Application of Sarit Ventura for the IE Global MBA+

Effective Communication Flow of Important Information in Business

Zurich, June 2013 Sarit Ventura, Applicant for the IE Global MBA+ (intake 2013)

Kleinweid 8 | CH-6330 Cham | Switzerland Phone +41 78 789 8090 | [email protected]

By Sarit Ventura, Applicant for the IE Global MBA+ (intake 2013) 1

Agenda

• Task description

• Overview of communication concept

• Detailed roadmap & action plan

• Key success factors


• Meeting with my superior occurred, in which important information was conveyed

• This information must be distributed to subordinates, suppliers and clients

• Recipients are spread out across the world

• Correct receipt of the information must be ensured

• What are the appropriate means of communication?

• What priorities and treatments must be considered for the three types of recipients?

• What control mechanisms can be used to ensure correct receipt of the information?

Task description

Complication

Situation

Question

By Sarit Ventura, Applicant for the IE Global MBA+ (intake 2013)

Assumptions

Without trying to limit the scope of this assignment, I will make the following assumptions:

• My role is that of a Head of Corporate Communication

• My company counts about 1000 employees

• We are a typical industrial manufacturing company

• The meeting with my superior took place on Monday morning

3


Agenda






• Distribution of the information within the company

• Assignment of roles & responsibilities to specific teams that inform suppliers and customers

• Communication to suppliers and customers through suitable channels

• Collection of receipt confirmations

• Maintenance of tracking lists

This communication project can be split into two phases

Informing phase Tracking phase


Company

Detailed instructions

Detailed instructions

Customers Suppliers

Flow of instructions in the “informing phase”

6

R&D Purchasing

Suppliers

Production Sales …

A customers B customers C customers

Visits Phone calls Newsletter

Email

My direct subordinates

Personal meeting with department heads

Meeting

Company wide Email


Company

Tracking list

Customers Suppliers

Flow of receipt confirmations in the “tracking phase”

7

R&D Purchasing

Suppliers

Production Sales …

A customers B customers C customers

Visits done Phone calls done Newsletter statistics

Confirmation Email


Meeting

Tracking list


Agenda






Communication roadmap

Myself My team

Thu

Tue Wed

Mon

Mon

Fri

Fri

Wed Thu

Tue

Tue

Mon

Meeting with direct subordinates

Personal meetings with all department heads

Detailed instruction to sales & purchasing departments

Company wide email

Email to suppliers

Customer visits

Customer phone calls

Customer newsletter

Send tracking list to my team

My team reports to me

Suppliers Customers Other colleagues

1

2

3

4

5 Confirmation emails

Customers open newsletter

6

7

8

9

10

Informing phase Tracking phase


Meeting with direct subordinates

• Subordinates need to be briefed in order to answer possible questions from colleagues, suppliers and clients

• Share information in detail and ensure understanding within the team

• Email agenda beforehand and organize a team meeting / VC (if not located in the same office)

• Create company wide shared document to collect FAQs

• Repartition of company departments among my team

• Responsible persons for the sales & purchasing departments shall collect the tracking lists and report to me

• Other tasks given:

- Press release for media

- Update of company website and intranet

1

Company

Customers Suppliers

Suppliers

R&D Purchasing Production Sales …

A Cust. B Cust. C Cust.


Ensure task is understood and roles & responsibilities are assigned


Personal meetings with all department heads

• Share information with the department heads and inform them of the next steps to be taken and the possible involvement of their teams

• Check capacities of the departments and prioritize tasks with the department heads

- In particular, resources are required in sales and purchasing departments as they have to inform clients and suppliers

• Inform department heads that my team will inform their teams directly and their teams shall report directly to my team i.e. my team is the point of contact in case of queries

• The respective department head shall appoint the responsible person in his team and inform this person accordingly

2

Company

Customers Suppliers

Suppliers




Ensure management buy-in and availability of resources


Detailed instruction to sales & purchasing departments

• The allocated persons for the sales and purchasing departments of my team send a detailed facts-sheet to the respective departments with clear instructions regarding what information shall be sent out to the customers and suppliers

• In case of queries from customers or suppliers, the respective departments shall directly contact the responsible person in my team

• Request that each department creates a tracking list including the names and reactions/comments from the different suppliers and customers

3

Company

Customers Suppliers

Suppliers




Convey importance of this task that requires additional work


Company wide email

• My team will send out a company wide email with a brief description of the new information and important changes

• In case of queries from outside the company, the respective departments shall directly contact my team (name a contact person of my team)

4

Company

Newsletter statistics

Customers Suppliers

Suppliers




Ensure nobody is left out


Email to suppliers

• The purchasing team shall send out an email to all suppliers with a brief description of the new information and important changes

• Request an acknowledgement of receipt of the email

It can be expected from the suppliers that they will reply to an email as it is in their interest to stay in contact with their customers

• The purchasing team shall collect the confirmation emails of the suppliers and create a tracking list including the names and possible comments of the suppliers

5

Company

Customers Suppliers

Suppliers




Keep this step simple & brief to ensure quick response


Customer visits

• The sales team shall contact the key accounts (A customers) and set up a customer visit to share the new information from our company

• It is important to stay in contact with your customers, especially with the key accounts visits will strengthen the personal

relationship and leave a better impression than phone calls or emails

• Ensure strong flow of communication between the responsible person of my team and the sales person who visits the key account customers to make sure that the customers receive the complete and correct information

6

Company

Customers Suppliers

Suppliers




Use this occasion to keep close contact to key customers


Customer phone calls

• The sales team shall contact the B customers by phone and share the new information from our company

• B customers still require a personal contact but as there are more B than A customers, phone calls are effective and fast but still personal means of communication

• Receipt of the information can easily be ensured

• Ensure strong flow of communication between the responsible person of my team and the sales person to make sure that the customers receive the necessary and correct information

7

Use this occasion to keep close contact to key customers

Company

Customers Suppliers

Suppliers





Customer newsletter

• The sales team shall send a newsletter to the C customers containing the new information and important changes of our company

• As there are usually many C customers, the most efficient way to share this information to many recipients is via a newsletter

• Before sending out the newsletter, the sales person shall send it to the responsible person of my team to check the correctness

• The newsletter will be sent out via a newsletter tool (e.g. Mailchimp), which tracks views and clicks that can be seen in the newsletter statistics

8


Send tracking list to my team

• Purchasing team sends tracking list including the feedback from the different suppliers

• Sales team creates a summary of the visits, phone calls and newsletter statistics and sends it to my team

• The tracking lists are a precise yet simple tool to ensure receipt of the information

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9

Company

Customers Suppliers

Suppliers




Ensure tracking lists are complete


My team reports to me

• My team reports the status of the tracking lists

• Customer & supplier feedback is passed on in aggregated form

• These inputs allow me to report the success of the communication initiative in detail to my superior

• Together with my superior we will decide if a second round of communication is necessary

19

10

Company

Customers Suppliers

Suppliers




Thank everybody for the prompt execution


Agenda






Key success factors

• Divide the project into well defined tasks with clear owners

• Ensure tasks are understood and roles & responsibilities are assigned

• Implement detailed tracking lists

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Care for politics

Project management

Good communication

• Ensure management buy-in and availability of resources

• Make sure nobody is left out

• Select appropriate communication channels

• Keep communication simple & brief to ensure quick response

• Keep close contact to key customers

Application of Sarit Ventura for the IE Global MBA+

Documents

Transcript of Application of Sarit Ventura for the IE Global MBA+