CorpComms Magazine

While Dame Helen Mirren may do a passable impression of her on screen, the Queen's position is unique. Of perhaps all the roles within her kingdom, hers is the only one where the successor is already selected. It would take the unexpected death or abdication of Prince Charles, or a revolution, to prevent him assuming his mother's role on her death.

And while it may seem macabre that the obituaries are already written and the state funeral has been exhaustively rehearsed and polished, the Royal Family's communications team is nevertheless in an enviable position - it knows what it is going to say. Its media strategy is already in place.

'The trouble with chief executives is that you often don't know in advance when they might leave or be ousted,' explains a former director of corporate communications at a leading FTSE 100 company (who declined to be named). 'You might suspect something is afoot but how can you work out a media strategy when your chief executive, who may be oblivious to events, could wander into your office at any time?'

That was certainly the case when it  came to the ousting of Rana Talwar, former chief executive of international banking group Standard Chartered. He was networking with clients at a cocktail party while, unbeknown to either him or his director of corporate communications, the board was meeting to discuss his premature departure. It came just one day after Talwar featured in a profile interview with the Financial Times. Understandably, the journalist involved was pretty upset.

At the other end of the spectrum, Chip Goodyear, chief executive of mining giant BHP Billiton, recently announced his intention to retire at the end of the year. It was a surprise announcement, but Goodyear promised to stay in situ until his successor is appointed, which allayed any stockmarket jitters.

BHP Billiton chairman Don Argus confirmed that the board would use the time to implement its succession plan, and praised Goodyear for using his tenure to develop several strong internal candidates.

'As the corporate communication function becomes increasingly sophisticated, it becomes increasingly easier for the media team to identify prime internal candidates for the senior roles,' explains one media relations executive, who again declined to be named. 'It is then a matter of promoting the profiles of those candidates both internally and externally to ensure that, if and when the time comes, the transition does not have a traumatic effect on the stockmarket.'

Loyal retainers

Succession planning is certainly a way of life at HSBC, the world's third largest bank. Sir John Bond, who retired as chairman last year, has always said the bank's operations in more than 80 countries are, in effect, factories producing the next generation of chief executives. Indeed, the majority of HSBC's chief executives and chairmen have worked for the bank, man and boy - there has yet to be a female in either position - which has allowed the communications team to develop succession strategies.

Succession planning is now seen as a vital part of the corporate agenda. While it is predominantly a human resources function, experts believe the communications department needs to play a bigger role, although few in-house directors wish to go on the record to talk about it. 'It's just too sensitive an issue,' explains one. 'You're basically talking about a future without your boss.'

But they argue that, while it may seem distasteful, they need to 'be in the loop' from the moment that person's future is being discussed at board level. This 'inside knowledge' allows them to handle unexpected, and unwelcome, media calls without damaging long-term relations with journalists. Also, as a matter of professional pride, it means communications professionals are not knowingly lying to a journalist. 'Even so, we can't help it if the chairman is not telling us the true story,' points out one. 'And that can happen.'

Experts also agree that the profile of the deputy should be carefully maintained at all times so that, in the event of the sudden death of the chief executive or an unexpected crisis when he or she is unavailable, that deputy can move seamlessly into position. The photos of John Prescott, deputy prime minister, playing croquet on the lawn at Dorneywood while he was supposedly in charge of the country are a stark reminder of what not to do.

Courting disaster

In fact, most corporate communicators feel the worst possible succession scenario is the one currently being played out by prime minister Tony Blair and chancellor Gordon Brown. They argue that the rumoured bad feeling between the two politicians reflects badly on both of them and, in the current situation, anybody wishing to talk about the future would bypass Blair and go directly to Brown.

'It is akin to the chief executive and finance director of a company being at loggerheads,' says one PR executive. 'It marks the chief executive out as a lame duck, because it makes it impossible for him or her to drive the business forward and do what he or she wants - it would really unsettle investors and staff. Ultimately, however, it shouldn't happen at all in a company because the chairman should be strong enough to handle the egos and tell the chief exec that it's time to go.'

Peter Sutherland, chairman of BP, was certainly strong enough to handle his chief executive, Lord Browne. But their internal wrangling still hit the front pages, and it ultimately appeared that Lord Browne had to be 'dragged, kicking and screaming', as one PR man puts it. 'What a nightmare for BP's communications team to handle.'

'Enoch Powell once said all political careers ultimately end in failure,' says John Antcliffe, chief executive of Smithfield PR. 'And that is probably true for business people, too. Knowing when to leave is an art in itself. Dozens of business people have held onto their posts, when they should have quit and left on a high. Instead, they often end up leaving on a low.'

Arguably, that is true of Lord Browne. He transformed BP into one of the country's biggest companies, not to mention one of the most respected in the world. But the last twelve months, when the debate about his future was being played out in the press, were among the worst in BP's history. 'Business people who spend years building up their profile can be remarkably naïve about maintaining it,' observes one media relations director.

Pretender to the throne

This can be particularly true where the senior executive has been intimately involved with the success and development of a company. Sir Ken Morrison, chairman of the eponymous supermarket group, was once viewed as the darling of the retail sector. But as the supermarket group struggled, shareholders demanded changes and he was forced to split his role of chairman and chief executive.

Morrison's forthright personality, however, once seen as a positive by shareholders, meant that outsiders perceive, rightly or wrongly, his control on the hand of the new chief executive. 'Succession planning in companies where one person is synonymous with the brand is a nightmare - but it's still vital,' explains one PR man. 'It is hard to imagine Virgin, for example,

without Sir Richard Branson, but one day that will happen.'

Antcliffe believes one of the best executions of a succession strategy is the appointment of James Murdoch as chief executive of BSkyB, which involved the ousting of the previous incumbent Tony Ball. Murdoch junior- at just 30 years old and the son of Rupert, chairman of the media empire - could have been ripped apart by both media and shareholders. But his appointment was accompanied by the news that Lord Rothschild, a no-nonsense City grandee, was joining as deputy chairman, while respected businessman Allan Leighton was becoming chairman of the audit committee. 'It was a sort of checks and balance strategy,' explains Antcliffe.

'Succession planning may seem distasteful and disloyal to your boss but these events always seem to happen when one least expects them,' concludes one PR veteran. 'Knowing how to handle the departure of your boss should be a basic requirement of the corporate communication director's job.'

share me: del.icio.us | digg | reddit | Tweet