by One of America’s most popular ice cream brands found itself in the news for a not-so-sweet reason earlier this week. According to a report from ABC News, a court filing from Ben & Jerry’s with the Southern District of New York alleged that parent company Unilever removed CEO Dave Stever for his liberal political stances without consulting the brand’s independent board.
It’s important to note that while it’s a subsidiary of Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s maintains its own board and is well-known for lending vocal support to social justice causes dating back decades.
The internal communications ripple effects
While much of the focus on the battle between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever has been in the public forum, there are also key factors to consider about the effects on internal comms. For example, Stever’s ouster challenges the status quo of Ben & Jerry’s organizational culture. Removing him stands to erode Unilever’s standing with employees as the parent of Ben & Jerry’s.
Montieth Illingworth, CEO of Montieth and Company, told Ragan that C-suite leaders are often reflections of a company’s mission and values.
“If the CEO doesn’t or can’t express the established values, employees may wonder ‘Are we just fair-weather friends?’” Illingworth said.
This also stands to affect employer reputation. Illingworth said that employees at companies like Ben & Jerry’s may view commitments to social issues as lip service if leaders who embody these values are removed. In many instances, companies that maintain social stances like Ben & Jerry’s are popular employers because of the stances they take, not despite them.
“If it turns out that people are scared to participate in a survey or express an opinion internally, then we’re in a moment of reckoning,” he said.
He added that great leaders need license to express sentiments that reflect the company’s values. This involves looking to long-term strategic goals rather than reacting to every single bump in the road that employees might see coming from the outside in.
“The CEO is an expression of the company’s values in a person,” Illingworth said. “We need to carefully evaluate what leaders are saying and when they’re saying it to reinforce internal culture and create minimal external risk.”
The full article can be found at Ragan Communications.