Dear New Public Company CEO,
You’ve successfully navigated the IPO process to become a public company. Congratulations. Take a victory lap, celebrate the moment and then it’s back to work – your journey is only just beginning.
Your first quarterly earnings cycle will quickly be upon you.
As you prepare for this pivotal moment, we implore you not to overlook a critical stakeholder group: your employees. As potentially one of your staunchest advocates in building reputation and delivering long-term shareholder value, engaging them directly and thoughtfully is essential.
Your employees are listening
Make no mistake – your employees will be paying close attention to your earnings announcements. Many own stock and will care deeply about market price movements and the factors driving them. And all have a vested interest in the success of the company. They want to understand how the company is performing and whether management's external narrative aligns with what they're hearing, experiencing and feeling each day.
Their interest isn’t passing curiosity — it's a litmus test. Is leadership credible and is the organization transparent?
Your employees will listen to the conference call, read media coverage and digest social media commentary. They'll compare these external messages with what they hear in internal meetings and see in their day-to-day work. A disconnect between your public posture and your private communications can erode trust and create confusion about the company's direction.
Employees’ psychological connection to earnings
For employees, quarterly earnings serve multiple purposes beyond simple financial reporting. And yes, some of those purposes are emotional and psychological.
First, earnings are a scorecard. They are a way to measure how effectively the organization is executing against its stated objectives.
Second, the public market validates your strategy. When analysts and investors respond positively to your results, it reinforces to employees that they're part of an organization winning in the market with a clear path forward. Momentum is a powerful force.
And finally, earnings help create a connection between individual contribution and company performance. Employees want to see their sweat equity recognized in the financial results and investor perception. Seeing how their efforts, whether driving sales, controlling expenses or managing risk, contribute to financial results, creates powerful alignment between employees’ personal motivation and organizational success.
Our recommendations for success
Here are the key elements to successfully communicating with employees at earnings and strengthening their connection with your quarterly results:
Share your earnings press release through internal channels as soon as it becomes public, ensuring employees receive official information simultaneously with the market. This simple action reinforces that you value them as a key stakeholder. Minimizing the gap between your external reporting and internal communications also helps prevent potential misinformation from spreading.
Establish a direct communication tradition specifically focused on earnings results and business updates. This could be a town hall or written update from management. It should cover both operational and financial performance, helping employees understand not just what happened, but why it matters for the company's future.
Share and discuss relevant slides from your investor presentation with employees. The story you tell investors about your strategy and performance should align with the one you tell employees. This can help them place their role in context of the broader narrative.
Prepare to field questions, even basic ones. Don't assume employees understand financial concepts like adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP metrics or guidance. Create a safe space for fundamental questions about public company reporting and what various metrics mean for the business and by extension, the company’s share price.
When things go sideways
While we always hope for the best, earnings releases won't always go according to plan. Addressing missed guidance, external headwinds and market volatility are realities of being a public company. Employees are on the front lines when disappointments occur.
Establishing a strong communication cadence with employees from the beginning builds the trust and credibility you'll need to navigate these challenging periods. Employees who understand your strategy and believe in your long-term vision are more likely to remain engaged during difficult quarters.
If your stock experiences volatility, which is not uncommon for newly public companies, earnings communications are a moment to educate employees about normal share price fluctuations and how you, as a leader, have a pulse on the external environment.
Establishing a precedent
Your first quarterly earnings as a public company sets an important precedent for how you plan to communicate with all stakeholders going forward. By treating employees as the curious, valued, invested partners they are, you maximize the probability of building internal allies who understand your strategy, believe in your leadership and can advocate on the company’s behalf.
We're here to support you through this transition and help ensure your earnings communications strategy serves all your key stakeholders effectively.
Warm regards,
Your FGS Global team