Whether embarking on a new branding campaign, seeking community approval for growth or hoping to build a greener image, seaports today must engage their internal audiences to attain strategic goals.
A well-managed internal communications program is a seaport essential for several reasons:
- Employees, tenants and other members of the port "family" are crucial ambassadors for their organizations. Port authorities need them to deliver clear messages about port activities as they interact with family, friends and neighbors within the community. Effective internal communications provide these employee ambassadors with key messages about emerging issues and developments.
- Employees and others must understand how their jobs are tied to the commercial success of the port. This bottom-line awareness is especially crucial during economic downturns.
- In addition, employees must understand and "buy into" the port's vision, goals and values -- in short, the port's "brand." Internal communications provides information about and builds support for the port's goals and objectives, creating a sense of pride as employees carry out their tasks.
- Finally if a crisis strikes, port employees must be mobilized and engaged to respond. They must be informed about their roles and updated regularly about developments. Internal communications programs are crucial elements of the crisis response infrastructure ports depend upon.
In today's 24/7 online world, top-down communications are no longer sufficient. Not only is a two-way conversation necessary, employees also seek greater collaboration with each other. The result is a diverse internal communications toolkit that includes e-mailed newsletters, employee-only Intranets and other modern approaches in addition to traditional team meetings, employee appreciation days and workshops.
Branding programs undertaken recently by the port authorities in Corpus Christi, Texas, Cape Canaveral, Fla., and Vancouver, Canada, are good examples of efforts utilizing a range of activities to involve employees in defining and shaping the new brand.
"We created a 'Master Mind' team composed of people from all departments, levels and years of experience to review everything in our port culture before we began our brand maintenance program," said Patricia Cardenas, community relations manager for the Port of Corpus Christi. "The process took a full year, and we made sure every employee was in the know."
Rosalind Harvey, communications director for the Canaveral Port Authority, added, "Through internal communications, we are empowering employees at every level of the organization to become part of the port mission. Port Canaveral's success is tied to employees living, breathing and communicating our messages to fellow colleagues and to members of the port community."
Anne McMullin, corporate communications and public affairs director for Port Metro Vancouver, explained that, when the Vancouver metropolitan area's three seaports were amalgamated into a single port authority, "Our goal was not just communications -- we needed employee engagement." This was achieved through face-to-face meetings and presentations, the use of the employee Intranet, and building an open, inclusive communications culture.
In the current economic climate, effective internal communications can enhance any port's community relations, business development, government relations and media outreach. Port communicators must not ignore the potential ambassadors and advocates in their midst.
Dr. Zingman and Ms. Borja may be reached by e-mail, respectively, at bzcom@aol.com and kendra.borja@gmail.com
