December 2021

2022 is drawing to a close and we look back on twelve exciting months – filled with numerous exciting and sometimes very challenging communications projects. We would now like to review the past year, in which our work was particularly shaped by the themes of crisis, transformation and conflict.

The Russian War of Aggression on Ukraine – Corona Followed by the Next Crisis

When it became known that Russia was waging such a devastating war of aggression on Ukraine, we were all left breathless. Overnight, our customers faced enormous global economic impacts and accompanying uncertainties. Cessation of their Russian business, disruptions in global logistics chains, raw material bottlenecks and horrendous energy price increases are still causing them problems today.

Thus, the war has resulted in profound changes in companies and poses major challenges for the entire economy. All this has to be communicated both internally and externally. In 2022, we advised our clients from industry, trade and the real estate sector, among others, on a wide range of communication challenges with their stakeholders.

Far-reaching Change Processes through Transformation, Restructuring & Co.

Most companies today are undergoing profound transformation and change processes – be it due to disruptive market changes, the Corona pandemic or the Ukraine war, which necessitate structural adjustments.

In 2022, we had the privilege of accompanying the private equity-financed integration of established individual companies into a large European IT service provider. With the goal of bringing together fundamentally different corporate cultures, we managed to take employees along on this journey with the help of integrated communication strategies.

We also assisted a large family-run industrial company in realigning its corporate management. By creating precisely fitting role profiles, it was possible to develop a strategic CEO communication based on this and to raise executive communication to a new level.

Conflict Resolution through intensive Dialogue and Moderation

For years, one of our main focuses has been on resolving deadlocked collective bargaining disputes or internal conflict situations. These continue to increase in the current troubled and uncertain times and require intensive dialog with internal and external stakeholders. We were again very challenged in this area in 2022 and further developed our solution processes for conflict management in companies.

For example, we were able to support a leading regional healthcare company in resolving an increasingly escalating wage dispute in the mutual interest of the employees and the employer. Through an open-ended internal dialog process, we succeeded in reconciling the interests of both parties and finding long-term solutions to internal challenges.

Challenging projects in the field of crisis communication

In 2022, we at ZIEGLER again provided consulting and operational support to numerous clients in the area of acute crisis communication. The primary goal is always to protect the reputation of our clients. This was the case, for example, with a client with serious violations of compliance guidelines by the former management level or with a parent company whose subsidiary triggered an international feed scandal. 

So 2022 was again a busy year and also thanks to our great team the most successful year in our company’s history so far. We thank all our customers for their trust in us and are already looking forward to 2023.

Ulf Ziegler – Founder & Managing Partner