Developing a communications process to engage and align a distributed workforce

The 1,300 employees in Marathon Petroleum Company LP’s (MPC) storage and transportation organization are spread across 80 facilities in 14 states. Alignment and engagement are challenging for a distributed workforce, but by rethinking communications as a process, MPC overcame these long-distance obstacles. The organization uses an effective communications strategy based on a continuous improvement process, not just a series of tactics.

Key Highlights:

• Build a communication strategy focused on continuous improvement, feedback loops and metrics that zero in on business goals
• Use workshops to improve communication skills throughout the organization
• Develop a proactive plan to increase employee engagement based on stakeholder feedback
• Use a hierarchy of information and targeted messages to finally abolish the dreaded “mass email”