Table of Contents 6 2012 OVATION Awards Winning Entries

Solutions Overview:
In 2005, Meridian was created through a merger of two legacy credit unions – HEPCOE and Niagara
Credit Union—leveraging the key learning from that legacy merger would play a vital role in creating a
communications plan to inform staff of the amalgamation while ensuring new employees from the
former DCU felt welcomed and not overwhelmed by all the changes.
Guiding Principles ‐ Communications tactics were developed based on the following principles:
Use simple, easy‐to‐understand language (minimize jargon);
Repeat key messages consistently and communicate regularly;
Provide business context and relevance to explain why change is occurring and how it supports
Meridian, our Members and our employees;
Foster an open, two‐way communication environment where employees can provide feedback and
ask questions;
Ensure people directly impacted by change initiatives (specifically, former DCU employees) are
informed in a face‐to‐face (leader‐led) manner where possible; and
Leverage existing internal communication vehicles and create new tools/channels as appropriate
Communication
All components of the plan contained a communications strategy focused on:
Building compelling key messages so employees (Meridian and DCU) understood the benefits of the
amalgamation and how it would benefit Members and impact the employee’s day‐to‐day work life.
Providing tactical support to leaders (e.g., speaking points, Q&As) to ensure all key messages were
communicated on a consistent basis.
Ensure Meridian executives and leaders delivered important messages face‐to‐face wherever
possible to build employee engagement and understanding of the amalgamation process; this
involved multiple roadshows to all the DCU branches from key Meridian executives including the
CEO.
Tailoring messages across a wide variety of media (e.g., meetings, intranet, email) to ensure updates
are relevant, streamlined, and provide the right level of detail for all audiences.
Execution
This strategy included communications tactics that had proven successful within Meridian in previous
years, including:
Announcement ‐ (Communications tailored to Meridian Employees – not DCU employees):
Early Word Call – an all‐employee conference call lead by the CEO to announce to all staff
Meridian’s intention to amalgamate with DCU. This tactic was key in conveying the key message
that no Meridian employee would lose his/her job as a result of the amalgamation.
Follow‐up Email From CEO – Following the Early Word Call, an email from the CEO was sent to all
Meridian employees outlining the key messages of the announcement.
Team Huddles & Employee Information Package – A special team huddle was scheduled for all
Meridian managers (both in the branch network and the corporate offices) to meet with their team
to answer any questions from staff. All employees were also given an employee information
package that contained a letter from the CEO, Chair of Meridian’s Board of Directors, Employee