Global cereal giant Kellogg was preparing to transform its European finance arm. The Company needed the right partner to lead successful internal communications and make sure the project achieved its objectives – and that’s where Enthuse stepped in.

The client

International brand, Kellogg, is the world’s leading cereal manufacturer, producing and distributing thousands of products to hundreds of countries worldwide.

Naturally, such an enormous operation requires a robust finance division to support its global business.

At the time we stepped in, Kellogg was preparing to roll out a progressive transformation of its European finance arm, so the company called on us for support to communicate the forthcoming changes to a 400-strong team.

The challenge

The challenge we faced was to engage around 400 employees in Kellogg Europe’s finance transformation.

The 18-month project represented a significant step-change for the organisation. Therefore, its impact would be felt not only across its finance arm, but it would also have implications for the wider European team.

The objective

The ambitious transformation set out to change the way Kellogg Europe’s Finance arm operated, further developing best in class leadership skills, financial systems and process to better serve the business insightful financial data analysis.

For the project to achieve these objectives, the changes taking place had to be communicated in a timely, thoughtful and effective way.

The solution

Our work began by conducting qualitative research on how the Finance function felt about working within the team, and how its communication and engagement could be improved.

From here, we were able to put a communication plan in place to support the transformation project at each stage and establish sustainable practices to enable the internal project team to communicate effectively beyond our involvement.

Working closely with an internal working group made up of a geographically spread representatives from different arms of Kellogg Finance, we rolled out a series of initiatives to support the transformation.

Branding –

We commissioned an illustrator to create a visually vibrant branding style that helped to brighten up the conventionally dry perception of Finance. Importantly, the branding helped visually project the key messages of the transformation and we ensured it was co-created by colleagues across the Finance function.

Message house –

A message house was established to understand the key messages of the transformation and set out its priorities – where did Finance sit right now, where is it heading and how will it get there?

Communication channels –

o We refreshed existing communication channels by establishing a regular flow of information.

o An existing newsletter became a regular and consistent fixture with a revitalised look and feel that aligned with the strategy’s vision and reminded recipients of the project’s priorities. It featured meaningful, interesting and accessible content, such as employee profiles to help geographically separate teams get to know each other.

o We advised on the revamping of intranet pages – incorporating the newly created branding – to make sure relevant information about the Finance project was accessible and digestible for employees across Europe.

o We encouraged the project group to make better use of social platforms to amplify their voice within the Company.

o We set up new channels to improve employee voice, for example, creating video content to communicate project successes.

Events –

o Inputting best practice into regular “Lunch and Learn” events helped colleagues to get the most out of these sessions. We helped to market sessions creatively and widely and published regular reminders to keep forthcoming events on employees’ radars.

o A two-day workshop engaged senior leaders through interactive sessions to make sure they were equipped to play their role as leaders to land the transformation with their teams.

Training –

We guided the Finance team and established best practice on running and promoting events, as well as communicating their successes themselves.

Coaching and development –

We worked with the project group to give them the tools and confidence to take responsibility for their internal communication agenda.

Analysis –

We put in place a measurement tool that enabled the function to understand and improve its performance in critical areas of leadership.

By guiding the team at every stage, they saw immediate successes and felt they were equipped with the tools to continue to succeed in effective internal communications.

The result

The channels we put in place to drive communications as part of the broader project agenda, and the lasting impact our work had on individuals were the major successes of this project.

Once it became a more regular fixture, the Finance newsletter’s read rates were extraordinarily high. A survey revealed 62% of employees always read it when it landed in their inbox, with a further 29% sometimes reading it – we’ll take an overall engagement rate of 91% as a definite win!

By the end of our project, the group of task-orientated, finance-minded leaders thoroughly understood the importance of effective communication - a lasting legacy of our work with the team.

The Enthuse difference

The Enthuse difference in the Kellogg Europe Finance transformation project was our success in helping the function to understand the power of communication and engagement.

Through working together, we helped the team to implement their transformation with all of the right communication methods in place to embed it successfully.

Wendy Smith, the Chief Financial Officer for Kellogg Europe at the time, said:

“The revamp of our internal communications has fundamentally helped to drive our transformation agenda this year. It has engaged a geographically diverse team, giving them a renewed belief in what we are doing and why we are doing it. We are seeing more colleagues wanting to take part in opportunities to be involved in the transformation and talking about it in their day-to-day activities.”

If you need support establishing or improving communications within your business, whether it’s for general purposes or a specific project, we’re here to help. Contact us on 07812 343310 or andrea.law@enthuse-comms.co.uk and let’s talk.

Selling The Value Of Effective Financial Comms