The headlines in employee publications are rarely as arresting as the headlines in The Wall Street Journal. That's because The Wall Street Journal wants its readers to read, to understand, to react. Whereas employee publication editors usually want employees to scan, to vaguely appreciate, and then to go back to sleep.
Not the communicators at Roseburg Forest Products, not now.
The October issue of the Vital Signs employee newspaper carries the front-page headline,
In response to economic crisis, Allyn discusses short-term pressures in light of long-term plans
and the subhead
Things go from bad to worse
and the lead
In a housing market with housing starts the worst we've seen since the Great Depression, Roseburg's executive team is looking at the best way to weather the nation's economic crisis. "This trough is much deeper and longer than we had anticipated," said [CEO] Allyn Ford. "Our priorities are to first, make it through this trough, and then to be well positioned to lead the industry when the market picks up again."
Credit for that Reveille—and the article that clearly explains the company's game plan—goes to Vital Signs executive editor Kris Backes, and writer/editor Eileen Burmeister (a Writing Boots regular).
If all employee communicators met reality as squarely and expressed it as starkly as Backes and Burmeister do—and they don't save their candor for crises either—no one would ever question the value of the employee communication profession.
Full-disclosure: Eileen is a good friend, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is about as good as it gets when you are an employee communicator talking about bad news.
Employees trust and read the company publication much more consistently when they can be confident that they aren’t being “managed”, “pandered to”, or “bamboozled with BS”. Based on the above excerpt, I’m betting the Roseburg employees have a great deal of faith in, and respect for, Vital Signs.
We should all be so lucky as to work for that kind of company!
I think the WSJ wishes it were as good as Backes and Burmeister! Way to go, Roseburg Team. It restores my faith in management and companies in general when I see employees being treated like full-fledged adults with working brains.
And I should disclose that like Kristen, I count Eileen Burmeister among my dearest friends. But no one should think her any less intelligent and capable for that!
Congrats, Eileen and thanks for sharing, David. It’s great to see that good corporate journalism is alive and well.
Thank you for the wonderful kudos. Eileen and I are fortunate to work for a straight-talking owner/CEO that actually cares about people. It sometimes takes comments like yours that remind us of how rare our good fortune really is.
Yes, I should have credited the CEO too, Kris. But lots of communicators edit themselves long before the CEO ever gets a chance.
Not you guys,
David
“Great corporate journalism” . . . Eileen and Kris prove that it’s not an oxymoron.
Great stuff. When we start writing for the READER, instead of producing stuff with the overall goal of creating something that will slip safely past the approval process it’s amazing what we can do.
Full disclosure: I know Eileen too . . .but I’ve never liked her all that much.
Steve C.