Don Foley: Recent news reports indicate that non-financial U.S.-based corporations are sitting on $1.8 trillion dollars in cash, a figure significantly higher than prior to the near-catastrophic economic meltdown of the fourth quarter of 2008. At a time when many analysts are openly speculating that the U.S. may endure a “double-dip” recession, corporations are playing it safe, and, rather than hiring back workers lost in the recession, they are looking to conserve resources.

“Lack of confidence” is the phrase most often used by corporate America as well as political analysts to describe the economic outlook ahead. Some speculate that the severity of the downturn of 2008-2009 and the failure to see demonstrable progress since then have fed the widespread view that a recovery may need to be long under way for corporate America to view it as a sustained one.

In response to the unease about economic growth, consumer spending, alarm over the federal deficit, concerns that the federal stimulus efforts were insufficient and a growing unease over the burdens of federal regulation, corporations have adopted a “back to basics” approach, focusing on the nurturing of employees in lieu of bonuses, pay raises and promotions, and a community focus in their external presence. CSR as we have known it has become local QSR.

A recent survey by Duke University of 1,000 CFOs showed that 60 percent did not believe employment levels in their companies would attain pre-recession levels until 2012 or later. Many existing employees would first need to be moved from part-time to full-time status before wholesale hiring can occur.

Corporations are looking for guidance on doing more with less and burnishing their image in the face of lost jobs and careers that, in some cases, may never return. For many, the best advice is to continue to do more with less while communicating the values and community commitment that underpin their hopes for a brighter future.

Sabine Hueckmann: In the south of Germany, the economy definitely is recovering, but the region usually is not as affected by changes in the general economy. Being good planners and not spending a lot of money is consistently part of the business mentality, especially in Stuttgart. So, we don’t fall as far, and we recover faster. The exceptions have been engineering and manufacturing companies, which were severely hit by the crisis and are not yet recovering.

Many of the largest multinational companies are “hidden champions,” market leaders that are not consumer-facing. So their communications are focused on other businesses that are their customers. A challenge many companies face is that while the economy is recovering, there often is still a lack of resources. Customers are demanding more, but companies cannot always deliver. To maintain long-term relationships, it is essential that companies communicate honestly with customers about what they can do and when. The recovery period should be a time of real cooperation among businesses. This is much easier to do when companies have focused on building relationships during good times.

South Germany also is home to many mid-sized companies that are either family-owned or owned by a trust or foundation. Because they are not publicly traded, they have much more freedom to communicate. During the crisis, some of these companies continued to invest in communications and marketing programs to build long-term brand loyalty and avoid losing customers to cheaper brands. Now that economic times are better, those who spent money for brand loyalty are now spending money for sales activities. Their efforts have fallen onto good ground.

For companies that did not continue communications to build brand loyalty, it is not too late. However, even if resources are still tight, this is not the time to do less of the same. Instead, look for new ways to reach consumers, such as digital media, which can offer direct access to targeted groups. Be daring. One way to do this is to let consumers know that the brand doesn’t just give a blind discount, but that you consider the circumstances of an individual’s life. For instance, a person who uses fewer phone minutes than is in the standard plan could pay for the minutes used, rather than a more costly flat fee.

Chris Liu: Over the past six to nine months, we have seen multinational clients in Greater China proactively gearing up efforts to communicate their business achievements, particularly in ramping up business expansions, product launches, and service enhancements that demonstrate their commitment to the region. Many of these stepped-up communication efforts were conceived with a conscious focus on how corporations can take advantage of market recovery and leverage new impetuses for growth – especially given the strong domestic market potential that somehow defies the still largely fragile global economic environment.

Indeed, Greater China has been the region where most companies maintained a relatively high level of communications efforts even during the heat of the financial turmoil in 2008-2009 because the market continued to show vigorous growth. Much of these marketing and communications efforts looked at how best to build brand dominance in a domestic market that echoes the target consumers’ psychologies and unique local retail trends, rather than translating global brand strategies into the local context, as had been the case in the past.

As corporations are reinvesting in communications to benefit from the economic recovery, corporate social responsibility and sustainable initiatives are increasingly important considerations. Despite its relatively sanguine economic performance, as well as a series of global events staged in the country, China has, over the past two years, been suffering major natural and other disasters as well as increasing social tensions created by rapid urbanization. Corporations are wise in integrating strong CSR and sustainability themes into their broader communications efforts. Doing so demonstrates their social sensitivity as well as a heightened sensibility toward the call for sustainable development and environmental conservation, both in China and globally, that followed last December's Copenhagen conference.

Paul Teuton: In London, it feels like economic recovery is happening more quickly than reported in some other areas. The buzz is back, and there has been a marked improvement in optimism in this part of the world, but it is definitely still peppered with caution. We will wait to see what impact the “harsh but fair” emergency budget from the new government will have, but with the renewed optimism has come a significant shift in the tone of internal communication and employee engagement approaches.

The doom and gloom has lifted a little for most of our clients and the messages are less about “We will get through this together” and more about “This is how we will build and grow our business for a stronger future.” The expectations of the employee population have shifted in parallel with this. For instance, similar to the housing market, the job market has come out of hibernation, and hiring has started again. Employees’ mindsets are moving from “I’m lucky to have my job” to weighing their options and thinking about how the company treated them during the harder times. This brings reactions along the spectrum of “I’m getting out of here as quickly as I can” to “They were decent and looked after their people – this is a good place to be.”

I simplify this, of course, but the behavior of your company during the recession has shown the true colors to your employees – mainly those of the company culture and/or the leadership. The challenge for organizations (and communicators) at this stage is to assess what perception has been created with the employees over the last 18 months and decide what your leadership team needs to communicate and do in response to that. Do you need to apologize and make amends, or have you built up an excellent level of trust and loyalty? Or do you even care? The chances are if the behavior has been judged to be poor by employees, you will have a retention problem . . . and you do care. If you have communicated well and treated people fairly throughout the recession, then you have probably turned adversity into an opportunity and are unlikely to have the retention problem. In fact, you are probably well-placed as the war for talent resumes. The question for the “well-behaved” organization is this: Are you capitalizing on that competitive advantage you now have by using it to engage your employees and build your employer brand?

Valéria Perito: The economic crisis hit Brazil in a different way. Actually, companies – especially multinationals – lived through an uncertainty period and were very cautious about their moves during the first half of 2009. They cut back on their most ambitious projects and reduced their number of employees. In the second half, things changed and companies started investing again and resuming their projects, including communications. During this period, companies focused on sharp, short-term projects for specific publics, including internal audiences, community and consumers. They also focused on increasing transparency and strengthening relationships.  

Today, more than ever, companies need communication results that can impact their businesses and strengthen corporate image. After the economic crisis, companies should be more open to debate with consumers and overall audiences. They should focus on strategic communication projects that gather social media, online and offline tools, lots of creativity and innovation. With many organizations still watching their spending, companies should embrace those ideas that don't need a lot of budget but still help them escape the commonplace.