Reach 30,000 employees with three internal communicators

How one woman coordinates employee communications across six continents—without social media

Internal communications can be a Herculean job regardless of company size. For a company that employs tens of thousands of people worldwide and a lean communication department, the task might seem downright impossible.

But it’s a reality for communicator Ginger Kuenzel.

Every morning she goes to her job at Thermo Fisher Scientific faced with an international audience of over 30,000 employees and a staff of two; two years ago it was just her.

Thermo Fisher, a $10 billion Massachusetts-based corporation that makes science supplies, is the result of a 2006 merger involving Thermo Electron and Fisher Scientific. This publicly-traded company now has over 30,000 employees spread across 400 locations on six continents.

Companies are growing, merging and outsourcing like never before, and as this happens they begin spanning borders and languages. Meanwhile, communication departments are asked to reach this expanding audience with skeletal resources.

Here’s how Kuenzel faces this common challenge—and what you can learn from her experience.

Lost in translation