Internal / Employee Communications

Front covers of CN Magazine, 1997 to 1998. The publication was sent to 26,000 CN employees six times a year and featured articles on business metrics, culture change, communication, customer case studies, the results of corporate research, and employee profiles.

When change is afoot, it’s vital to keep staff informed

Paul Tellier, past president and CEO of Canadian National Railway, started the cultural transformation of CN in the mid 1990s. Tellier widely credited employee communication as the foundation of the railroad's culture change led by Jana Schilder, then employee communications director. In February 2013, CN was selected by The National Post and Waterstone Human Capital as having the best corporate culture, now under the direction of president and CEO Claude Mongeau. — Paul Tellier, past president and CEO of Canadian National Railway, started the cultural transformation of CN in the mid 1990s. Tellier widely credited employee communication as the foundation of the railroad’s culture change led by Jana Schilder, then employee communications director. In February 2013, CN was selected by *The National Post* and Waterstone Human Capital as having the best corporate culture, now under the direction of president and CEO Claude Mongeau.

Too often, even businesses that do a great job of getting their message out to reporters, shareholders and customers forget communicating with their first audience: Their employees.

Especially when change is afoot, it’s vital to keep staff informed to prevent damaging rumors from spreading that seldom have anything to do with what’s actually happening. In the absence of real communication from company executives, rumours fill the void.

At First Principles, we work with companies undergoing change of all types:

Current management wants to alter the culture of the organization.
New senior management is arriving – especially a CEO or president.
A merger, acquisition, spin-off or downsizing will alter the face of the business.

With the speed of social media, it is critical that management stays ahead of the rumour curve by quickly stating the facts so wrong information doesn’t get a foothold.

We’ve helped organizations of all sizes – from some of the largest corporations in Canada to family-owned enterprises – create and implement effective employee communications programs.