FleishmanHillard UK

A more unpredictable world begets more reputational threat axes for corporate affairs leaders to worry about. But over the last couple of years — the period since the pandemic — I’ve observed how one axis has assumed a more important role than ever before: Employees.    In every kind of business, employees have been the driving force pushing management to grapple with business-adjacent issues — issues that managers, in the past, might have worried about in private, but never considered as relevant to their businesses.    And yet, as political issues have become more omnipresent in our lives, employees are (quite understandably) bringing their concerns to work. They might ask for help or suggest their company speaks out on a big issue. Or see a way for their company to help solve a societal problem. Or just need a place where they can have a safe conversation.    Misdirected or ill-considered management reactions can create new reputational risks or amplify existing ones.    There are a variety of examples of companies speaking out on political issues at the urging of their employees, only to suffer from a backlash.     So how does management navigate this flavour of employee concerns?    It starts with culture. An empowering culture encourages open dialogue and creates a trusted environment for leaders to elaborate on rationale and context.    But getting to a corporate culture that welcomes give-and-take and benefit-of-the-doubt can be tricky.     Culture can also be a key force when grappling with an external reputational threat. A positive company culture helps establish and maintain trust between employees and managers, while providing the latitude for leaders to communicate context and motivation when things are difficult. In the best cultures, employees choose to become advocates.    Good leaders know the importance of culture. But how should they influence it? How should they help mould it? Because good leaders also know that they can’t do everything all at once. Is it wellbeing? Inclusion? Purpose? Engagement?     Success starts by recognising that these aren’t levers to be pushed and pulled. They are ingredients. Each on its own might be a lump of lead. But blended in the right way, with a bit of creativity in the recipe, and they can become gold: A culture in which everyone helps identify and mitigate risks — reputational and overwise. And lots of other good stuff too — better innovation, improved productivity and more openness to constructive change.  Call it Cultural Alchemy. As a finished compound, it all adds up to better performance. 

📰 Exciting news in my world today: I’m joining FleishmanHillard full-time as Chair of Corporate Affairs for the UK and will be helping with all sorts of things relating to corporate, digital, insight, and strategy. I couldn’t be more enthusiastic about joining FH. I believe that the corporate communications marketplace is ripe for disruption, but it will take an agency with the culture, bravery, and scale of FH to do it. We have a bold vision for corporate affairs that starts with challenging traditional assumptions, building a deep understanding of stakeholder audiences, developing thoughtful strategies, executing across a wide range of audience touch points, and delivering meaningful results. The corporate, digital, and insights capabilities at FleishmanHillard are first-rate, and we aim to deploy all of those capabilities against complex corporate communications challenges. And rather than trying to be digital first or earned first, we aim to be effectiveness first. I’ve admired FH from the outside from many years, and I am looking forward to spending the next phase of my own journey with such a brilliant group. 🥳

On behalf of FleishmanHillard UK, I’m proud to present: #CulturalAlchemy 🧪   Cultural Alchemy is the art and science of combining the unique elements of your organisation to ensure your culture naturally powers big picture goals.   Because culture is never just one thing. It’s multiple ingredients carefully blended to drive business performance by way of an engaged, aligned and inspired workforce.   Blend it right and you’ve got gold. Blend it wrong and it’s just lead. What does this mean for you and your business? Read more through the link pinned in the comments 👇   #Leadership #Culture