We were asked to prepare an employee memo to address a potential internal/employee issue threatening the reputation of Whole Foods. In the memo, I discuss two ways to measure employee attitudes and six internal strategies that I planned to use to align employee values with the company mission.

1. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND REPUTATION: MEMO 1
Employee Engagement and Reputation Management: Memo
Matt Gilhooly
PUR 6616: Corporate Reputation and Communication
Professor Donohue
February 10, 2021

2. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND REPUTATION: MEMO 2
TO: Communication Director, Whole Foods
FROM: Matt Gilhooly, Employee Communication Manager
DATE: February 10, 2021
SUBJECT: OTS – Employee Morale – Reputation Damage
As you are aware, our employees are struggling with the OTS process. Although we
implemented this system to increase efficiency and time with customers, employees do not
directly see its value. Specifically, employees see OTS as a punitive task, creating fear, which
lowers employee morale and affects reputation (Peterson, 2018). We are losing valued, long-
term employees because of it.
This news is concerning because employees are ambassadors of Whole Foods (Smudde, 2013),
and "the existence of social media" means that anyone with a presence has an impact on the
reputation of our brand (Landau, n.d.). We want to avoid negative impressions of Whole Foods
through what our employees share on social media and in their lives (Gianfagna, 2016).
Therefore, we must engage our employees and align the team with our company mission to
protect our reputation (Doorley & Garcia, 2020, p. 142).
Internal Recommendations
The recommendations below will help align our employees and management to the corporate
mission and improve our internal reputation, hopefully enhancing our external reputation. The
Whole Foods' leadership and communications team must:
1. Consistently "operate with transparency, honesty, and accountability" in all
interactions with employees (Doorley & Garcia, 2020, p. 149). This includes following
through with promised actions. "Communicators need to be the trusted advisor"
(Schwartz, 2021).
2. Develop a narrative for our team of "where we're going and how we'll get there" and how
each team member contributes to meeting the goals of this new process (Doorley &
Garcia, 2020, p. 143).
3. Include our employees in developing and implementing an updated version of the OTS
process. Seeking input from the front-line employees will give Whole Foods further
insight into managing inventory and serving customers. It also provides employees
ownership of the OTS process, as "they need to feel like part of the solution" (Donohue,
n.d.).
4. Share best practices, including a list of priorities relating to customer service and our
inventory process. These shared best practices will limit uncertainty and improve
employee confidence (Doorley & Garcia, 2020, p. 172).
5. Highlight the successes of our teams in more formal ways. As we implement the OTS
process, we must look for stories of employees demonstrating the behavior we want to
see more of and showcase those examples (Doorley & Garcia, 2020, pp. 156-157).

3. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND REPUTATION: MEMO 3
6. Provide a way for employees to anonymously share input and comments (Donohue,
n.d.). We can do this through a "rumor hotline" or online form. We must follow up
through formal communication and actions.
Measuring Attitudes and Behaviors
Every three months, we should measure our employees' attitudes and their alignment with our
company mission. We should:
• Conduct an employee survey every three months, first to get a baseline measurement of
attitudes and understanding of the company mission, and then to measure changes in
employee attitudes and behaviors over time (Doorley & Garcia, 2020, p. 146). In between
surveys, we should be implementing the recommendations listed above and talking
openly with our employees. If attitudes are not improving, leaders should look at the
input provided to take corrective action.
• Engage in social listening to monitor what employees are saying about Whole Foods
online. As mentioned above, "social media makes it easy for customers, employees,
former employees… to express their experiences… with an organization" (Horrigan,
2013). We can use sentiment analysis to compare changes in employee feelings on social
media over time.
Although we are currently facing potential reputation damage, if we are authentic with our
employees and share the "what" and the "why" behind our actions, we should be able to improve
our internal reputation, thus enhancing our reputation externally (Doorley & Garcia, 2020, p.
160).
I will be glad to discuss the details of these necessary actions in our meeting on Wednesday
afternoon.

4. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND REPUTATION: MEMO 4
References
Doorley, J., & Garcia, H. F. (2020). Reputation Management (4th ed.). Taylor & Francis.
Gianfagna, J. (2016, March 8). How Your Employees’ Public Behavior Can Damage Your
Brand. Gianfagna Strategic Marketing.
https://www.gianfagnamarketing.com/blog/2016/03/08/how-your-employees-public-
behavior-can-damage-your-brand/
Horrigan, S. (2013, May 20). Is Your Organization Monitoring Its Reputation on Social Media?
SHRM.Org. https://blog.shrm.org/trends/is-your-organization-monitoring-its-reputation-
on-social-media
Landau, C. (n.d.). How to Handle and Avoid Negative Publicity. Bplans Blog. Retrieved October
23, 2020, from https://articles.bplans.com/handle-avoid-negative-publicity/
Peterson, H. (2018, February 1). “Seeing someone cry at work is becoming normal”: Employees
say Whole Foods is using “scorecards” to punish them. Business Insider Nederland.
https://www.businessinsider.nl/how-whole-foods-uses-scorecards-to-punish-employees-
2018-1/
Schwartz, D. (2021, February 10). Why can’t employee communications be exciting? Ragan
Communications. https://www.ragan.com/why-cant-employee-communications-be-
exciting/

5. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND REPUTATION: MEMO 5
Smudde, P. (2013, April 17). Employees as Ambassadors and their Effect on Corporate
Reputation. Institute for Public Relations. https://instituteforpr.org/employees-as-
ambassadors-and-their-affect-on-corporate-reputation/