Case Study: Strengthening Communication & Engagement at HOC

Company Overview
House of Cheatham (HOC), a privately-owned hair care manufacturer with roughly 150 employees, generated more than $50M in annual revenue. Despite its commercial success, the company was plagued by poor internal communication and siloed operations. Leadership operated in a top-down manner, with little transparency or structured employee engagement.
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My Role
As Sales Support Specialist, my responsibilities extended well beyond sales support to include customer service, marketing support, graphics design, reporting and analysis, project management, and process improvement. In this capacity, I identified major communication gaps within the company and created tools to bridge them—both internally (employee morale and engagement) and externally (communication with retail partners and distributors).
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The Challenge
House of Cheatham struggled with poor internal communication. Leadership conducted closed-door boardroom meetings, expecting managers to selectively relay updates to their own teams. This resulted in:

• Employees often being “the last to know” about new products, changes, or strategies.
• Departments working in silos, unaware of each other’s challenges or wins.
• A disengaged workforce with low morale and limited trust in leadership.

Externally, communication with retail partners lacked consistency or engagement, relying primarily on one-off updates rather than structured relationship-building.
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The Solution
• Quarterly Sales Newsletter (executed): I designed and launched a quarterly sales team newsletter that celebrated successes, showcased brand highlights, and kept both internal teams and external distributor/retail partners informed. It became a consistent vehicle for visibility and recognition.
• Employee Magazine (proposed): To address morale and siloed communication internally, I developed a prototype for a quarterly employee magazine. The magazine would:

o Share leadership updates in a transparent, digestible format.
o Spotlight employees through interviews and features, increasing recognition and morale.
o Offer space for employee contributions, driving engagement and cross-department connection.
o Include educational/industry insights, reinforcing pride in the company’s mission and products.

Though the proposal was denied for nearly two years, the company eventually implemented a similar magazine, validating the idea’s long-term value.
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Barriers to Success
• Leadership undervalued structured communication and failed to prioritize transparency.
• Existing attempts at newsletters (e.g., by HR) were poorly executed, disengaging, and lacked quality control.
• Resistance to employee-driven engagement initiatives reflected a top-down culture.
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The Outcome
The quarterly sales newsletter improved visibility of team and brand wins, strengthening relationships with both internal staff and external retail partners.

The employee magazine prototype demonstrated a clear, scalable solution to bridge silos, improve morale, and create a culture of recognition. Its eventual adoption—albeit after I was gone—proved its necessity.
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Lessons Learned
• Communication is the backbone of culture. Without it, silos deepen, morale drops, and trust erodes.
• Employees are not disengaged by default—when invited into the conversation, they show pride and creativity.
• High-quality, intentional communication tools are far more effective than perfunctory “updates.”
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Tie-In to Phenyx Consulting
At Phenyx Consulting, we transform fragmented communication into cohesive systems that:
• Keep employees informed, engaged, and connected.
• Ensure leadership transparency builds trust rather than resentment.
• Use structured tools like newsletters, magazines, and communication cadences to create consistency.

This case demonstrates that when communication systems are designed with employees in mind, they not only inform—they inspire.