Grand Illusion:Has Wells Fargo’s communications team been fooling itself?

Michael R. BaresBCOM610 presentation

12-6-2006

Michael Bares, University of St. ThomasPresented 5-15-2008

Who are the communicators?

• Reputation management.

• Former reporters and PR agency veterans.

• Unique thinking.

The challenge

The company’s communication professionals must understand management to better defend and improve Wells Fargo’s reputation among key stakeholders.

Managers/communicators disconnected?

Anecdotes show disconnection Research objectives:

– To discover if groups agree about roles and value of communications.

– To offer recommendations for bridging gaps.

Research question

Do communicators and Wells Fargo managers share an aligned perception of the communications function?

About Wells Fargo

• FORTUNE 50 financial-services company• 169,000 employees• 80+ business groups• $39.4 billion revenue (2007)

What we wanted to know

• What communication tasks do managers think are important.

• Do communicators accurately perceive what managers think.

• Determine alignment.

• Measure variance.

How we found out

Two 15-question surveys- Survey 1 – 93 communicators, 67 responses (72%)

- Survey 2 – 197 managers, 117 responses (59%)

Surveys measure two perspectives.

Communicator tasks analyzed

1. Suggesting news stories to reporters

2. Writing news releases

3. Responding to news reporters

4. Media training managers

5. Speech writing

6. Reporting on news coverage

7. Offering communication coaching to managers

8. Managing internal communications

First question

Managers asked:Of the work my communicator does, I rank the following tasks as:

Communicators asked:Of the work I do, I believe managers rank the following tasks as:

Managers

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25

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75

100

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Managers

Of the work my communicator does, I rank the following tasks as Important or Very important

Communicators

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25

50

75

100

%

Communicators

Of the work I do, I believe managers rank the following tasks as Important or Very important

Managers vs. Communicators

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75

100

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Managers

Communicators

Ranking tasks as Important or Very important

Second question

Managers asked:For each business week, I’d prefer that my communicator spend this much time on tasks.

Communicators asked:How I spent my time during the last business week on these tasks.

Managers

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25

50

75

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Managers

Each business week, I’d prefer if my communicator would spend 5+ hours on:

Communicators

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25

50

75

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Communicators

Tasks I spent 5+ hours on during the past five business days:

Managers vs. Communicators

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25

50

75

%

Managers

Communicators

Tasks communicators spent 5+ hours on vs. manager preference

Manager attitudes• 84% of managers agree or strongly agree

that communicators contribute to business lines’ financial success.

• 62% of managers believe their communicator understands their business line.

• 43% of managers regularly meet with their communicators.

Research question

Do communicators and Wells Fargo managers share an aligned perception of the communications function?

Not always.

Key findings• Managers see it this way:

– Most important tasks are (in order) writing news releases, responding to reporters and internal communications.

• Communicators see it this way:– Believe managers’ most important tasks are (in

order) internal communications, responding to reporters, writing news releases.

• Tension:– Degree of communicators underestimate value

managers place on the tasks.

Key findings• Managers see it this way:

– Spend your time on (in order): internal communications, responding to reporters, writing news releases, suggesting stories.

• Communicators see it this way:– Spending their time on (in order): internal

communications, responding to reporters, offering advice, writing news releases.

• Tension:– Degree of time difference.

RecommendationsCommunicators need to:

• Meet regularly with their managers.• Align their tasks to match manager needs.• Better educate managers about their work.• Develop methods for communicators to regularly

report on tasks to managers.

Questions?