Case
Study: Federal Paper Board Company, Inc.
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Case
Study: Federal Paper Board Company, Inc.
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Case Study: Federal Paper Board Company, Inc. Mergers and Acquisitions . . . creating one company through effective internal communication. Challenge To create a company-wide publication reflecting the activities of the entire company, ensuring that the "Federal story" reaches all employees and their families, and thereby securing the support and active participation of employees in achieving the production and service benchmarks set by Federal. Background Federal Paper Board Company, Inc. is a manufacturer of solid bleached paperboard, bleached market pulp, recycled paperboard, folding cartons, paper cups, lumber, and, in the European market, uncoated free-sheet paper. In the 1980s, Federal's system of employee communication was decentralized. A few regional plants produced their own newsletters. While the company culture emphasized personal relationships, a sense of the larger company and how individuals fit into its structure was not being conveyed. As the company grew through numerous acquisitions in the late 1980s, recently acquired companies didn't know a great deal about Federal and long-time employees were unfamiliar with the company's new product lines. The new "Federal story" of how these interrelated businesses and workers' jobs meshed to help the company to meet its goals was getting lost in the shuffle. 
The Berry Ecke Associates Approach
Berry Ecke Associates recommended the creation of a company-wide publication. Known as Federal Today, its goals were: to create a "one company" identity, to improve communication flow among various Federal locations, and to provide a credible vehicle for initiating positive involvement in the company's business. We set about achieving these goals by developing a Reporter Network as the organizational heart of the publication. Reporters were flown to Federal corporate headquarters for a one-day seminar in which Berry Ecke Associates covered the theory and methodology of effective internal communication. Berry Ecke Associates created a Reporter Notebook to serve the Reporter Network as a guideline for their role in the publication. Follow-up letters were sent out to reporters and we held a story conference with company representatives to select stories for the first issue. After researching story leads, writing and editing copy, arranging photography and coordinating design, layout, and typesetting, Berry Ecke Associates produced the first issue of Federal Today for September 1990 distribution. Results Informal feedback from the field and telephone interviews with reporters yielded positive response to the publication. After the first issue, we increased our printing from 7,000 copies to 15,000 due in part to Federal locations' request for additional copies. Plans for periodic readership surveys were initiated by Berry Ecke Associates. The results will be studied and adjustments made to continuously improve the quality of the publication. < < Back to What We Do |