Bayer analyzes the role of the pandemic in the evolution of internal communication

The second meeting of the Aberje Brand Academy program showed how the company innovated its strategy of communicating internally with employees

World leader in health and nutrition, Bayer has over 150 years of history – and 125 years in Brazil. Recently, the coronavirus pandemic meant that the evolution efforts of its internal communication – already planned for the company – could accelerate and bring a new strategy. During the second meeting of the Aberje Brand Academy program, held on July 21, it was possible to monitor how the company could reinvent itself.

At the event, the Institutional Communication manager at Bayer Brasil, Larissa Battistini, shared a little more about the company’s journey regarding the evolution of the company’s internal communication and presented the case that won the international Saber Awards Latam 2020 and PRWeek awards 2021.

Present in more than 87 countries, Bayer has its third-largest Bayer market in Brazil, after the United States and China. With more than 6,000 employees throughout Brazil, the company knew how to reinvent itself through innovation to remain firm despite all the challenges experienced in more than a century.

The company has a history of constant evolution and transformation that is reflected in internal communication. “It started with the integration with Monsanto, in 2018. Communication was the structuring pillar of the cultural transition of two giants with different cultures. The challenge was how to bring the information to them in a single and integrated way, and we conducted surveys with the leadership of the two companies to understand what would be the best path for the employee of this new organization”.

With the pandemic, the situation required adjustments. “We had to put 70% of our team in a home office, and our system didn’t support all the tools. These were technical challenges to be faced so that people had access to information and channels that already existed. Based on a decision taken by the leadership, we launched a daily bulletin focused on the employee, bringing information and agility and putting the evolution plan on standby.”

After intensifying all communication efforts – by reviewing all channels and initiatives – the integrated Internal Communication evolution plan was then subjected to readjustments to take action at the beginning of this year. “The focus of the evolution of this internal communication is less volume, more value, more relevance, and proximity.”

The hierarchy of information focused on what was most important; instead of physical campaigns, there was a migration to digital channels; a closer one and one-way communication replaced formal language with more interactive communication; the dependence on channels and corporate communication was transformed into the relevance of the role of the communicator leader. “We gained an integrated look; a single voice respecting different accents; operational gain, more agility and a simpler and closer language; interactivity for channels; metrics and KPI’s; less individual and loose stimuli and greater engagement with this entire initiative,” said Battistini.

 

Watch the session on Aberje’s Youtube:

https://youtu.be/gHxVtslSjDM