Bausch & Lomb communications team: 3 + 13,000 = a global reach

‘Deputized’ colleagues provide sights, sounds and sentences from around the world.

Deputized’ colleagues provide sights, sounds and sentences from around the world

Here’s an eye-opener: Bausch & Lomb employs just three communicators. At the 13,000-employee, global manufacturer of eye- health products, one person manages internal communications, another handles external comms, and the third toggles between the two.

As their responsibilities grew—and the department didn’t—the communicators simply turned to a resource they had plenty of: their colleagues in other departments.

“We looked around and said, ‘What do we have?’ ” says Mike McDougall, vice president of corporate communications and public affairs. “We have a great workforce around the world that’s more than willing to step in and help.”

McDougall calls this “deputizing employees.” He simply asks employees to handle a variety of internal and external communications tasks, including posting videos to an internal YouTube site, writing articles for the intranet, and monitoring social media and the news.

“Sometimes all it takes is you asking the question or making the request,” he says. “The requests are reasonable as well so they don’t mind doing it.”

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