By Rebecca Canan

Springtime means new energy, new chances, and a fresh outlook.  I’m a sucker for spring cleaning—and pretty much any opportunity for a new start.  (Case-in-point: I was the Catholic school kid who actually looked forward to going to confession.)  Spring in DC especially brings out this tendency in me—the cherry blossoms are in full bloom and the sun is finally shining after a very snowy and cold winter!

I think spring is also a great time for Communications to do a bit of cleaning and starting-over. To inspire your spring cleaning spree, I wanted to give you a few tips and ideas:

Spring Cleaning Checklist

• Clean out your list of projects. If you’re like many communicators, you have a habit of piling on activities and to-do’s without asking yourself, “Is this just clutter?  What’s the value of doing this?”  To strip out the inessentials, just copy this easy idea from PepsiCo.  Each year PepsiCo‘s Head of Communications challenges staff to fill out a worksheet with activities that they believe no longer merit Communications’ support.  This simple exercise has “turned off” ~15% of work volume for their function.  CEC members can access that worksheet here (page 15).

• Focus on the bigger picture of employee comms. Take a moment to think about all the frenetic activity that goes into employee communications (townhalls! newsletters!  CEO blogs! announcements!). Now ask yourself: how many of your activities align with the two proven drivers of employee mobilization?  Those things are (1) enabling manager-led dialogue with employees and (2) enabling peer-to-peer collaboration among employees in support of company goals.  CEC members can check out our practical guidance and tactics on HOW to take action in both areas.
• Give your newsroom a makeover. In our recent investigation of online newsrooms, we’ve found that most come up short in their content quality and degree of interactivity.  While many communicators are dabbling in social media elsewhere, their “official” newsrooms often contain a long list of dated, pdf press releases.  Blah!  You can get tips on newsroom improvements in Dana’s recent blog post and our new resource for CEC members on How to Build a Leading Online Newsroom!
• Practice ignoring the “beeps” in your life. Think about all the interruptions that technology brings into our lives—text messages, emails, office chats, gchats, Facebook notifications, tweets, LinkedIn requests, etc.  (The NY Times wrote a really fun article about the ingenious and annoying creation that is “the beep.”)  Anyway, it’s amazing how much you can get done when you step away from your inbox for a little while (e.g., me writing this blog post right now).  Try it for 30 minutes to an hour each day and see what happens.

Any other (personal or professional) spring cleaning ideas for your fellow communicators? We’d love to hear them!  And Happy Spring!