“Always look on the bright side …”

Well no, not always.  Sometimes it’s just the wrong thing to do.  A lesson I hope the staff at Planet BP — an online, in-house British Petroleum  journal – learned this week.

You can imagine the challenge the BP internal communication team has.  You can picture them gathered in a room with their other communication colleagues looking for something positive to report to their employees.  Something that would uplift and motivate them.

And, so it is not too surprising to hear as The Wall Street Journal reported that “… a “BP reporter” dispatched to Louisiana managed to paint … [a rosey]…picture of the disaster…  “Much of the region’s [nonfishing boat] businesses — particularly the hotels — have been prospering because so many people have come here from BP and other oil emergency response teams.” Indeed, one tourist official in a local town makes it clear that “BP has always been a very great partner of ours here…We have always valued the business that BP sent us.””

The Planet BP story shows yet again that the BP communications team does not understand what is on the minds and in the hearts of people they are trying to reach and connect to.  Can you imagine a Tylenol internal newsletter reporting on the positive impact of their disaster on Tylenol container makers?  What is BP thinking?

Ragan Communication picked up the story.   Their conclusion: “Now, more than ever, BP’s communication efforts—internal and external—require transparency.”

But, the problem here isn’t transparency.  The BP article was accurate and transparent.  And it is definitely propaganda.  It is “disingenuous” and manipulative.

Why is that?  As I have said elsewhere, you can’t fool Mother Nature and you can’t fool employees.  And, I’m sure this article didn’t fool BP employees.

This isn’t the time.  There’s nothing at this stage that is good about what it happening in the Gulf.  And BP employees know it maybe better than anybody.

So what kind of employee communications do they want?  My guess is that BP employees want to know what the company is doing to clean up the mess from an insider point of view.  And they want to know what the company is doing to ensure that a disaster like this can never happen again.

And, they want communications that help them feel confident in their leadership again.  And, that build pride in their  work and the company they work for.

This story misses on all counts.  Manipulative communication – internal or external – always destroys relationship.

Sometimes looking on the bright side is just wrong.  This is one of those times.

Tags: Cultural norms, Employee communication, Reaching the front lines, Relationship, Transparency