Carnegie Orr's presentation to the Association of Women Company Secretaries on the latest issues and recommendations for communicating and engaging with stakeholders.

1. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Technology
02_Body
Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Association of Women Chartered Secretaries Seminar
Speakers: James Carnegie-Brown, Colin Farrow

2. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
In the technological age, we
tend to forecast that anything
new will come faster than it
eventually does, but when it
arrives it has twice the impact
than was first expected

3. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
For tomorrow belongs
to the people who
prepare for it today
Be prepared

4. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
• Context of change
– Technology
– Social media
– Regulation
• The implications on the communications model
• What should companies and agencies be doing to
deliver their objectives?
Agenda

5. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Technology
The media
evolution

6. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Technology
The media
evolution

7. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Technology
The 20th Century conversation – transmit, control, broadcast
Analysts
Shareholders NGOs
Employees
Press Banks
Opinion formers Institutions

8. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Technology
The 21st Century conversation
Analysts
Shareholders NGOs
Employees
Press Banks
Opinion formers Institutions

9. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Technology
Sichuan, China

10. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Technology
Sichuan, China

11. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Social media
So, what does ‘Be prepared’ mean in the
context of social media?
Start off by listening
• Stakeholders are talking about your business, and you can
know what they’re saying
• Monitoring tools such as Google Alerts, Trackur and Radian6
can help you understand who is saying what and where
• It’s the 21st Century equivalent of the press clippings service
• Just one Google search of blogs on the term ‘BP Gulf of Mexico
effects’ reveals the following themes…
(According to a September 2009 review by Brunswick, 47% of institutional
investors read financial blogs for investment research and ideas)
Be prepared…

12. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Social media
So, what does ‘Be prepared’ mean in the
context of social media?
Financial impact
and share price hit
Impacts on mental health
Environmental knock-on
effects of gas – 200 mile
radius ‘dead zone’
Doubts about the
health impacts and
known safety risks of
the dispersal agent used

13. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Social media
So, what does ‘Be prepared’ mean in the
context of social media?
Create some rules of engagement ...
• Corporately:
– Who will own social media communications strategy
in the business?
– When is it appropriate to join the conversation?
– What is your social media tone of voice?
– Which of your executives will get involved and how
will you prepare them?
• Individually:
– Your employees are out there
– You’ll need to develop a set of social media guidelines

14. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
So, what does ‘Be prepared’ mean in the
context of social media?
…to help avoid this
“Virgin Atlantic has sacked 13 flight attendants for criticising the
airline’s flight safety standards and describing its passengers as
“chavs” on a social networking website”
The Independent, 1 November 2008
“Staff at PC World and Currys used Facebook to abuse
customers – branding them retards and t**ts”
News of the World, 6 September 2009
Social media
(According to a recent survey by emarketer, only 20% of companies have a social media policy)

15. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
So, what does ‘Be prepared’ mean in the
context of social media?
Decide when and where to join the conversation
• If there’s a lot of noise, it’ll be difficult to make yourself heard
• Usually better to issue a calm, authoritative statement than
to join in a heated discussion
• Demonstrate that you have heard and are responding to the
concerns of stakeholders
Social media

16. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
P&G Pampers
‘Dry Max’ launch
So, what does ‘Be prepared’ mean in the
context of social media?
Social media
The
‘Recall these diapers’
Facebook group
A senior executive
and a medical expert
address the concerns
The
‘Recall these diapers’
Facebook group
A senior executive
and a medical expert
address the concerns

17. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
So, what does ‘Be prepared’ mean in the
context of social media?
Decide when and where to join the conversation
Your place or theirs? Let’s start with theirs...
• The majority of social media is happening ‘out there’
on unofficial Twitter, Facebook and blog sites
• Rules of engagement should be followed with great care
• There’s no value in trying to stifle the conversation
• Threatening or cajoling will be counter-productive, unless
there is a very clear wrong to be righted and you’re on totally
safe ground
• If you decide to join the conversation be open, honest and
try to field the right spokesperson that is qualified to offer
a knowledgeable perspective
Social media

18. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
So, what does ‘Be prepared’ mean in the
context of social media?
Decide when and where to join the conversation
Your place or theirs? Becoming host…
• Increasingly, businesses are creating branded spaces
in social media environments to host conversations
• Company Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube channels
are now common
• It’s about inviting people in to listen to what you have to say
and hosting conversations in ‘your place’
• Some major brands are seeing the value in creating integrated,
branded content platforms to get their messages across
• Some businesses are bringing user-generated content right to
the heart of their corporate communications
Social media

19. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
So, what does ‘Be prepared’ mean in the
context of social media?
Social media
Nestlé – Creating
Shared Value

20. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Centrica – ‘Views’
Social media
So, what does ‘Be prepared’ mean in the
context of social media?
Taking the initiative
Centrica have, arguably,
gone one step further, by
bringing blogs right onto the
corporate site primary menu.
Simon Henderson, Centrica’s
Director of Corporate
Responsibility, recently reported
to a conference that visitors
who go to Centrica Views
access 11 more pages per
visit, spend 8 minutes longer
at the site and are 10% more
likely to return.

21. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
The company’s key relationship is with its investors
Regulation
Be prepared
for regulation
Management
Support
Management
Generate
value
Investors
Investors, in equity or increasingly debt, first and foremost, make the key
decisions about management, performance, strategy and future ownership

22. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Challenges
for the IRO • Increased pressure for more transparency
• More frequent contact with investors and analysts
• Consistent messages from all spokespersons
• Clear rules of engagement – understanding the value of colour,
clarity and value of perceived up-to-date information
• Controlled processes – buy-in from all stakeholders
• Need to avoid trying to manage every issue; prioritise and focus
on key issues
Stakeholders
have very
different pressures
and needs from
the Company
Increased
flows of ‘news’
and ‘noise’ need
to be managed
by the IRO
• Long-term investors value ad hoc contact when relevant
to provide insight or reassurance, focused on long-term value
• Short-term investors focus on immediacy of insight to make
investment decisions, based on tricking the market
• Journalists seek headlines and sound bites, regardless of right
or wrong, and are more susceptible to platform hijacking
• Employees want consistency across external and internal
communications, addressing their reality and objectives
Regulation

23. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Regulation
• Professional investors first
• Analysts, employees, retail investors, journalists,
SRI/CSR stakeholders and others equal second
Focus on key
audiences when
thinking about
communication
Clear reporting
strategy –
consistent, clear
and concise
• Have a long-term plan aligned to the company strategy
• Establish consistent themes and language
• Use clear and simple explanations
• Short is the new long
Opportunities
for the IRO

24. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Implications on the communications model
The new model will not be a rigid framework
From transmit to conversation, story, story-telling,
new platforms
Require new ways of working - future-facing, agile,
planning inputs, integrated, innovative
Communication

25. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Creating conversations
Communication
Dialogue
DistributionMeasurement
Developing
content

26. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Re-thinking the way we work together
Communication
Agency AgencyAgency
Corporate

27. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
In summary • Do you have a social media policy (internal/external)?
• Are you monitoring what people are saying about you?
• Social media is not a trend to be ignored
• Only use it if it is appropriate
• Define your social voice
• Consider your ROI, take sensible steps
• Understand the mood internally and externally

28. Communication and
Engagement with Stakeholders
Carnegie Orr
2010
Thank you