Assignment 2-2-2: Final. Multidimensional Communications. Michele C. Hladik. Professor Cara Keithley

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1 Hladik Assignment Assignment 2-2-2: Final Multidimensional Communications Michele C. Hladik Professor Cara Keithley

2 Hladik Assignment Background Watkins International Corporation is a leading manufacturer of car air fresheners. This multi-national company currently employs 50,000 people in 20 locations around the globe. It has 10 sites in the United States of America and is headquartered in Ohio. The remaining 10 locations are located throughout Spain, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The company has long been touted for its excellent benefits packages including retirement benefits. Nearly 15,000 employees at all levels have retired from the company since it was founded in All current employees are eligible for retirement benefits and 45,000 employees participate in the company s 401K program. The average age of employees is 35- years-old. Nearly A quarter of the workforce is over 45-years-old. The Situation As with many companies throughout the world, Watkins is showing wear and tear from five years of a daunting and perilous world economic climate. It has weathered most of the storm, but if it hopes to continue to stay at its current levels of success, it must make a few changes. Those changes involve the current and future pension programs. After numerous board and executive meetings and hearings, the company has decided to: Give all current Watkins retirees around the world a 5 percent cost of living increase, Eliminate the pension plan for all employees hired after January 1, 2013, but continue to allow their involvement in the 401K plans, and Offer a special early out option for employees who are at least 50 years old and have 20 years of service with Watkins Now that the company has a plan executives believe will allow them to remain competitive and not lay off employees, they need to implement it. Before they implement the plan, they

3 Hladik Assignment would like to pass the word along to their employees and allay any fears of current and future employees. The Audience The primary audience would include current retirees, current employees at all levels, the affected labor unions. The secondary audience would be potential future employees. Current employees would need to be informed of the cost of living increase because they will see this benefit in the immediate future. Knowing about the rest of the plan would also be beneficial since retirees are a good source of word of mouth promotion. Happy retirees are more likely to boast about their former employer and encourage others to seek jobs there. Current employees need to know about the plan because they are being offered the chance for early retirement. The plan also sends a message that once they retire, Watkins executives will not forget them. This will instill loyalty in current employees. Happy employees are usually willing to do more for the employer and they are also a good source of word of mouth promotion. Labor unions are affected by the plan only in that they have constituents to take care of and watch over. They also negotiate labor contracts. The unions would also be a good source to help communicate the plan effectively if they come on board and see its benefits. If they oppose the plan, they will be an uphill fight. Approaching union leaders about the plan will be difficult and take a special approach to ensure they do see the need for the plan. Finally, potential employees would be the secondary audience because they are the future of Watkins. The company needs to assure them that despite the removal of the pension plan, there are still many wonderful benefits for employees and many ways to look out for their future. They

4 Hladik Assignment are not yet working for the company or even identified specifically yet, but they should be addressed at some point. Key Messages There are several key messages that can and should be communicated through this communication plan. The first is that Watkins values all of its employees past, present, and future. It appreciates the hard work and loyalty of the employees that helped make it such a great company and a successful manufacturer. It recognizes the importance of the employees and will be there for them as long as possible. Another important message is that Watkins executives are working to make sure the employees get to keep their jobs as long as possible. Rather than letting employees go through layoffs and closings, the company is offering an opportunity. Offering the chance for them to retire sooner allows them to leave on their own terms and with the benefits of retirement. A third message is one of cooperation. The company wants to work with the labor unions and the employees to make the plan work and to keep jobs. They would like the support of the unions and the employees. Finally is the message that despite the changes, Watkins is still a good company to for employment. It has to make some tough decisions from time to time, but it still cares about its employees and will do everything it can for them. It may not be able to offer a pension plan to new employees, but it is not imposing that part of the plan for almost a year and it still offers other options to help employees plan for their financial future. Communication Goals, Strategies, Tools and Activities The first goal has two parts. It is simply to communicate the plan and the key messages with the retired and current employees. The strategy for this would be different for each category

5 Hladik Assignment and could be considered a separate goal. The retired employees would receive a letter and an explaining about the increase. Since most people like to see an increase in pay, this should be relatively good news for them and easy to accomplish. The s would be sent out first to let them know to expect the letter with more details. The would also direct them to the company website where they can learn more about plan. The tools needed for this would be a direct mailing as well as the and the website. The second part of this strategy would be to address the employees. These would be done through a mandatory meeting at each location. Employees would be notified of the meeting through an and through a letter placed in each paycheck. At each meeting the plan and key messages would be explained and company executives would be available to answer any questions. Employees would be given brochures or fliers that explain the early retirement option. They would be encouraged to contact the human resource department if they would like to exercise that option. Tools for this would include a letter in each paycheck, an , fliers and brochures, and a speech by the local company executives. Another goal is to communicate and work with the union leaders. The strategy for this would also be through a meeting, but it would probably take more than one with each Watkins location. If the meetings are held in separate locations then the union leaders would get individual attention and would also not be able to feed off of each other s potential concerns or anxiety. The meetings should be requested in through a phone call and followed up with a letter. At the initial meeting the leaders would all be handed packets of information explaining the plan and explaining the need for the plan or the reasoning behind it. The tools for this strategy would be the telephone, the executive making the request, the follow up letter, the meeting presentation and the handouts provided to each union leader.

6 Hladik Assignment The final goal would be to communicate with potential employees that Watkins may not have the same pension plan anymore, but they still have a lot to offer. The strategy to accomplish this is to simply provide the information during the job offering stage. Potential employees would be given the brochures or fliers explaining the 401K options and would have the chance to ask the human resource department any pertinent questions. This strategy would require tools and activities like brochures and fliers during a personal meeting. Monitoring These goals and strategies would be measured initially through conversation during the meetings and the number of meetings that are necessary at each location to make this plan acceptable. This would primarily work for the meetings with the union leaders. The least resistance they put up to the plan, the more successful the communication plan. Another method of measuring could be in the number of calls or questions the company receives about this plan. The calls would be recorded on a form and collected for evaluation every three months for the first six months. Over time the number of calls and questions would reduce as more and more people become familiar with the new system. If the calls do not decrease, the communication plan needs to be revisited. A second way of measuring would be to send out a survey to each employee. It would be an anonymous survey that would be returned to the corporate headquarters and studied. The survey would ask if they had any thoughts and concerns and to explain those thoughts and concerns. Potential employees would also be surveyed about their thoughts on the plan and the company. The number of applicants and hires could be recorded and then reviewed every six months to determine if people still want to work for Watkins or if the retirement plan removal turned them away from the company.

7 Hladik Assignment Assessment of Potential Obstacles The biggest obstacle to the success of this plan is the potential resistance from the unions. They are looking out for the best interests of their clients and they probably won t see this as in those best interests. It is also necessary to know the rules and regulations as they apply in each individual country and Watkins location. Each country and union has its own rules and regulations. If those aren t known it will be difficult to be successful and the possibility exists that laws could be broken. Timeline Please see the attached timeline for this plan. Conclusion If all of these measures are followed, it is possible to implement the new retirement plan without too much upset of the employees or the unions. The key is for executives and communicators to be prepared to share information and answer questions. In this situation, good open communication is extremely important to company satisfaction and success.

8 Hladik Assignment Timeline May 1, 2012 Send letters to retirees. May 5, Announce meeting with employees. August 1, Evaluate surveys and phone call responses May 1, Begin tracking calls about the plan May 10, Send out surveys to employees November 1, Evaluate surveys and phone call responses May 5-9, First meetings with union leaders January 1, 2013 Remove pension plan from new employee s benefits May 1, Create brochures and information packets May 25-30, Second meeting with Union leaders if necessary