The answer my friend, is internal communications

The initial few days working for India’s largest IT services company were full of excitement, but also full of trepidation.

I say this because I had never worked for an organisation which had over 50,000 employees spread over 40 countries.

How do we communicate with them regularly? In which languages? At what frequency?

These were all questions which came to mind.

Since we were not a listed organisation, silence was a preferred option to speaking with media. There was also no immediate requirement for investor relations.

My focus in the early days, was therefore internal communications.

At one of the first team meetings we had, I had discovered that we did have a monthly, 32 page magazine.

The problem was that it was being published three months late!!

So, it was not uncommon to find that the month of November would have news which was old and dated.

The first meeting with the publishing team was to understand the delay, the logistics of global distribution, and the relevance of the content to a global audience.

During the meeting (where the entire comms team was present), I asked about the reason for the delay.

The reply stumped me. “Atul, we have a huge backlog of contributory stories from all over the world and we are restricted to 32 pages. There is nothing we can do about it.”

Not being a very patient person, I retorted, “So, are we going to have the CEO wish all employees a Happy New Year in the April issue? That is unacceptable.”

I then asked the team if anyone had a path to a solution. There was silence for a few moments, before a young lady from the editorial team said that she had one!

“Atul, lets combine all the content we have and come out with a bumper issue of 96 pages. We could launch this in the month of January, so that the CEO greetings would be very timely. The only issue is that we will have to incur three times the cost.”

I took some decisions on the spot.

  1. I redefined the roles of the editor and the deputy editor and made them responsible for all other content, excepting the magazine. I made the lady who had suggested combining issues the editor with immediate effect
  2. I sanctioned the budget, though at that point I was not even sure of what the overall number I had at my disposal
  3. The team agreed to rebrand the magazine. It was decided to call the new issue @XYZ (we used the acronym of the company’s name)

I also had to grapple with the logistics issues. How do we ship large quantities of magazines to different parts of the world in time? How did the offices the copies were being shipped to, ensure distribution to every colleague?

A chat with HR and the admin teams took place. They agreed to send copies of the magazines to individuals, including those based at client locations globally, after informing the client.

Then came the biggest challenge.

How were we going to continue to print increasing number of copies every month, and constantly increase the investment in the magazine? Remember, digital was not a part of our everyday lives at that point, so mailing a pdf to an employee was not an option.

The CEO was also very keen that the print edition not be discontinued, because he felt that the magazine had a huge ‘take home and share with family’ value. This, he felt, helped the bonding between the company and families of employees. About the investment, he was very nonchalant. “You figure it out.”

In the midst of the production of the 96 page magnum opus, I was now left grappling for answers about the costs. After all, 32 pages printed on 180 gsm imported art paper was an expensive proposition even those days.

The answer came from the unlikeliest source.

A journalist.

Over a drink with him one evening, I was narrating stories of the excitement and challenges of the new job, and the dilemma I faced about the costs of printing the magazine.

“Atul, what’s the big deal? Newspapers and magazines use advertising to defray their costs. You have a captive audience of over 50,000 white collar colleagues, each of whom earns a decent amount. And you belong to a group which has presence in multiple industry categories. Ask them for ads, which they would willingly pay for!”

It was truly a Eureka moment for me. Luckily, we were sitting at a place in Churchgate, so I excused myself and dashed back to the office.

I also recall calling 2-3 members of the team and telling them that they need to be in office the next morning by 9!

That evening, I made a short list of companies who were likely to advertise and got the names of their CMO’s/ CorpCom heads.

Automobiles, hospitality, cosmetics, consumer durables among others were on my list as potential advertisers.

All were group companies.

At the 9am meeting with the team the next day, I briefed them about the decision to take group company ads in the magazine. We prepared a rate card as wellJ

A compelling reason to advertise was laid out along with a caveat in the mails sent to these companies’ decision makers. The caveat was that any ad released in the magazine would have at least a 10% discount for our employees.

Mails were shared, personal calls and meetings took place.

And we started receiving confirmations.

The rebranded 96 page issue was released. We got 8 ads, if my memory serves me right.

From that point on, at least while I was with the company, the magazine always generated surpluses!

I believe this experiment also set new trends among internal magazines.

It also reinforced my conviction that most companies need to have timely and engaging internal communications, before they venture out telling the world through media about what a great company they are!

PostScript

  1. Internal communications to me, is always more important than what you say to the world. Covid times forced many companies that I know of to improve internal communications
  2. Tradition is good, but it is easy to get stuck in a rut just by following tradition. ‘This is the way we do it here’ is not very relevant or useful anymore
  3. Have an open mind. You never know where the next idea is coming from
  4. A problem will have a solution. Work on a path to a solution. There is no quick fix.
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BOD solves big problems for mid market enterprises to help them become large.We partner with mid-sized firms across industries to solve their most pressing business challenges, unlock value creation and implement transformative solutions to help them compete sustainably at the highest level.

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Arun Gupta

Partner at BOD Consulting | Independent Director & Board Member: Hemas Pharmaceuticals, Sri Lanka and Locuz Enterprise Solutions, India | Co-founder, Fortytwo Labs | Ex-Head eCommerce at DHL | Ex- Head Internet Services at Hughes Telecom | Leadership Development Program- The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth | Leadership Development Program- ISB | Post Graduation in Software Technology from NCST. 

With 38 years of professional experience, Arun has led many groundbreaking IT-driven ventures, shaping the industry and fostering technology adoption. His consulting practice has its foundations based on success as a CIO/CTO across various verticals, geographies, and businesses in mid-market, large enterprises, and Government entities.

Arun’s expertise lies in IT strategy alignment to business strategy & plan, project planning and management, identifying and creating business value from IT, technology team effectiveness, and business Intelligence and analytics. His domain expertise includes Retail, pharmaceuticals, e-commerce, and logistics – though he has consulted across other verticals too.

He has garnered numerous industry awards and recognitions, including the Hall of Fame Awards by CIO Magazine and Information Week. Furthermore, Arun is a celebrated speaker globally and has a passion for photography and travelling.

Bhaskar Pramanik

Expert Advisor at BOD Consulting | Ex-Microsoft, Oracle and Sun Microsystems | Advisory Member of Board of Schulich University, Canada and Bennett University, India | IIT Kanpur

Bhaskar Pramanik is an accomplished management leader and professional from the Technology Industry. He is currently appointed as a Senior Advisor at Rothschild & Co. and Board Member and Independent Director of TCNS Clothing Company Ltd. He is also on the Advisory Board of Schulich University, Canada, and Bennett University, India.

He has previously held National and Global Leadership positions in leading Multinational Technology Companies like Microsoft, Oracle & Sun Microsystems. He has worked in India, Singapore, and the US.

He recently retired from the Board of SBI, India’s largest bank. He has also been on the Executive Committee of NASSCOM and the National Committee of CII and AMCHAM. He regularly speaks at Industry and Leadership forums.

Sidharth Balakrishna

Senior Partner at BOD Consulting | Mentor-MIT Boston, Faster Capital & Tiger Hall| Ex-Essel (Zee) Group and Cairn India| Authored 6 books | IIM Calcutta | SRCC

Sidharth Balakrishna has 18+ years of experience in senior management roles across many noteworthy organisations including the Essel (Zee) Group, Cairn India, KPMG, and Shell. He holds a post-graduate diploma from IIM Calcutta and an Economics (Hons) degree from SRCC, Delhi University.

He is a mentor with MIT Boston (USA), Faster Capital (Dubai), and TigerHall (Singapore) and mentors startups with MassChallenge (Boston and Tel Aviv). He has authored six books and is an adjunct faculty at many leading management institutes.

Deepak Vats

Senior Partner at BOD Consulting | Managing Director, Corpspark Advisors | Ex-BCG and ITC | IIM Calcutta | IIT Kharagpur

Deepak Vats has 16+ years of experience in defining strategic direction for global corporate leaders and new-age start-ups. He holds a post-graduate diploma from IIM Calcutta and a B-Tech degree from IIT Kharagpur.

He is an expert in growth strategy, organisational transformation & new business build. He has previously worked with leading global & Indian corporates and is a Co-founder and incubator of multiple startups in the E-Commerce, SAAS and Technology domains.

Atul Takle

Senior Partner at BOD Consulting | Senior Advisor to PR24x7 and Bridgeweave Technologies | Ex-RPG group, Tata Consultancy Services and Accenture | JBIMS Mumbai | Sydenham

Atul Takle has 30+ years of experience in corporate communications and marketing. He holds a postgraduate degree from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai and a bachelor’s degree from Sydenham college in Mumbai.

He has worked with renowned organisations like RPG group, Tata Consultancy Services, Accenture in India, Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited and SKS Microfinance.
He is currently engaged as a Marketing Consultant to the Scindia School and NIIT University and is a Senior Advisor to PR24x7 & Bridgeweave Technologies.

Sandeep Das

Senior Partner at BOD Consulting | Ex-McKinsey & Co., Kantar Consulting and Interbrand | Delhi University

Sandeep Das has 20+ years of experience working with global brands across multiple geographies on brand, growth and corporate strategy. He holds a master’s degree in Business Economics and Marketing from Delhi University.

He has a successful track record of working in impactful, senior and high client-exposure roles in leading research organisations like McKinsey & Co., Kantar Consulting, Interbrand & Ipsos Strategy3.

Anjali Malhotra

Senior Partner at BOD Consulting | Founder, C-Xcel | Member of FICCI Wise Council | Director, Founder Institute | UCLA Anderson School of Management

Anjali Malhotra has 30+ years of corporate experience across industries like Media, FMCG, Retail and BFSI sectors. She holds a postgraduate degree in Business administration and Management from UCLA Anderson School of Management.

She is the founder of C-Xcel, a boutique advisory practice that helps B2C businesses to achieve greater success through Customer Centricity. She has built brands in highly competitive markets including early-stage businesses like Revlon, Dishtv and Aviva. Over the years, the industry has recognised her as Cx100, Digi 100, Top 10 CDO, Digitalist Thought Leader, Marketer of the year- Media & Entertainment and Best use of Technology in Marketing.

Saurabh Uboweja

Founder & Managing Partner at BOD Consulting | Board member-World Communication Forum Association | Adjunct faculty-EU Business School | Ex-Citibank | IIM Calcutta | NIT Bhopal

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Ajay Kohli

Expert Advisor at BOD Consulting | Chair and Regents Professor at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business | Among 100 most cited authors in the fields of Business and Economics combined in a decade | University of Pittsburgh | IIM Calcutta | IIT Kharagpur

Dr Ajay K. Kohli is Gary T. and Elizabeth R. Jones Chair and Regents Professor at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business. He previously taught at eminent institutions like Emory University, Harvard Business School & The University of Texas at Austin.

He holds a doctorate degree from the University of Pittsburgh, a post-graduate diploma from IIM Calcutta and a B-Tech degree from IIT Kharagpur.

He is among the 100 most cited authors in the fields of Business and Economics combined in a decade, and two of his articles are among the 10 most cited Journal of Marketing articles in the past 25 years. In 2017, he received the AMA-Irwin-McGraw-Hill Distinguished Marketing Educator Award and in 2016, he received the Paul D. Converse Award, termed “Marketing Hall of Fame” by Fortune.

Anil Kejriwal

Expert Advisor at BOD Consulting | Founder-I2Cure Pte. Ltd | Board Advisor of Felix Realty | Chairman of the Board of Uttar Industrial Estate- Uttar Development Pvt. Ltd. | IIT Kanpur

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Manoj Agarwal

Expert Advisor at BOD Consulting | COO-Algonomy | Ex-Future Group India and Procter & Gamble | Chartered Accountant | Mumbai University

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His expertise lies in Information Architecture and Strategy, Organization Design for productivity, Organisation Change Management, Data-Driven decision-making, Customer service model, Business Intelligence, Enterprise Performance Management & Financial Reporting and Consolidation.

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    He has played a key role in mentoring & leadership development of his subordinates. Many of them have grown to be successful CEOs of many companies.

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    Expert Advisor at BOD Consulting | Business Head-Aditya Birla Group’s Textile Businesses | Ex-Chairman, CII – National Committee on Retail (2009-11) | Harvard Business School | IIT Delhi

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    His research work largely centres around Asset Pricing, Derivative Securities, Financial Markets, Market Microstructure, and Empirical Research Methods in Finance, with some of his works published in prestigious publications such as the Journal of Finance, Journal of Finance and Economics, and Journal of Corporate Finance. 

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    Dr PV Ramana Murthy

    Expert Advisor at BOD Consulting | Managing Partner at Pinsight By PV | Adviser – Employment and Labour Law Practice at Economic Laws Practice | Board Member at Swadha Foundation | Ex Global CHRO, Indian Hotels Company Ltd | Ex Executive VP HR, Coca-Cola

    Dr Murthy boasts an extensive 35-year corporate career, during which he contributed to renowned Fortune 500 and Global organisations. Apart from being a Lawyer, he holds a Master’s Degree in Organisational Psychology from INSEAD, Singapore. Additionally, he earned his Ph.D. in Strategic Human Resource Management from Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Andhra Pradesh. 

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