One of the most rewarding assignments of my career involved promoting homeownership among Native Americans, and, more specifically, the first-ever financing of tribal land in the United States, by a financial institution. Until that point, such a financing arrangement had not been legally possible. This initiative involved the federal government, state governments, tribal nations, individual homeowners, my employer, and a host of other partners. There was profit potential, of course, but underlying this effort was a clear corporate commitment to strong moral, social, and cultural values. We were helping tribal members borrow money to build and own property on tribal lands, for the first time in American history.
Certainly, I learned a lot about tribal heritage, government regulations, and alternative financing models during this project. What I also learned, though, is the power of such a story to investors and policymakers. A media relations manager and I had traveled to remote areas, meeting with tribal officials, bank representatives, federal and state officials, and, of course, the borrowers. We had developed a fairly straightforward strategic communication plan, with a focus on generating news coverage and informing our employees. What I had not expected was for this story to ultimately make its way, along with a full-color, full-page photograph, in the corporate annual report.
As a leader, you have an opportunity—and, yes, a responsibility—to capture and share meaningful stories that will help your organization, your investors, your community or communities, and the public. My mind had originally been solely on news releases, a press conference, media interviews, and a few write-ups for internal newsletters and intranet sites. I had not thought at all how this story so strongly reflected corporate values, as well as a corporate push to find untapped and potentially profitable markets. There really was a good story here, not only for tribal nations and Main Street, but for government officials and Wall Street, too.
Your primary responsibility is likely not investor relations or public affairs. In fact, due to strict regulations, you should not be communicating directly with investors or analysts, unless that is a defined part of your responsibility, and you have been trained how to do so (Murrey 2013). But, you can still contribute to investor communications indirectly. What are you and your team working on that might make a story that resonates with investors or policymakers? Do some of your initiatives and results reflect particularly strongly corporate values, as well as social, moral, and cultural values? Who can you engage to help capture and share these stories for your corporate communications team? After all, the more your organization can attract investor and regulator support, the more your business can expand and do even more good.
Responsible communication, when it comes to investor relations and public affairs, involves staying mindful about the work your team is doing, and how that supports corporate, social, moral, and/or cultural values. And, while you will likely not be handling analyst calls or lobbying duties yourself, you can become a partner in these efforts, funneling stories and metrics to the appropriate teams.
Let’s look at a few ways to get involved.
Keep Pace with the Market
Whatever your functional area, you should be paying attention to industry trends and particularly analysts’ and policymakers’ opinions. Let the Internet do the work for you. Multiple different browsers, news sites, investment sites, and government sites allow you to subscribe to RSS feeds or, better yet, set up customizable alerts that automatically push headlines and stories to you, via email, however frequently you desire. You can set up alerts for multiple different issues and topics, and at the very least those alerts should cover your industry, your organization, and/or your functional area within the organization. It takes just a few minutes to scan these alerts; doing so is a rudimentary, yet helpful, method of environmental scanning and issues monitoring.
When it comes to the market, be aware that investors tend to react most enthusiastically to news items regarding new customers, completion of acquisitions, strategic long-term decisions, and nontechnological alliances (Cuellar-Fernandez, Fuertes-Callen, and Lainez-Gadca 2010). News about new or upgraded products is generally of less interest. In my example, the financing of property on tribal land involved new customers, a strategic long-term decision, and nontechnological alliances. This story had the elements that told a strong story of confidence, innovation, and growth to investors and policymakers.
Investor relations and public affairs are claimed as specializations of public relations, but they are not always perceived as such. The Public Relations Society of America and the National Investor Relations Institute surveyed their respective members, though, and found that investor relations executives conduct their work in very much the same way as corporate communication executives, with a consistent tendency toward two-way, symmetrical communication (Kelley, Laskin, and Rosenstein 2010). The takeaway is that basic tenet of responsible communication: we should be creating and encouraging mutually helpful discussions with investors and policymakers about values-based issues and decisions.
You see more and more of this mindset when it comes to Fortune 500 websites. Their online newsrooms have increased their presence over time, and more dialogue-generating stories and components are available now, to stimulate journalists’ interest and use in news stories (Pettigrew and Reber 2010). What initiatives do you lead that might make good fodder for the corporate website, annual report, analyst calls, or lobbying?
Answer the Tough Questions
A mistake you might make is to assume that capturing and/or relaying a story is enough, when it comes to helping investor relations and public affairs efforts. The public and investors have grown increasingly skeptical and cynical. This has been particularly true when it comes to corporate social responsibility. Investor relations experts have been increasingly moving from a “broadcast” approach to much more of an interactive, two-way, relationship management process (Hockerts and Moir 2004). Analysts and policymakers are increasingly asking tough questions, as they should. What you should do is think about how you might help answer those tough questions.
Why is this important? Increasingly, at least from an investor relations perspective, corporate-driven communication is perceived as having as much, if not more, value than information conveyed via news media or other means (Penning 2011). Presumably, the direct method of communication, and the promise of two-way dialogue between analysts/investors and the corporation, fosters a sense of real value to those who want to know more.
Your subject matter expertise could prove particularly valuable. Are you funneling information for analyst calls, quarterly and annual reports, and lobbying efforts? Does that information include quantitative metrics, informative graphics, and/or digital images, along with meaningful anecdotes, direct quotations, and other narrative? Are there questions you frequently face? Could you or your team develop these into an FAQ? Have you thought of offering to sit in on an analyst call or be part of a lobbying effort? Remember, you have important stories to share, but you also could benefit from valuable feedback, criticism, and dialogue.
Look Ahead, Mitigate Risk
The old coaching adage applies to your role as a responsible communicator: defense is the best offense. That means anticipating counter-arguments to the stories and successes you wish to share inside your organization and with the public. Your personal values, or those of your corporation, may not necessarily be values shared or respected by your stakeholders, including investors, analysts, and policymakers. More specifically, the decisions your organization chooses to put forth may not be perceived as being in line with your stated values, and/or with the moral, social, or cultural values of the people and communities you serve.
As you set up online alerts and keep an eye on industry trends and issues, pay particular attention to criticisms and pushback. What pain points might your business face, if it pursues a certain path? How does perception differ from what you know is reality? How are values being lost in the message, or misunderstood in translation?
Thinking proactively, in this case, means you’ll want to think more defensively—at least in your head, if not yet verbally. Every decision you make or help champion comes with trade-offs and downsides. Be honest about these concessions; their human, financial, and environmental impacts; and the perceptions they may generate from those who are not involved in the decision-making process.
Smart lawyers think ahead and mitigate risks. You should do the same, as often as you possibly can.
• Accessibility—Responsible leaders stay mindful about the work their teams are doing, and how that work supports corporate, social, moral, and/or cultural values. They engage themselves, however they can, and they champion these efforts. What projects are you personally getting behind? Do the teams involved know you’re a champion for them? How? What can you do to help their efforts, and leverage their good for the greater good of the organization or industry?
• Responsiveness—Leaders shouldn’t be on the sidelines, especially when it comes to matters of company ownership and regulation. You should be creating and encouraging mutually helpful discussions with investors and policymakers about values-based issues and decisions. What comes to mind when you think of issues and decisions that should be proactively discussed with investors and regulators? How do values play into these decisions and discussions? What would the ultimate benefit be of providing more values-based context to investors and regulators, and to other stakeholders, as well?
• Transparency—The decisions your organization chooses to put forth may not be perceived as being in line with your stated values, and/or with the moral, social, or cultural values of the people and communities you serve. How will you handle such a situation, or how have you handled similar situations in the past? How might you help prepare others in your organization, especially managers and supervisors, for such difficult conversations?
Responsible Actions
• Keep pace with the market—Whatever your functional area, you should be paying attention to industry trends and particularly analysts’ and policymakers’ opinions. When it comes to the market, be aware that investors tend to react most enthusiastically to news items regarding new customers, completion of acquisitions, strategic long-term decisions, and nontechnological alliances. You should be creating and encouraging mutually helpful discussions with investors and policymakers about values-based issues and decisions.
• Answer the tough questions—Analysts and policymakers are increasingly asking tough questions, as they should. Think about how you might help answer those tough questions. Your subject matter expertise could prove particularly valuable. Have you thought of offering to sit in on an analyst call or be part of a lobbying effort? Remember, you have important stories to share, but you also could benefit from valuable feedback, criticism, and dialogue.
• Look ahead, mitigate risk—Anticipate counter-arguments to the stories and successes you wish to share inside your organization and with the public. Your personal values, or those of your corporation, may not necessarily be values shared or respected by your stakeholders, including investors, analysts, and policymakers. Every decision you make or help champion comes with trade-offs and downsides. Be honest about these concessions; their human, financial, and environmental impacts; and the perceptions they may generate from those who are not involved in the decision-making process.