How to successfully onboard your new CEO: Part 2
The arrival of a new CEO is a critical transition for any company, requiring a carefully planned communications strategy.
In part one of our ‘Onboarding a CEO’ series, we explored how to engage employees when a new CEO arrives. Now, we turn the lens outward, looking at external audiences.
From mapping stakeholders to crafting tailored messaging, our second instalment focuses on how to introduce your CEO to the outside world — investors, customers, regulators and media.
Here are our key takeaways for external engagement:
Map your external stakeholders
To build a clear communication plan, you need to map your external stakeholder groups, including customers, suppliers, partners, investors, regulators, and the media. Sequence the outreach to prioritise your most business-critical audiences first. Ensure early engagement with the board when planning the launch strategy.
Tailor key messages for each group
Create a messaging toolkit, with a tailored comms approach and key messages for each stakeholder group, setting out the CEO’s strategic priorities and immediate areas of attention. Prepare targeted outreach emails for each group. Investors, customers, regulators and media all require a different emphasis: investors will focus on leadership continuity and performance, customers on stability of their relationship, media on newsworthy angles of change.
Consider an open letter or video
The new CEO can also write an open letter, or record a video, to all stakeholders, shared on the company website, LinkedIn and other digital channels. The letter or video should set out their vision, strategic priorities, and perspectives on key challenges. It also provides additional opportunity to reflect the personality and leadership style of the new CEO.
Practise and train
Take time to prepare and don’t rush to be in the spotlight. Make sure the CEO has time to run through the messaging, to ensure clear and consistent communications with each stakeholder group. Carefully practise Q&As and invest in high-quality media training – including on-camera practice – so you can stress-test responses to the toughest questions.
Get out there
Once the foundations of the comms plan are set, the CEO needs to get out there. Positioning interviews with target media in key international markets is essential, alongside in-person and virtual interaction with the company’s biggest partners, customers, investors, and other key stakeholders. Showing the CEO’s authentic personality and voice will help set the tone for the road ahead.
Learn more about Stampa’s PR services and how we can help.
