Glue for the re-engineered corporation.

"We're emerging from one of the most unusual economic cycles in history," says conventional wisdom. If it was a cycle. If we are emerging. Employment, sales and profits are up, yet we still see layoffs, downsizing, restructuring, re-engineering.

Don't expect a return to normal, or refer to "rapid change," because that pace is now the norm. Exciting for some, frightening for many, this is the age of permanent whitewater rafting. You may need new communication strategies not because your company changed, but because it is changing. Companies must reinvent themselves continuously. Change is a process, not an event.

Dealing with change; that's our new career. Communicators must help renew the organization and give it fresh purpose through these steps:

* Acknowledge what's happening and put it in context with a clear

perspective.   * Keep everyone informed about how the issues are being
addressed.   * Involve people in developing solutions, so they'll own the

issues and opportunities.

From that process comes shared ownership, the glue for the reengineered corporation. It avoids the classic mistake of first making changes and then communicating them to employees, fully expecting that the wisdom of the actions will be apparent and the new direction will be embraced. That's wishful thinking. Just saying the words won't make it so.

The solution is not to involve management in the communication process, but communication in the management process. The communication mindset, a strategic approach to building relationships, must be front and center as issues are studied and decisions are made.

That approach works for my company, Sverdrup Corporation, an international professional services firm. We restructure periodically despite excellent growth, in order to keep growing. Our changes have been not to cope with crisis, but to capture opportunity. Even if your situation is different, the principles are the same.

The late W. Edwards Deming, Ph.D., had his famous 14 points for transforming management. Six of the 14 speak directly to our subject:

* Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age. Western management must awaken to the challenge, learn their responsibilities, and take on leadership for change.

* Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease cost.

* Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force. Exhortations only create adversarial relationships.

* Drive out fear, so everyone may work effectively for the company.

* Remove barriers that rob people of their right to pride of workmanship. The responsibility of supervisors must be changed from sheer numbers to quality.

* Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. The transformation is everybody's job.

Overcoming barriers

In an Arthur D. Little survey, 95 percent of executives said the most important factor in getting people redirected is a clear vision. They felt they could reduce overhead, and increase customer satisfaction and shareholder value, but had little confidence that they could empower employees and enhance their satisfaction. These were the major barriers they identified:

* Lack of buy-in that change is necessary.

* No senior-management champion.

* Lack of adequate skills or experience to implement.

* Turf battles.

* Lack of congruent reward system.

* Inability or unwillingness to downsize.

The implication is that management tried to convince others to accept change, but the people being asked to change hadn't gone through a learning curve. The solution was packaged and presented. Employees weren't involved in uncovering problems, defining the scope and developing a plan.

Employee involvement is essential, and is compatible with the fact that the management team must determine the new structure. Commitment to a process of change starts at the top, moves down to middle managers, and is driven by them across the organization. Employees should be involved in shaping the final details.

This approach requires a company to have open discussion of issues. But, openness is not enough. Transparency is the proper goal. Show people every option considered, the pluses and minuses of each; expose your thought process and the rationale for decisions. Then you won't be launching a campaign to achieve "buy-in" because it will have occurred.

The critical step is to face market realities. If change is needed, people must believe that fact and develop a plan. First, talk to customers. Ask where they're going, what they need to get there, what your competitors are supplying, and what it will take for you to keep earning their business.

Do so because you can't rely on superior technology for success in an age of parity where advantage is fleeting. Knowledge of your customer through relationship marketing may be the only competitive advantage that is sustainable. Without knowing what customers want, you don't have a sound starting point for reengineering the company and setting a new direction.

A key to overcoming barriers is to realize that "ownership" of issues is not a transfer of title. It is acceptance of responsibility. It occurs as part of the change process, not at the conclusion.

The Sverdrup example

Sverdrup's recent restructurings were led by the next generation of management. We created two new subsidiaries on April 1, 1993. Each began with about 1,000 employees, U.S. $200 million revenue, and a network of offices, following a year-long management study with these elements:

* We examined strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, concluding that we were doing well but could do better.

* Alternative company structures were evaluated in full and aired for discussion at management meetings.

* Structures were judged on how they met the needs and wishes of clients, and then by the benefits we would gain.

* For every change there is a price; consequences were studied.

* Decisions were made not from bias, but as the final step in a deliberative process.

We had a solid base on which to build support. Consistent communication over the years had established our shared values -- including the determination to control change rather than being controlled by it. Still, people have doubts and fears about change. It would not be sufficient to enact a program and expect it to succeed solely on its merits.

Communication strategies

The chosen plan replaces multi-purpose groups with targeted subsidiaries. It focuses people on the businesses they know best, with benefits for us and our clients. Built into the restructuring were strategies arising from communication principles:

* Minimize and control risk exposure in the market by knowing what clients want and where they're headed.

* Leverage the assets of the firm by adding value to people's careers in a visible way.

* Provide a clear, sharp linkage of people to their business units and of units to the market.

* Decide at the start that leaders of the firm will champion the plan and carry the message to all employees.

Underlying the plan were lessons learned from employee communication theory and practice.

* Direct from management, without being filtered, employees want to see the issues, vision, plan, strategy, direction.

* The implied question from recipients of a message is WIFM -- what's in it for me? Unit managers must lay out a plan in terms of work units and individuals.

* People want transparent sharing of the direction, strategy and alternatives. Put your wisdom, ego and management style on the table for all to see. You'll be judged in any event, so be judged on your entire study process, not just what you decided.

* If the company seeks ownership and offers empowerment, what does that mean? What happens if empowered people use their initiative and then make a mistake?

* Is this a two-way street, a covenant: You make a promise to me and I make one to you? Will all of us pull the wagon and head in the same direction?

Tactics and delivery systems

If the plan is sound, there is little risk in the choice of media. By contrast, the best delivery will not mask a strategically flawed plan. Tactics should match the message. We used these tools:

* A long letter was mailed to the homes of employees. When one's career is the subject, one will read every word. It analyzed issues and explained the rationale.

* Senior management went on the road for open discussion; all questions were accepted, with follow-up sessions held.

* Employee groups were given implementation tasks.

* As needed, since this was mainly an internal change, clients were visited by senior executives or sent a user-friendly letter.

* Newsletters spelled out details as implementation tasks were completed, knitting new operating companies together, and newsletters at the sub-unit level brought a new measure of cohesiveness to peer groups.

* Video magazines came later, focusing on the new companies, building pride in teamwork accomplishments.

Driving the ownership process

The focus moved next to building ownership of the change and of emerging business needs. In oral and written form, problems, issues and opportunities at various levels of responsibility are surfaced and held out to be examined. People are asked to assume ownership, and leaders stay alert to "un-owned" items on the list. Owners develop action plans for solving the problem, resolving the issue, or capturing the opportunity, and they are heard from on a regular basis.

Problems become major if not addressed early. And, after awareness of a problem, ownership can drift. There is a need to empower the leadership team in ways such as these:

* Integrate operations, providing better management control by putting one team in charge of all facets of a company. Give people clear lines of responsibility and authority.

* Put overhead control and thus accountability in the business segments. Responsibility means "I'll do it"; accountability means "I'll pay a price if it doesn't happen." People who step up to the plate on those terms must be empowered to act.

* Be fair; if you empower people to act, you must give them permission to fail. Keep it positive by focusing everyone on the expectation of success.

* Use frequent reporting sessions to air issues and highlight consolidated results. This approach builds teamwork, encouraging units to support each other.

Value-added communication

Company leaders must keep the spirit of change alive. The value-added approach is for senior executives to be effective communicators, building leadership for each problem, issue and opportunity. The goals are to keep generating results and to never lose sight of the agreed-upon vision, strategy and new direction.

When Sverdrup subsidiary presidents make reports at board meetings, their first topic is quality and the second is client satisfaction. Standard business measures are still important, but they follow those two subjects that determine if sales and profits will increase.

Reports to stockholders repeat the themes. Speakers at management gatherings detail the results and benefits of each issue or opportunity for which they have taken ownership. Traditional one-way communication programs, such as print and video, underscore how the new structure serves clients and helps the company grow.

Sverdrup's new structure was in effect for the final nine months of 1993. It helped us set records in sales and earnings, and all key objectives were met. This was done with no new techniques, no breakthrough in communication technology. The secret is in thinking the problem through, not in the glamour of the delivery systems.

It is not good enough to have good communication. Results are what we seek. And it's easy to recognize results, easy to measure communication strategies and programs. Just ask the test question: Did the target audience take the action we wanted?

To get away from communicating after the fact, make the communication mindset part of the process of change. If executives say they can solve quality and shareholder value problems, but can't empower employees and get them to take ownership, they waited too long before moving to your way of thinking.

Jerry Bryan, ABC, is director, corporate communication, Sverdrup Corp., Maryland Heights, Mo.