What can be more stressful than considering a relocation? Announcing it.

Regardless of where you are in the site selection process, what will you do if employees begin asking about
a relocation before you are ready with answers? What will you say if a local reporter calls?

Being forced to provide an uncomfortably early confirmation of a potential relocation can occur because of surprising events. Unsettling employee rumors could start because of an overheard conversation. Or a premature comment by a politician in a candidate community might spark a newspaper story in another city.

It’s common for the “PR part” to be a particularly difficult part of a relocation, particularly if you are the one who has to make the speech to the employees, field complaints from key stakeholders, or face cameras and microphones aimed at you from a skeptical press.

Creating a credible message pays off. You can be prepared by working with Joe Vranich who, as part of his Public Relations career, has developed three programs that are available individually or together.

Option One – Message Development:

A “must have” is to prepare a relocation announcement in advance for employees. Variations can be used with other audiences or the news media. If the move is big enough to spark media interest, it may pay to have in place a news release and background information sheet that is volunteered to the local media. Doing so would be in line with advice from Henry Kissinger about having a proactive communications style. He once said: "Anything that will be revealed eventually should be revealed immediately."

Audiences are doing more than listening to words. They are looking for three things – competence, courage and credibility – and if they see those traits the speaker earns the audience’s trust. But speakers sometimes fail in doing so because of a lack of preparation, an ill-developed message, or a fear of public speaking (which most people experience). You can boost your impact by working on your content and presentation style.

Think of this as “crisis scenario” training in how to handle media interviews, including on-site or in-studio TV appearances. Here, you will participate in “dry runs” that include answering questions about the relocation.