidelines in terms of employees' real work needs through exercises and role playing. The remaining employees, who work in distribution centers, call centers and field stores worldwide, participated in interactive workshops led by the management at each location.

Throughout the rollout effort, the communication team surveyed the mind-set and levels of interest of leadership through focus groups and surveys in order to continually refine content and methods. The team also established a "Your Voice" channel on the company intranet, GapWeb, for employees to ask questions, voice concerns and receive direct responses about the guidelines. This component became a critical tool that is still used today to communicate with employees and receive feedback.

Measurement and evaluation

The content of the rollout meetings, along with the format, paid off for Gap. One hundred percent of participants who completed post-meeting surveys agreed or strongly agreed that not only was the content a worthwhile investment of their time, but that the new PVBs would help align and focus the organization as well. Moreover, 100 percent said that the rollout, along with provided collateral, gave them the information and tools they needed to share the information with their teams. With their newfound confidence, they could now lead their respective organizations through the changes required to implement the company's new growth, people and operating strategies. As one participant said, "This ... was extraordinary, clarifying for me where we'll be taking the company over the next five years, and how."

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After the rollout effort introducing Gap's Purpose, Values and Behaviors (PVB) guidelines, the communication team worked to connect behaviors to the real work of the organization. The environment was connected with the PVBs through posters, coffee-cup jackets and freestanding kiosk display boxes set up in conference rooms and other common areas. Communications were designed to keep the PVB strategy top-of-mind among employees. A PVB page on the GapWeb intranet and a newsletter for leaders were developed to highlight success stories and provide tips on how to live by the PVBs. Special cards Behaviors. The team also produced tools, such as a deck of cards (shown at right), for leaders to use with their teams in meetings to help foster discussion and ensure compliance. Reinforcing the guidelines ensured that the PVBs permeated every aspect of the organization. The Values and Behaviors have been incorporated into all recruiting, new-employee, and compensation and benefits materials. Every existing major company program and every new initiative are put through the internal communication team's "PVB Filter," to ensure that it directly mirrors Gap's new cultural guidelines.--J.N.

Jill Nash is vice president of corporate communication at Gap Inc.