Refine
Make it personal.
Letting 3,000 people know that each and every one of them matters.
The challenge.
With a third WW CEO in almost as many years, Maxus employees needed to feel inspired by and connected to their new leader, and quickly.
We had sent out newsletters for some time, and they worked to share clear information with all 3,000 people across the network, however they felt centralised and ‘one-way’. In the days before Zoom, it was a challenge to make people feel bonded and valued across different countries.
Everyone had been working extremely hard to grow the business, but did they feel seen?
The solution.
I worked with the WW CEO, local CEOs and marketing leads to design a townhall blueprint.
Each time the WW CEO and Exco visited a local office, I worked with each local leader to gain information, and I then adapted a core presentation and script, that celebrated the individuals that worked there. It tapped into that country’s wider political, social and economic context, the media landscape, business successes and challenges; as well as more personal details such as marriages, babies, even nice office gossip!
People were mentioned and celebrated by name, and had no idea that would be happening and that their WW CEO knew all about them. It built deep empathy when employees realised that the senior leadership team fully understood their unique business challenges and what specific support they would need as a result - as opposed to blanket corporate strategy that is so often the case with a global organisation.
The results.
When Maxus merged in 2017, there had been 20 townhalls with the WW CEO around the globe so far, each with its own personalised presentation.
This deepened the relationship between local markets and the central leadership team, as well as providing richer content to use in global comms. It was much more compelling for people to get local-to-local insights and inspiration, in addition to key global messaging.
On Glassdoor, Maxus scored highly for culture and had a significantly higher-than-average CEO approval rating.
“Great clients. Amazing culture. It’s an agency that truly values its people.”
“Amazing work culture, very helpful people around. Great infrastructure to learn and grow. Healthy communication flow with the senior management.”
“Amazing Global Network and People, that’s what sets us apart.”
“The most globally connected media agency!”
