The Foundation of Corporate Relations Every employee on the payroll is a spokesperson for the company. And what they say in the marketplace carries more weight than the best annual report, the most creative advertising slogan or the most aggressive public relations campaign. Yet company after company fails to partner with this incredible asset.The results of recognition, communication and win/win partnership programs go directly to the bottom line in terms of increased productivity, lower absenteeism, and the creation of well-informed ambassadors to the communities and markets critical to the organization’s success. In my experience as an account executive for a PR firm specializing in employee communication, I have seen these programs work for many clients. If an employee is unhappy or feels that the company is keeping things hidden from them, they will be the first to verbally destroy the company in the public’s eye. However, if they feel that the company is open, honest and recognizes employees that go above and beyond their job description, these employees will enable the company to succeed by talking it up in the marketplace. In a recent survey that I conducted for ARAMARK Corporation, I found that employees want to know three things above all: vision/strategy, progress/performance and financial information. I organized a benchmarking study of 40 corporations and found that the companies who distribute this type of information freely to employees are well-known in the marketplace, have low absenteeism and their employees are loyal to the company.This is not to say that corporate relations is only about employees. On the contrary, groups such as shareholders, the surrounding community, government, customers and the industry as a whole are all important. But, if you begin corporate relations at the foundation -- with the employees -- and make them feel proud to work for your corporation, the rest of the groups...
