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We hear it all the time: the next generation of talent—and leadership—wants more. More balance in their careers. More alignment with their values. More engagement with social issues.

The world of professional services firms—buttoned-up places that have traditionally skewed white, male and older, especially in leadership ranks—is particularly vulnerable to emerging stakeholders’ preferences. In a recent poll, less than 40% of Gen Z lawyers said they would like to join one of the U.S.’s largest 200 firms, down from nearly 60% just three years prior. Meanwhile, recent news out of law firm Barber Ranen involving the name partners’ racist, sexist, homophobic, and antisemitic emails (and those partners’ subsequent exit from the firm) is just one more indication that times are changing. Behavior that might once have been papered over now (rightly) carries significant consequences.

The question, then, isn’t whether these generational shifts are here or will have an impact. That’s a fait accompli. Rather, today’s business leaders should be asking how they can best communicate with their younger workers and clients to mitigate risks and set themselves up for success for years to come. Here’s how.  

Get to Know This New Audience

You can look up all the statistics you want: that younger employees care more about corporate culture; that almost 90% of millennial lawyers want flexibility and work-from-home options; that roughly half of accounting and finance students and young professionals cite personal well-being and mental health as a concern and think a great work-life balance is a key attraction factor for employment.

But while that’s a good start, it takes more to operationalize efforts at your own firm. Start by asking some key questions to help hone in: 

  • Who is our audience, internally and externally?
  • How quickly are their expectations evolving?
  • What messages do they need to hear and who should they hear them from?
  • How can we support our messages with tangible actions? 

 Social media listening, focus groups, surveys, and routine conversations with teammates and clients are extremely helpful tools for answering these questions.

For instance, one major law firm we work with held a series of focus groups last year to create messaging that would help attract and retain attorneys in a post-COVID landscape. The resulting messages—highlighting alternative career paths, the firm’s supportive culture, its initiatives around diversity, equity and inclusion, and a robust benefits program—were in large part aimed at this next generation of lawyers. They also helped with the continued evolution of their sponsoring and mentoring initiatives and talent outreach.

You can do the same with clients: Voice of the Client research can help build a multi-faceted understanding of your client’s needs, expectations and pain points—and can update your approach to the coming generation.

Establish and Live Up To Your Firm’s Values 

What does your professional services firm stand for? Why do you do what you do? And what impact do you make in the community, the nation, and the world?

These questions may sound lofty or even squishy to hard-charging business leaders. But these are the elements that millennials and Gen Z care most about. And MIT research shows that even if companies have a set of values written down, far too few are translating them into action in any tangible way.

The good news is since many organizations don’t meaningfully connect their actions to their values, you have an opportunity to set your firm apart in the minds of emerging stakeholders. To do so, you’ll need to look at your existing mission, governing principles, and values and honestly assess how well you’re living up to them. 

For example, if your values state that you’re committed to creating an internal culture that’s welcoming and inclusive, evaluate what building blocks you’ve put in place to make that value a reality. Have you taken steps to attract and retain a more diverse workforce? Are you actively combating harassment at your firm? Are you elevating diverse voices and ensuring people from underrepresented groups have a seat at leadership tables?

You’ll also need to be able to read the room and pivot when necessary. One professional services firm we work with did just that – after a series of acquisitions, the firm realized it needed to step up its executive communications game, particularly when it came to reaching newer, younger and prospective employees. A content campaign of internal emails and byline articles from one of the firm’s leaders brought the organization’s values to life in a personal, authentic way—and aimed to infuse the firm’s work with purpose, meaning, technological innovation, and fun.

Embrace an Authentic, Transparent Approach to Communication

Finally, you’ll need to evolve your firm’s communication style to earn the trust of a younger audience. Follow these best practices as you get started:

  • Carefully consider who to appoint as your firm’s spokesperson in each PR situation. Your CEO or managing partner may not always be the ideal choice, even when you’re countering negative press. A community leader, boots-on-the-ground manager, or third-party expert might be better suited to make your case and establish (or reestablish) trust.
  • Be strategic about the channels you use when communicating with younger audiences. Social media channels—especially YouTube and TikTok—are more effective at reaching Millennials and Gen Z than traditional media outlets. When you do communicate using these channels, be sure to keep a close eye on your audience’s comments and reactions. Staying engaged even in the face of criticism or intense questioning is key to demonstrating trustworthiness.
  • Avoid jargon and corporate speak. Use clear, straightforward language that paints a compelling picture. Don’t be afraid to pull back the curtain on your decision making process or draw on personal experiences. Younger audiences in particular roll their eyes at any hint of obfuscation.
  • Back up your words with action. Authenticity doesn’t just come from words—it comes from meaningful and concrete actions that support those words, whether it’s new hybrid working policies, benefits programs, mentorship opportunities, or DEI initiatives.

The Future is Now for Better Communications and Better Business

It’s imperative that professional services firms recognize the capabilities of Gen Zers and millennials, and work towards meeting their needs as soon as possible. That makes sense from more than a recruitment standpoint. Soon, those generations will also be in need of your services—but only if you take the time to establish trust now.

Taking steps to develop and adhere to strong corporate values, operate transparently and ethically, and understand stakeholder sentiments just make good sense, for your operations today as well as for the future of your business.

Greentarget knows how to develop PR strategies that speak the language of every generation. As a full-service communications firm, we’d love to help you position your firm for success now and down the road. Let’s talk.

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As your professional services firm continues to navigate today’s uncertain economy, it may become necessary to adjust staffing levels and/or cut expenses in other ways. And though these actions are intended to position your firm for long-term success, they can weaken your business if not done thoughtfully and with empathy for your audience.

Take MillerKnoll CEO Andi Owen as a cautionary tale. In April, she urged employees to “leave pity city” in response to complaints that they would not receive bonuses. In her video message, Owen starts off by encouraging employees to “focus on the things we can control.” But as she continues, her thinly veiled frustration starts to seep through. And before long, she raises her voice, wags her finger, and sarcastically scolds her team, saying:

Don’t ask about ‘What are we going to do if we don’t get a bonus?’ Get the damn 26 million dollars! Spend your time and your effort thinking about the $26 million we need and not thinking about what you’re going to do if you don’t get a bonus. Alright? Can I get some commitment for that? I’d appreciate that. I had an old boss who said to me one time, ‘You can visit pity city, but you can’t live there.’ So people? Leave pity city; let’s get it done. Thank you. Have a great day. 

She ends the video by making hand motions depicting an explosion, as if she’s just delivered a mind-blowing, enlightening truth bomb. But the biggest hit she delivered was to her own reputation.

Here’s the actual truth bomb: Empathy for your audience is fundamental to effective communication. And as a leader, you can’t afford to alienate your audience by delivering hard truths the wrong way.

The Business Impact of Empathetic Communication 

It’s never easy to share difficult news about things like staff reductions, bonus/salary freezes, and budget cuts. However, communicating challenging circumstances skillfully is an excellent way to establish your firm’s authority and build trust with your audience.

A communication plan rooted in empathy can:

  • Protect your firm’s reputation with internal stakeholders and the public 
  • Limit the amount of time bad news spends in the news cycle
  • Reassure stakeholders that you know what it takes for your firm to weather the storm and come out on top
  • Reinforce your brand and underscore your organizational values

Even if your firm is in good financial shape at the moment, you’ll most likely need to communicate difficult news at some point. It’s just part of running a business. And since the best way to manage a PR crisis is to avoid creating one in the first place, it’s wise to start working on your playbook now. 

5 Elements of a “Hard Times” Communications Playbook

Your firm’s financial health must guide your decision-making. But your stakeholders’ needs and expectations should be the compass that directs your communication plan. Incorporating the following five elements into your comms strategy will help you make the best of otherwise undesirable situations.

1. Exhibit Compassion

Every decision you make about your business impacts your people in some way. So when you’re communicating news about layoffs, salary freezes/reductions, and other cost-cutting measures, don’t underestimate the human toll the news will take.

Your employees may ask you difficult questions, put you on the spot, and criticize your leadership in response to hard news. Treat them with dignity anyway. You can’t walk in their shoes, but you can remain empathetic and expressgenuine concern for their welfare. 

2. Time the Announcement Carefully

You should always share bad news with employees who are directly impacted before you announce it to everyone else. However, you should also know who your secondary and tertiary audiences are and be ready to cascade your messages to them quickly.

Bear in mind, anything you say internally has the potential to be shared externally. So don’t begin communicating with employees until you’ve put together a plan for responding to questions and concerns from public stakeholders and the media.

3. Use the Right Channels to Communicate to Each Audience

It’s also important to think about how you will communicate difficult messages. Should you send an email? Schedule a video conference? Hold a town hall meeting? Personally speak to employees in small groups or one-on-one? 

There’s not necessarily a right or wrong answer here. But in general, you should do what feels most authentic to your firm’s culture and you shouldn’t simply take the easy way out. 

Firing 900 employees over Zoom won’t win you any goodwill. Again, keep empathy at the forefront when choosing how you’ll deliver the news. 

4. Be Blunt, But Kind

This might seem like counterintuitive advice. But when it comes to delivering hard truths, it’s ok to be blunt as long as the message is anchored in genuine kindness. 

In fact, it’s often better to deliver the truth in a straightforward manner rather than try to soften bad news or minimize its impact. After all, economic uncertainty causes nearly everyone to feel higher levels of fear and paranoia. So sometimes the kindest thing you can do is remove all uncertainty from the equation. 

Don’t beat around the bush or use vague, confusing language. Instead, be transparent and direct. Let your employees know exactly what’s happening and why. Share the business case for the decisions you’re making. And give as many details as you can about what will happen next. 

5. Reassure Your Stakeholders That the Future is Bright

Finally, provide your team with a clear idea of where your firm is headed so you can rally them around a shared set of goals and objectives. This is an opportunity to sharpen your value proposition, streamline operations, and align your people for the path forward.

Your stakeholders need to know that you’re making decisions based on what’s best for the company and, ultimately, what’s best for them, too. To that end, don’t share bad news without also painting a picture of a bright future you can all believe in and work toward.

Communicate Effectively to Guide Your Firm Through Challenging Times

In decades past, CEOs and other executive leaders may have had more freedom to communicate bad news in a top-down, authoritarian way. The rules were different, and previous generations of stakeholders and employees were more willing to accept a “this is the way it is” approach to communication.

Whether you accept it or not, that style simply doesn’t cut it anymore. And if you slip into old-school patterns of communication, you can be sure it will come back to haunt you. 

Leading your firm through choppy waters starts by winning the trust of your people. And that, of course, begins with communicating effectively in good times and in bad. So if you need help evolving your executive communications playbook? Let’s talk.

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The partners at your professional services firm are essentially owners of their respective business units, which means the cost of your marketing initiatives comes out of their pockets. And given the pressure they’re under to hit their revenue and growth targets, they expect you to support their individual marketing needs as if those partners are your team’s top priority. That can make it tough to advance the overall business objectives for your firm. 

Sure, it might be tenable if you’re only managing a handful of competing agendas. But if you answer to dozens — or even hundreds — of partners and myriad other stakeholders,  chances are your audience is on the receiving end of too many messages, or diluted messages that don’t speak to their needs.

When you’re bogged down by the tyranny of the urgent — and when your firm’s partners are focused on their messages and their goals — how can you shift gears to create a cohesive and meaningful marketing strategy? Instead of disparate initiatives, you need to create a comprehensive plan organized around a focused objective.

Once that focus is in place, it’s time to switch into campaign mode: building an integrated program to reach your desired audience through  paid, earned, social, and owned (PESO) media . 

Here’s how to build sophisticated PESO campaigns that elevate your firm’s digital marketing — and win the buy-in and support you’ll need to bring them to life.

Building Blocks of an Integrated PESO Marketing Campaign

Your firm is not the only voice vying for your audience’s attention. To combat this information overload, lean on integrated campaigns that highlight authoritative content with a unique point of view.

What does it mean to adopt a PESO campaign orientation? You’ll leverage: 

  • Paid channels by buying ad space in traditional outlets and/or on Google and LinkedIn
  • Earned media by reaching out to reporters and earned media outlets with quotes and snippets that demonstrate your firm’s authority
  • Social channels by sharing your firm’s insights via email and social media
  • Owned media by publishing articles, eBooks, white papers, and other assets to your website

Furthermore, each campaign should:

  • Align to a measurable business objective (e.g. increase awareness of your firm; demonstrate your firm’s position of authority; drive revenue growth)
  • Present a unique point of view on an issue that’s important to your audience (make them think “hmmm, I hadn’t heard that before”)
  • Drive specific KPIs (like number of organic site visitors, downloads, audience reach, LinkedIn engagement)

Reddit used several elements of the PESO model effectively when the social media platform took out a five-second Superbowl ad that made it look like the company was hacking a car commercial. It simultaneously posted the video with a “What just happened?” caption on Twitter. From there, Reddit drove users to the site with a link to a sampling of its community forums. And in the aftermath, the platform earned positive media coverage from high-profile outlets praising its ingenuity.

As a professional services marketer, you can use creativity and drama to reach your audience, too. Your firm’s experts are writing and speaking on a variety of topics. Don’t shy away from promoting their hot takes with catchy copy and your version of a grand reveal.

How To Persuade Your Firm’s Partners To Adopt a Campaign Orientation

Talking about the value of an integrated marketing campaign to marketers is a bit like preaching to the choir. But if your firm’s partners aren’t on board with your plans, all the campaign know-how in the world won’t matter. And when you first launch an integrated campaign, you’ll undoubtedly encounter pushback from leaders who (wrongly) think you should focus on a marketing plan that is all things to all audiences.

You know the most effective marketing campaigns are targeted to a specific persona looking for help with specific questions at a particular moment in time. But how can you get your partners to buy in?

Show Partners What’s in It for Them

Partners may initially balk at investing marketing dollars into campaigns that don’t directly benefit their business unit. That’s why it’s crucial to demonstrate the value a campaign model will offer them both immediately and over time. They need to understand that:

  • Rising tides lift all boats. Successful campaigns drive increased traffic to useful content on your site. And when these visitors discover relevant content that meets their business needs, they’ll be primed to learn about your firm’s partners, service offerings, and additional areas of expertise.
  • Every campaign is rooted in your firm’s authority (and that of your partners). Invite partners to participate in your campaign plans by authoring bespoke content that fits in with the broader objective, whether it’s offering a unique POV that fills in “white space” in your industry, or providing insight into how your firm solves tricky client problems. Putting your partners’ expertise in the spotlight is a great way to win their support.
  • Coordinated campaigns shed light on what your audience is looking for. Tracking the content that resonates with your audience and learning what drives engagement helps business development team and partners better meet your prospects’ needs. Importantly, it also demonstrates the return on investment.
  • It’s an opportunity to outshine and outperform the competition. Your partners are undoubtedly paying attention to what their peers at other firms are doing. Well-crafted campaigns give your experts something worth sharing and promoting in their spheres of influence. 

Start Small, Then Build on Your Campaign Success

Your PESO campaigns don’t have to be perfect to be impactful. Nor do you need to devote all your time and energy to adopting a campaign mindset. Carving out 20% of your work week to create and implement thoughtful campaigns is a great place to start.

The best campaigns tend to be recognized with awards from industry publications. Using the format of an award entry to craft your campaign is another smart way to make the case for its value. Identify the opportunities and challenges to the business, then lay out the strategy, tactical approach and measurable results. In other words, try reviewing the award entry format of an organization you respect and work backwards to structure your campaign idea.


Just remember: Useful, relevant content is what powers your digital marketing engine. If you need help identifying the types of content your audience is looking for — and honing unique points of view that will cut through the digital clutter — don’t hesitate to reach out. We know what it takes to create campaigns that drive audiences to action.

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If the prospect of a publicly traded U.S. law firm seems unlikely, consider that more than five decades ago, there was no such thing as a publicly traded American investment bank. Due to a nearly 200-year-old rule requiring that the New York Stock Exchange approve all shareholders of its member firms, the NYSE didn’t allow them. But thanks to Dan Lufkin, who engineered the 1970 initial public offering of his investment banking and brokerage firm, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, the NYSE amended its rules and it’s now difficult to imagine the big Wall Street firms like Goldman or Morgan Stanley as private partnerships. But they were. Just like today’s big law firms.  

According to William Cohan, who relays this story in his article, The Next Big I.P.O. Scramble, it may be only a matter of time before a bold and enterprising law firm follows in Lufkin’s radical footsteps and converts its private partnership into a public corporation – a structure that would provide greater access to capital, help streamline law-firm mergers and allow retiring partners to cash out their shares. Like the NYSE once prevented investment bank listings, most state bar associations still have rules against non-lawyer ownership of law firms. But that has begun to change. 

Utah and Arizona have relaxed the American Bar Association rule barring nonlawyers from sharing in law firm ownership. To a fiercely competitive industry that has few options for raising capital, these changes could open a door to a source of affordable growth capital, a liquid market for partners’ equity, and a reliable method for determining a firm’s relative value in a highly acquisitive marketplace. The two states have granted a total of 91 licenses for alternative legal business entities, according to The American Lawyer. Once a major law firm walks through that door, many more could follow. 

Skeptical? If the true story of the investment banking industry’s conversion isn’t a sufficient analog, the rapidly growing appetite for litigation finance, even among the legal industry’s biggest firms, is further evidence that law firms are eager to tap alternative sources of capital to fund their growth.

So if this potential shift becomes reality, law firms that take the IPO plunge will need to communicate frequently with an entirely new audience — public shareholders. And meeting shareholders’ demand for information will require significant, fundamental changes to how law firms share information with stakeholders.

What does this mean for you? Effective shareholder communication is not a switch you can flip on the first day of trading. If you harbor hope that your law firm will someday ring that iconic opening bell, plan to implement the following five tactics well before you file your registration statement. Doing so will support a successful IPO and enhance your ability to communicate effectively with your shareholders going forward, supporting quarterly earnings and other material disclosures, and ultimately an appropriate valuation. 

1. Generate Pre-Filing Awareness

When contemplating a public offering, the way your firm communicates right now matters. Once you file your S-1, or registration statement, you can’t be perceived as promoting the offering as you prepare to begin trading. But you are permitted to continue sharing certain information about your business as you have in the past.  

To establish an appropriate baseline, your external communication plan should include:

  • Announcements of your involvement in major matters, litigation wins, and other noteworthy milestones
  • Timely content conveying unique positions of authority from your firm’s partners and subject matter experts
  • Media interviews that result in your partners’ appearance in the press, sharing points-of-view on issues that matter to clients 
  • Information about your firm’s social impact, e.g. pro bono and DEI initiatives 

Chances are you’re already doing many of these things as part of your owned and earned media efforts. And of course, all of these activities are valuable and worthwhile even if the opportunity or desire to take your firm public never arises. But to set your firm up to communicate more freely throughout the process of going public, begin covering all these bases by ramping up your external comms strategies now. 

2. Establish Metrics for Your Business

Partnerships are evaluated differently than publicly traded firms. The American Lawyer ranks its A-List firms based on these measurements: revenue per lawyer, associate satisfaction, diversity, pro bono initiatives, and the percentage of female equity partners. Firms rank on the AmLaw 100 according to self-disclosed or estimated figures like gross revenue, profits per partner, and revenue per lawyer. This will not satisfy Wall Street.

Law firms weighing IPOs should consider a mix of metrics that your shareholders demand – which would be similar to those disclosed by most listed companies (revenue, income, and earnings per share) – and those that you want your shareholders to track as well, such as realization rate, total billable hours and utilization rates, and client acquisition and attrition rates.  

Regardless of which metrics you choose, you need to identify them before your offering, educate investors about their value and importance during the offering roadshow, and set up systems that allow you to track those metrics on a weekly basis. Weekly? Yes. Most newly public companies trade below their offering prices within six to nine months of the IPO, often because management lacks visibility into their own metrics. This can result in quarterly financial results falling short of expectations and surprising shareholders. And surprised shareholders sell stock.   

Establishing the right metrics now — and tracking them weekly — is the best way to guard against a future market flop.

3. Identify Appropriate Comps

Investment bankers always look at comparable companies when valuing an IPO. And naturally, analysts and brokers will want research on other publicly traded firms like yours in order to better understand your performance and persuade their investors to bet on you. But until several law firms go public, it will be difficult for them to find the comps they’re looking for.

This is another area where being proactive matters. Look for publicly traded firms in industries with similar models, like consulting, to give analysts and investors the comps they’ll need to evaluate your business.

4. Adopt IPO Disclosure Policies and Procedures

As a law firm, you’ll likely have a leg up in understanding the regulatory landscape that listed companies must navigate, particularly regarding the disclosure of material information. But it’s still worth mentioning that once you’ve filed to go public, leadership and other members of the firm can no longer engage in casual conversations about financial performance and news that might impact your valuation. 

According to SEC guidelines, anything your firm discloses to one person must be disclosed to everyone. And if you share material non-public information — even if it’s done unintentionally — you could be accused of enabling insider trading.

5. Ramp Up Internal Communications 

When the time comes, it will also be essential to communicate openly with employees about your IPO and protect your firm from confidentiality breaches and legal liability. 

Employees would need to understand: 

  • The rationale and business case for the IPO
  • How the shift from a partnership model to a publicly traded model will impact them
  • Specific guidelines regarding what they can and cannot say to outsiders about their work
  • Guidance on how they should answer questions they’re asked about your IPO
  • Examples of common confidentiality breaches (like sharing information with a spouse, friend or a colleague from another firm) 

Keep in mind that going public would represent a significant organizational change. To win employee buy-in and support, you must be proactive about managing the change internally. 

Going Public Requires a New Approach to Law Firm Communication 

Embarking on an IPO could be an incredibly exciting, all-eyes-on-your-firm moment. To leverage the opportunity a public offering could present, you must start planning early. 

But it’s not enough to launch successfully. You’d also have to sustain (and build on) your success quarter after quarter and year after year. And all the while, you need to communicate with a level of openness and transparency that might feel totally foreign. 

You don’t have to make this leap alone. The Greentarget team has experience helping clients navigate the IPO landscape, and we speak the unique language of partnership-based law firms. So if your firm explores going public, we’d love to walk with you every step of the way.

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If you’re looking for tangible ways to improve your PR or professional services firm’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), you’re not alone. DEI is a key business priority for a majority of C-suite executives and in-house counsel, according to Greentarget and Zeughauser Group’s 2022 State of DEI Content report — and the most frequently mentioned area where decision makers want guidance from their service providers is on how to recruit and retain diverse talent. 

That report got me thinking about what leaders could learn from my perspective garnered from wearing various hats at Greentarget: a former intern, a current senior associate and intern coordinator, an Asian-American woman breaking into a historically and predominantly white industry, and — last but not least — a member of Gen Z who, like many of my peers, prioritizes the social impact of my work and the inclusive values of my employer. 

Two years ago, I navigated a remote internship with Greentarget in the midst of the pandemic. Last summer, I returned for an in-person internship. And today, not only am I an associate serving clients in the legal and professional services industries, with a focus on media relations — I’m also a coordinator on Greentarget’s intern team, responsible for recruiting, training, and overseeing our intern classes (whose seat I was in not too long ago), as well as expanding our diversity recruiting strategy and partnerships. 

My internships played a direct role in influencing my decision to further my career in public relations at Greentarget, not only by giving me hands-on PR experience — but also by fostering a workplace with an authentic commitment to DEI, allowing me to envision myself as a team member, mentor, and leader whose perspective would be encouraged, rather than curtailed. And as value-oriented Gen Z professionals continue entering the job market, decision makers at professional services firms can and must take proactive steps to recruit and retain young talent. 

1. Demonstrate an Authentic Commitment to DEI at Your Firm

Gen Z is the most diverse generation in American history. We actively tune into DEI conversations and want to work for organizations that align with our values. And we expect employers to go beyond the performative when it comes to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive atmosphere. 

Tackling issues of diversity and inclusion is not easy, and it’s not about establishing quotas or simply boosting your numbers. Rather, it’s about creating a workplace culture where diverse talent wants to invest their professional energies. Getting started can feel intimidating, and DEI initiatives can and should be ongoing. But the good news is there are thoughtful ways to start embedding DEI into your culture that aren’t overly complicated or expensive. 

At Greentarget, we started a book club that gives interns and employees an avenue to explore DEI-focused topics. Reading Minor Feelings, for example  — an autobiography by Korean American author Cathy Park Hong — particularly resonated with me. Not only was I able to voice how my Asian-American identity has impacted me personally and professionally, but our whole team engaged in open discourse about the Asian-American psyche, and how we can be more culturally competent in the workplace.

If you’re looking to start a similar initiative at your firm, don’t be deterred by your level of understanding about a given identity or aspect of DEI. Initiatives like our book club are, after all, about education: providing a platform for your team to share their experiences, and actively listening for insights and opportunities to become a more socially conscious professional and person.

It’s also important to give interns a seat at the table, and for them to see employees from underrepresented backgrounds taking part in the business, including as decision makers. One way we do this is to invite interns to participate in many of the same professional learning opportunities that associates and leadership team members attend — from company-wide trainings on media relations and strategy, to brainstorms during which we discuss current events and explore new pitching angles. Of course, it’s also important for interns to see diverse employees in action, whether in client-facing roles or leading internal initiatives. Representation matters.

2. Elevate Diverse Voices Internally and Externally 

It can be challenging for people of color and members of underrepresented groups to speak up and share ideas freely at work. And frankly, it can be especially intimidating to interact with powerful (often white male) senior executives. 

This is as true for associates as it is for interns.

That’s why people in positions of power within your professional services firm should look for ways to open doors of opportunity and amplify diverse voices. This can be as simple as:

  • Asking questions and truly listening to the answers 
  • Encouraging interns and young associates to share their ideas and giving them merit 
  • Staying curious about perspectives and lived experiences that differ from your own  
  • Seeking input about ways to improve your culture 
  • Offering one-on-one mentorship and support 

It’s also important for your interns to see you promote diverse perspectives through your owned and earned media efforts. Greentarget is deliberate about representation on our own Insights page. We use it as a platform to amplify voices from across our entire organization, from our CEO to associates and interns. 

The diverse employees at your firm have unique and compelling points of view that will resonate with your audience. Use your platform to make their voices heard.

3. Provide Interns Access to Meaningful Work 

The best internships offer students a glimpse of what their professional futures could look like. So if you want your internship program to become a powerful recruiting tool that advances your DEI objectives, you need to give interns work they can be excited about.

From day one of my internships at Greentarget, I felt I was part of something bigger than myself. I was able to:

  • Immerse myself in topics that matter to society as a whole — like tax law, healthcare/drug pricing, and labor/employment law
  • Create a start-to-finish media campaign addressing corporate responses to the Black Lives Matter movement and present it to the entire company 
  • Interact with and learn from junior, mid-level, and senior members of the team 

That’s not to say I didn’t also handle lower-level tasks as an intern. After all, I was there to learn the business from the ground up. But employers can elevate even menial tasks if you share the “why” behind each one. For example, I initially overlooked the importance of the media lists I assembled — but by educating my intern cohort on the media relations process and how our work shaped this process, my mentors at Greentarget illuminated the significance of a “simple” task like a media list. 

4. Connect the Dots Between Your Firm and a Larger Societal Impact

The media and the PR industry help shape our understanding of the world around us, from business trends and political news to social issues. Consider what role the media has played in cultivating your awareness of the most pressing issues today — climate change, inflation, racial and gender inequality, presidential elections and geopolitical struggles happening halfway across the world?

When most people read a Washington Post article or watch a CNN segment, they probably don’t think about everything that occurred behind the scenes to produce those pieces. Before I entered the PR industry, I certainly didn’t. But PR professionals like us at Greentarget often play a key role in helping that work come together. 

Reporters often say to me, “My reporting is only as good as my sources.” Journalists rely on trustworthy, expert authorities — lawyers, accountants, consultants, and more — to explain complex issues in straightforward language and provide credibility for the accuracy of their reporting. PR professionals may spend weeks, even months, cultivating the reporter-source relationship behind a three-sentence quote. 

Over the two years since my initial internship with Greentarget, I gained an understanding of the end-to-end media relations process that has illuminated the value in even the most routine tasks. From helping a client articulate their unique perspective on a topic, sharing that perspective with reporters, coordinating and attending an in-depth interview, and eventually seeing our clients’ words from that discussion contribute to a tangible story, I see how my efforts contribute to the larger conversation.

So, how does this apply to you? To reach intern candidates who value the social impact of their work, highlight the larger results of their role. Remind them that when they do research to ensure the stories we pitch are rooted in fact, not fiction, we help fight fake news. And underscore the reality that when they secure a writing opportunity or a quote placement for a source with a diverse perspective, they’re giving that individual the opportunity to shape a broader public discourse. 

As a PR firm with clients constantly grappling with big issues, part of our job is imbuing big stories with their insights — and interns play a foundational role in this process. Developing a media list of healthcare publications or researching energy tax credits might not seem all that exciting or meaningful. But that media list could be used to pitch a story on drug-pricing legislation affecting millions of Americans. That research might prepare an energy lawyer for an interview about sustainable financing that could help businesses or communities tap into programs aimed at reducing their carbon footprint. 

Your interns and associates — especially those who are part of Gen Z — need to see a  connection between their work and the most pressing social issues of our day. Being part of something bigger — something that’s driving progress and change — is a significant motivating force for my generation. 

Create an Inclusive Culture Interns Want to Be Part Of

As an executive leader, you set the tone for your professional services firm. It’s up to you to establish diversity, equity, and inclusion as an organizational priority and empower your team to allocate the necessary time and resources to bring new initiatives to life.

Change won’t happen overnight, and making real strides will require sustained time and effort. But if you truly want to attract and retain a more diverse workforce: now’s the time to get started.

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No matter how hard your firm tries to keep M&A talks under the radar, it’s inevitable that employees and other stakeholders will notice and start speculating about a potential changeover. And when rumors and leaks attract unwanted media attention, it’s only natural to focus on controlling the public narrative.

But it’s a mistake to de-emphasize internal communications in the process. While employees are your strongest brand stewards, they are the likeliest source of leaks. By proactively discussing a potential merger or acquisition with them at the right time, senior leadership may be able to stop (or at least significantly reduce) the spread of unhelpful rumors or misinformation around your upcoming deal. 

Even better, with a thoughtful internal comms strategy, you can empower employees to become advocates and champions of your message which, in turn, prepares your organization for a smoother post-M&A integration process. Or if a deal happens to fall through, it’s important to communicate internally why it was abandoned. 

Either way, there’s no upshot to avoiding an internal dialogue with your senior leadership, who have a line of communication to employees. It’s important to provide them with the tools to communicate to their teams about prospective deals—whether or not they close.

The Dangers of Neglecting Internal Comms During Deal Making

Employees expect transparency and vulnerability from employers now more than ever. And because they can easily amplify their own voices on platforms like Fishbowl and Reddit, you have a vested interest in helping them internalize positive, believable and strategic messages about the inevitable organizational change your M&A deal will usher in if a deal is completed. 

In particular, employees need to understand:

  • The business strategy that’s driving the merger or acquisition. Communicating the “why” of organizational evolution is a vital part of gaining buy-in and support.
  • Where your firm is headed. Paint a picture of the new work you’ll be able to take on thanks to the deal. Give employees a reason to be enthusiastic about the next stage. 
  • How the deal will affect their jobs. Even if you can’t give specific information outlining forthcoming changes to positions, roles, and responsibilities, address the elephant in the room and let employees know when they can expect to hear more, and from whom. 

Failing to communicate can result in:

  • Leaks. Whether accidentally or intentionally, employees who feel anxious and reticent are more likely to let sensitive information slip.
  • Misinformation. If you don’t provide employees with a narrative regarding your M&A transaction, they may receive and spread false details, or fill in knowledge gaps themselves. 
  • A culture of mistrust. Although every organization will always have its skeptics and cynics, you don’t want your internal culture to be defined by suspicion. A lack of trust can erode morale and impede your organization’s forward momentum.
  • Employee attrition. M&A deals can threaten employees’ sense of job security–which means they might start looking for another position, rather than risk sticking it out only to lose their job later on. 

To ensure a successful post-merger or post-acquisition integration, you need key talent to stay on board. Here’s how to communicate effectively and win their trust.

Seven Stages of Communicating About M&A Internally

As important as it is to regularly communicate with internal stakeholders, the fact remains that there’s a right and a wrong way to do it. Legally, there will be details you can’t disclose until the contract is signed. 

There are basic stages of communicating an M&A deal externally. In what follows, we’ll explain how to align your internal communications plan with those steps, assuming a deal has closed, or will soon. Some stages can even be applied to deals that have fallen through.

1. Rumors and Speculation

You may not be able to provide much detail about preliminary M&A negotiations as rumors swirl–but even a simple acknowledgment of the situation can quell employee anxiety. This is also the time to solidify your comms plan, so you can roll it out once you’re able to share more details. 

Meet with your senior executives and managers to explain the situation at a high level and arm them with talking points. Instead of a knee-jerk response to rumors, employees will appreciate information from a trusted source (e.g., a direct manager) and are more likely to wait for more information than fan the flames of speculation.

Identify your internal audience segments and think through the questions they’re most likely to ask. Then empower regional leaders, practice leaders and front-line supervisors to cascade your message to the employees within their purview. This can be done a number of ways, depending on existing internal communications protocols and cadence. Tools range from a simple statement to an FAQ to an agenda item for a regular staff meeting with talking points.

2. Confirmed M&A Talks 

As soon as you’re able to publicly confirm you’re in talks regarding a merger or acquisition, let employees know, too. Provide the initial rationale for exploring this move and share how it could advance your firm’s overall growth strategy. 

Be careful about the optics as you proceed. If one firm is doing the acquiring and another is being acquired, don’t categorize the move as a merger of equals. Rather, make sure both firms are communicating a unified message that articulates how the deal is a force multiplier for all involved.

Consider how you’ll address concerns about redundancies as well. If you can truthfully tell employees that you don’t expect any reductions in your workforce, say that. If layoffs will be part of the deal, give employees as much assurance as you can without providing false hope.

3. Speculation on Business Case 

Once you’ve confirmed your firm is in talks regarding an M&A transaction, people may begin to dig deeper into your business case. Anticipate that your employees may have questions (or even doubts) about your stated reasons behind exploring the deal. 

To manage this stage effectively: 

  • Leverage the pre-established communications cascade to counter incorrect narratives.
  • Clarify the rationale and restate the business case to reinforce prior messaging.
  • Communicate clearly and transparently about the organizational changes you foresee occurring as a result of the deal.

If you begin to encounter concerns and objections you didn’t see coming, use this moment as a gut check. It’s never too late to make sure your stated business case aligns with your firm’s overarching mission and values.

4. Progress Updates

As talks continue, internal stakeholders will gradually become accustomed to the impending change. They may ask fewer questions and speculate less about what’s coming. Even so, it’s important for you to stay ahead of the narrative and continue communicating regularly. 

The more you can share about the deal’s progression, the more you can turn employees into advocates who advance your message and correct misinformation within their sphere of influence. 

5. Quiet Period Around Closing the Deal

The most precarious point of any merger or acquisition is when it’s time to seal the deal. During this stage, you really do need to go dark and stop communicating externally and internally while the parties involved iron out the final details.

But if you’ve adhered to a proactive internal comms strategy, you’ve laid the groundwork and have made your business case with stakeholders. That means you can afford to hold the line and maintain silence for a short period of time until you can make an official announcement.

6. Official M&A Deal Announcement

When it’s time to announce your merger or acquisition, do your internal audience the 

courtesy of sharing the news with them first. 

For your employees and stakeholders to truly embrace and champion this change, they need to know:

  • Specific details regarding how the deal will be structured, especially if there will be changes to how employees should talk about and deliver your firm’s brand promise.
  • The best way to respond to client inquiries and concerns.
  • Any immediate changes to the way roles and responsibilities are structured — as well as an overview of changes that will be rolled out over time.

Although the news of the deal should come from the top first, use the communications plan you’ve already established to further socialize the message and anticipated merger integration activities and roles across the organization.

7. Post-Announcement Integration

In this final and ongoing stage, it’s time to turn your organization’s collective eye to the future. What will your firm achieve in the coming week and months? How do you plan to bring your separate entities together? What efficiencies and synergies do you expect to achieve as a result? And who can employees turn to when they have questions and concerns along the way? 

It’s wise to ramp up face-to-face communication strategies during this transitional period. Use group meetings, forums, and town halls to underscore the shared values that will guide your continued integration efforts.

Keep Internal Stakeholders Engaged During Your Merger or Acquisition

Partners and employees are the lifeblood of your firm. And in order to advance your M&A-driven growth strategy, you need these key advocates to be properly informed and on your side. A deal is an opportunity to reiterate firm strategy and get your people excited about the future.

That’s why you can’t afford to go silent when a merger or acquisition is on the horizon. It’s imperative to get ahead of the rumor mill, address speculation head-on, and give employees the “why” behind the business strategy you’re advancing. 

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