Managing the outreach for a client’s change in executive leadership is not a trivial PR exercise. Often these transitions can be among the most closely watched events in a company’s history and need to be handled with a level of finesse that is not required for simple product launches or thought leadership activities. Here are some of the issues you need to take into consideration when developing your strategy and tactics around such a program.
When problems do exist, we advise our clients to choose transparency over spin. While it’s not necessary to shout the company’s shortcomings from the rooftops, sweeping obvious problems under the rug will never serve a client’s interests. More often than not, the media is already aware of any problems and won’t be kind about official protestations to the contrary, creating needless and damaging credibility issues. Instead, focus on the company’s business objectives and match the new executive’s experience and capabilities to the issues at hand, while also pointing out the company strengths. This minimizes those issues by demonstrating the client is self-aware and taking steps to correct any problems the company may be facing.
With regard to the outgoing executive, it is also important to ensure your messaging doesn’t inadvertently throw him/her under the proverbial bus or raise questions that the company isn’t prepared to answer. While few companies make more than a passing reference to an outgoing executive (there is a reason why phrases like, “Mr. X is leaving to pursue other interests” are a staple of executive transition announcements) many indirectly do so in the way they communicate the reasons for a new executive hire. This is where it’s most important to be delicate; no one wants an angry former executive making damaging comments either on or off the record because he or she feels slighted.
The meat of any leadership change announcement should be the qualifications and experience of the new executive. As with most messaging exercises, it’s important to connect the dots; in this case, prioritize the company’s business objectives and match them directly to what the new exec brings to the table. Is it experience implementing channel programs? Past success in a particular market segment? Customer contacts with service providers? With great executives, there are often several attributes to choose from. From a PR perspective, the media are only going to focus on a couple, so choose carefully. Keep in mind that media and influencers will consider an executive’s track record when assessing the implications of his or her hiring. If for, example, the executive has a history of coming in to companies to prep them for acquisition, that may be a difficult perception to shake. If it is not, in fact, the reason that executive was brought on, this issue needs to be addressed up front. Otherwise, competitors, analysts and others will definitely mark your client with a “For Sale” sign, potentially limiting sales and making thought leadership more difficult.
Finally, when developing the communications strategy to support an executive leadership change, it’s important to factor in the degree to which a new executive is familiar with the company. Someone promoted from within is likely to have a firm grasp on the company’s current situation, messages and the market it serves, likely putting him or her in a better position to speak with the media in-depth at the time of, or immediately after, the announcement.
However, if the executive is coming from outside the organization and is either 1) unfamiliar with the company’s messages or 2) likely to make significant changes in the direction of the company, we usually recommend a more staggered communications approach. The reason for this is simple – at the time of the initial announcement, the executive may not yet know what changes he or she has planned for the organization. Likewise, he or she may be unfamiliar with the issues facing the market. As a result, there is little to be gained by doing more than simply announcing the change and the strengths the executive brings to the company. Save the more aggressive and substantive interviews, thought leadership and company evangelism for a few weeks or months down the road, giving the executive time to crystallize his or her vision for the organization and a plan for achieving it. This time can also be used to develop new messaging, provide speaker training (if necessary) and create an “executive platform” (a set of recurring themes and topics that the executive will promote over the long term).
While often a challenge, managing the change in executive leadership is a great opportunity to demonstrate your agency’s value to the client and deepen your relationships within the company. Provided you carefully evaluate the circumstances around the leadership change, accurately match the client’s business objectives with the new executive’s strengths and develop the appropriate level of outreach for introducing the new hire, you’ll be helping your clients with a major transition while building your own reputation as a PR pro at the same time.
Jay Nichols is a vice president at Sterling Communications. He can be reached at jnichols@sterlingpr.com. Follow him on Twitter @jayfish.
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