Traditionally, printed newsletters, bulletins, and corporate magazines have been the main vehicles for internal communications outreach.  However, with shrinking budgets and increasing demands on the communicator’s role, as well as greater IT reliance, many CEC members are rethinking their newsletter’s frequency and content and questioning its overall usefulness.  Some companies are going as far as phasing out their physical publications completely and relying on intranet and email to achieve the traditional newsletter’s role of engaging employees and keeping them atop latest news and company strategies.

A recent question regarding the newsletter’s role sparked a lively debate on our CEC Employee Communications Forum.  Here are some interesting points made by our members regarding the frequency and optimal distribution channels for corporate newsletters.

1. Let the content determine its own frequency.

While it makes sense to share long-term, strategy focused company-wide announcements in quarterly publications, distributing news, event details, and other time-sensitive content on a quarterly (or even bi-monthly) basis often makes the content irrelevant  by the time it reaches your audience.  A longer publishing timeframe also makes it a struggle to get employees to share their own news and stories – by the time they get published, the information stops being relevant.  Some members address this issue by publishing corporate and local news items on the intranet, and retain their quarterly newsletter for the sole purpose of sharing company-wide, longer term, strategy-focused organizational communication. Read More »

I’ve never been in the military.  That’s a good thing. For me…for America…for mankind.  If World War III ever breaks out, I hope they need a decent bugle player — ’cause that’s the only vaguely Army-ish thing I can do that wouldn’t result in some kind of horrible friendly-fire tragedy.

But one thing I remember hearing from my Dad, my uncles, and other true patriots who are better-suited for cammo and ammo than I — is a lesson some progressive Comms practitioners are beginning to realize:

No battle plan ever survived the first shot.

Hey, sure…you can do all the planning, plotting and strategizing you want — if it makes you feel better. But if you seriously think that anything prepared at the beginning of the year will carry your Comms strategy all the way through the next 12 months, then perhaps you’ve been standing a little too close to the bomb range (as my Uncle Benny might say).

Some of the smartest Heads of Communications I know are asking themselves, “What if — instead of working so hard to create the perfect Comms annual plan — we honestly admit that the most strategic thing we could do is to work WITHOUT a formalized plan?”

Now that’s radical. Read More »

Kathleen Ryan Mufson, Director, Corporate Citizenship at Pitney Bowes

(Special thanks to our guest blogger, Kathleen Ryan Mufson, Director, Corporate Citizenship & Philanthropy at Pitney Bowes, who attended the CEC’s recent CSR meeting. Coming out of the meeting, Kathleen shared the following thoughts and takeaways. This post originally appeared on the Pitney Bowes Corporate blog.)

Quick! What comes to mind when you hear the terms Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Responsibility, Sustainability, Corporate Citizenship, and, my new favorite, Corporate Social Intelligence?  Did you answer environmental stewardship? Perhaps philanthropy and volunteerism sounded right.  Governance? Diversity?  Ethics?  Maybe you thought about all of these and more.   When it comes to nomenclature, this is an area with many evolving terms, but given its dynamic role in driving value for companies and communities that’s probably a good thing.

On Tuesday, I participated in an engaging roundtable discussion on “Driving a Strategic CSR Agenda.”  The event, sponsored by the Communications Executive Council of the Corporate Executive Board was hosted by Chevron Corporation in their Washington, D.C. offices.    The other participants and I were eager to learn new approaches to aligning CSR with business strategy and objectives.  The forum did not disappoint.

The discussion was thought provoking, challenging companies to focus on strategic innovations, employee engagement and strong alignment to the business.  Other takeaways drove home the importance of structured stakeholder engagement and staying true to your company’s culture.

One thing is clear: Companies who embrace, embed and nurture this strategic business function are on the right path for competitive differentiation and success in the 21^st century business environment.

At Pitney Bowes, we’ve been leading in CSR since before the first term was coined.  We understand its value to our business, our strategy, our employees, and our relationships with customers and community partners.  More important, we continually look for ways to further advance our results and drive positive change in our communities.

For the latest on Pitney Bowes’ CSR efforts go to www.pb.com/responsibility, and feel free to share what your organization is doing to drive positive change in the community.

Note from the CEC: We will be hosting our next CSR meeting on 30 March in London. CEC members, register here!

By Kirsten Robinson

Graphic and disturbing footage of Japan’s earthquake and ensuing tsunami serve as a solemn reminder that large-scale crises can—and will—occur at any time. In the aftermath, tens of thousands of stranded office workers wandered the streets of Tokyo, searching for transportation and a way to contact relatives.

Good communication is absolutely critical in a crisis situation. Not only as a means for people to speak to loved ones, but to also enable them to get critical information when it’s needed most. In the wake of recent natural disasters, communicators must ask themselves—are we well-equipped to communicate with employees in a time of crisis? An executive in our Employee Communications Forum recently posed a similar question, spurring a collective of insights from other members.

Here are a few takeaways from the discussion about how other member companies utilize crisis alert systems:

• Mass Broadcast. Sending text messages, pages, e-mails and automated phone calls to pre-set distribution lists, “robo call” systems cover multiple bases with one tool. One executive’s company uses a mass broadcast notification system provided by Everbridge, which enables companies to set up user profiles specifying how individuals prefer to be contacted.  A PA system, while only useful during business hours, lets Communications reach out to the entire organization in a location at one time. Read More »

By Laura Newman

Communicators worldwide, do these comments sound familiar?

• “My CEO only cares about Rand [maybe you would say Dollars, Pounds, or Euros] and cents. If I can’t truly quantify the value of an activity or investment, he/she doesn’t bother to listen.”
• “I don’t want my team to be perceived as post-boxes, editing managers’ e-mails and updating distribution lists.” [Perhaps in your case it’s press releases, events, the intranet, or your internal publication.]
• “If I push back on requests and don’t simply do what I’m told, leadership will start asking about the purpose of our Communications team.”
• “My leadership is so ‘old school’ – they just want to count the number of articles in which they’re profiled, to build their political capital.”

This past week I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with the CEC’s South African-based members. Beyond the gorgeous Johannesburg sunshine, delicious Stellenbosch wine (the Hartenberg and Simonsig estates are my favorites), and tasty steak and venison, I led a number of conversations around business partnership, where the above quotes were surfaced.

I’ve been traveling to visit CEC members long enough now that you’d think I wouldn’t still be surprised, but on almost every trip I make, I am struck by the similarities in the challenges Communicators face worldwide.

My recent discussions have centered on defining and documenting the value of Communications, with the goal of being seen as a strategic player by business partners.

Read More »

By Kirsten Robinson

Employee recognition is a powerful engagement tool.  It’s key to keeping your top performers on board—even preferable to monetary rewards. So, while money can’t buy happiness, appreciation goes a long way in keeping employees engaged, motivated, and in high spirits.

But, for such an important part of your corporate culture, it’s not always clear who should be managing rewards and recognition programs.  The logic goes something like: If HR handles Talent Management and Total Rewards, shouldn’t they also be responsible for employee recognition? But, Communication owns employee communications, and has the best handle on using communication channels for promotions, so shouldn’t Comms own it?. In yet another battle of Communications vs. HR, an executive in our Employee Communications Forum recently sparked this debate

Here are a few takeaways from the discussion about which department should be responsible for managing rewards and recognition programs:

“Have HR handle it (as part of Talent Management and Total Rewards)”

Some companies manage awards programs under the same umbrella as their comprehensive total rewards program.  They view employee recognition as just a part of their overall Talent Management and Total Rewards approach. While Communications has a stake in the program and its success, HR’s compensation department owns recognition programs, which can include service awards and achievement-based awards. The thought here is that any rewards are aligned to the company’s overall Compensation Philosophy. Read More »

The relationship between Communications and HR is complicated. Sometimes it’s blissful, at other times, combative. Perhaps most common is the passive-aggressive “frenemy” relationship where each function feeds off of the other’s struggles and misfortunes. “Well, if you had just asked us, you wouldn’t be in that position now would you?” the one head chides the other. Even though Comms and HR often sit near one another and care about a lot of the same outcomes, they certainly don’t always get along. That’s a problem—especially in today’s agile enterprises. In CEC’s latest meeting with Gurus of Communications, we learned that—when it comes to leading the agile enterprise—our gurus fell into two camps. The first camp, we’ll call them, “Camp Comms,” believes that Communications has the potential to lead the organizations’ efforts to be more agile. Camp Comms pointed to three reasons for Communications’ leadership.

1. Communications is already seen by executives as the owner of change. For example, the mission of one function starts with, “As agents of change, we shape the beliefs…”
2. HR is ill-equipped to own this emerging responsibility. While HR has proven itself adept at handling succession and benefits challenges, the function hasn’t dealt with large-scale change from a multi-stakeholder perspective. Managing stakeholders is Communications’ bread and butter.
3. “Building an agile organization” is no small task, and it lays out a huge chunk of real estate that no one currently owns, so why shouldn’t Communications be the one to take up this mantle? Communication is the lifeblood of agile enterprises. The function has an unprecendented opportunity to redefine itself and leave a lasting impact on the organization.

These are fighting words, Heads of HR. What’s your rebuttal? Read More »

February is awards season–Grammys, Oscars, BAFTAs, oh my! Awards season means one thing—inside access. Will Lady Gaga be wearing another meat dress? Where is Usher hosting the after party? Why are Tom and Katie still together? Don’t worry–TMZ, E!, and Perez Hilton have their legions of citizen-paparazzi on it!

While I can’t offer you an exclusive look at Oscar-host Jake Gyllenhaal’s dressing room, I can provide you with a sneak peek into one of the most exciting events in CEC’s history—CEC’s US-Based Guru Meeting hosted by Ray Jordan, Corporate Vice President, Public Affairs and Corporate Communications at Johnson & Johnson. We decided to host an event in the US after a highly successful European edition graciously hosted by Andre Manning, Head of Corporate Communications, at Royal Philips Electronics in my new favorite city, Amsterdam.

The Guest List at Our Upcoming Meeting- Senior communications executives from:

• Johnson & Johnson, Wal-Mart, Southwest Airlines,
• ConAgra, MasterCard, TD Bank, Intuit,
• Chevron, Bombardier, Cargill, Bayer, and Colgate-Palmolive

Who will wear the best pin?  Who will bring the best swag to share with the group? Who will devise the “best practice” of 2011? Read More »

By Laura Newman

I must admit I am quite proud. It is nearly one month into 2011 and I seem to have upheld at least one of my many New Year’s resolutions – allowing myself more quality time to read. (I suspect the fact that I recently moved neighborhoods and consequently replaced the luxury of walking to work with a hectic Tube journey certainly helped to provide the time to disconnect from my blackberry and hide behind my book.)

I most recently devoured Dan Ariely’s “Predictably Irrational.” (No, I haven’t gotten to his new best seller “The Upside of Irrationality” yet and no I didn’t only enjoy the book because of the connection to my alma mater, Duke University!). This delightful read presented a great balance of amusing anecdotes and thoughtful guidance.  From the lens of behavioral economics, Professor Ariely examines the way we make daily decisions – anything from ordering a meal at a restaurant to deciding how much money to save – and argues that we constantly make mistakes and act irrationally, but that we do so in a consistent and predictable way.

Read More »

AXA build CSR objectives from the bottom up

Here at CEC, we often hear that business partners don’t fully buy into CSR programs. It seems that CSR teams spend a lot of time understanding stakeholder expectations, and making proposals to the business about what they should be doing, often in CSR committees, or similar environments. Understandably, CSR teams are frustrated when the business fails to seize on their ideas and actually implement them.

The smart companies are making it much easier for the business to make these objectives a reality – first by getting buy-in so they want to do it, and also by making it easy for them to do so. Last week, we saw a great approach from Ford, who partner with the business to get bottom up buy-in to initiatives before going to senior leaders, and launching a new CSR initiative. What’s really smart about their approach is that it ensures that new practices are compatible with existing processes, that the managers are bought in from the offset, and that the new item won’t be rejected.

Recently, we were also really impressed to hear of a simple yet highly effective approach from insurance giants AXA. Now, although the American automotive manufacturer and the French insurer are very different entities, there is one major common denominator between their approaches; instead of using a prescriptive, top down approach, as many companies do, both companies develop new CSR initiatives in conjunction with the business units that will implement them. Read More »