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Creating Open Dialogues
International Semiconductor Company

Changing a Spin-off Division Into A Stand-Alone Company

When a leading innovator in the international semiconductor industry was in the Initial Public Offering (IPO) process during a spin-off from its German-based parent company, L.M. Dulye & Co. provided strategic communications support before, during and after the IPO process to align communications flow between all employees.

This support included developing and facilitating communications skills workshops for managers, planning and developing leadership communications about impending changes, and engaging employee teams to improve upward communications of questions, concerns and ideas surrounding the IPO process.

Our team of communications experts also spoke regularly at company leadership meetings and coached senior leaders on their personal communication goals - including the messages they were communicating to their team members as well as their own actions in the workplace. This bold new communications program consistently received outstanding reviews from company senior staff participants.

2-Way Communications Improvement Initiative

The company recognized communications as a key business priority, supplying managers with processes, tools and systems for improving communications performance that were developed specifically for them by L.M. Dulye & Co. Some of these tools included: communications training, key message guides, targeted on-line resources and manager roundtables.

This company, which designs, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of semiconductors and complete system solutions, then simplified and aligned messages through the use of key themes, and consistently used the messages across all lines of business. A key success: L.M. Dulye & Co. helped the company craft messages that made a personal connection by answering the question, "What's in it for me?" so employees were assured of their own well-being and thus would support the well-being of the company.

L.M. Dulye & Co. also trained managers on how to communicate more effectively with their teams, and helped them accept accountability for their roles as "key business communicators" for both the company and within their own departments.

By implementing a disciplined process for sharing timely information up, down and across, we helped create a true 2-way communications environment with emphasis on listening and feedback. This promoted a "safe to speak up" work environment where modeling behaviors were recognized.

We also measured performance with formal feedback tools to assess 2-way communications effectiveness. Senior staff "walkarounds" and roundtables were also used as informal tool for measuring performance. A formal, Communications Effectiveness Survey was conducted every 12- 18 months.

L.M. Dulye & Co. used the quantitative data from this Communications Effectiveness Survey to ensure accountability and help determine formal communications goals at both the corporate and line of business levels. These communications goals were then integrated into annual incentive plans as well as manager and employee performance appraisal processes.

Results: Pilot Communications Course Outstanding!

In addition to helping create and sustain a culture where 2-way communications was accepted and ultimately expected, L.M. Dulye & Co. also received outstanding results from the hands-on communications course we taught to company managers. In a course evaluation, one participant wrote, "Communications was 1/5th of the issues identified in last year's opinion survey. This is critical for improving our culture." Other course feedback included:

L.M.Dulye & Co. created 2-way Communications initiatives that helped this company develop a strategic communications plan so managers could open dialogue with their staff and each other towards realizing common business goals. We stand ready to help you do the same at your worksite.

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