It’s NCAA Tournament time. Ten years ago you’d see stacks of brackets from the USA Today littered around the photocopier. A guy you’re pretty sure works in IT would walk around collecting $5 per draw.  And to catch the early games, employees would linger over a long lunch at Chili’s or hover around someone’s woefully inadequate portable television – completed bracket in hand, of course!

Today, most pools are entered, scored, and paid for through sites like ESPN and PayPal, and the afternoon games are easily accessed through online video sites and even on your iPhone or iPad. But just as surely as the inevitable winner bases their picks on a preference for Blue Devils over Bulldogs are you confronted with an annual set of statistics estimating $1 – $4 billion in lost productivity during March Madness and dire warnings of federal gambling statutes. As communicators, often charged with promoting awareness of and compliance with corporate policies, we find ourselves in the unfortunate position of policing our communication tools to prevent  these legal or productivity risks. A compelling case could be made that those efforts would be misplaced – in fact, let’s go out and encourage participation in the office pool. Read More »

Following years of layoffs or hiring freezes, many organizations are looking to grow their workforce again. Recruiters and team leaders  are doing this with a conscious eye—closely evaluating the skill sets and alignment of potential new employees with the strategic direction of the company (hopefully one of the attributes you are hiring for is an adaptability to change.)

Successful recruiters are being more than just thorough as they weed through an increasing pile of applicants. They are re-strategizing how to capture the attention of the highest performers in the marketplace (between jobs or not) to lure them into their organization. This often starts with a look at the organization’s unique employee value proposition (EVP.)

What makes the job worth it in the eyes of your employees? What motivates them to not only show up  but to put in the extra effort to succeed at their jobs? And how would they describe their experience to a potential employee?

HR may use employee engagement data and say the EVP is centered in good benefits and attentive managers, but the true value proposition of your company for potential employees lies is in the eyes of your current employees. The key to a winning employee value proposition comes down to understanding employees values and then translating their story to potential hires. To define and translate this winning EVP, the HR Recruiting team needs Communication’s help. Read More »

In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the title character is born old and progressively gets younger.  In his early life as a physically elderly man, people assume that Benjamin has seen a great deal whereas later in life after experiencing much sadness and adventure, those around his adolescent exterior presume he is naïve.  It is from this essential irony that the movie explores how perceptions of age affect our relationships.

The utility industry is experiencing its own “curious case” at the moment.  While the American workforce as a whole gets older – a trend that may accelerate in the U.S. with the raising of the social security retirement age – many of our utility members report that their workforce is rapidly getting younger, perhaps due to a set of private retirement benefits that allows for more turnover.  In the movie, Benjamin ultimately connects with those who appreciate him as an individual more than an age.  For utility members to seamlessly transition their workforces, so too must they embrace individuals over demographics.  Read More »

By Kirsten Robinson

Did you know?

CEC research found that executives think articulating strategic objectives internally is twice as important as other leading business goals—including securing key stakeholder buy-in and coordinating strategy messages. And, the most important means for communicating these objectives isn’t through electronic forms or through cascaded memos, but through dialogue. Employees feel personally connected to the company when they receive information through direct, face-to-face conversations with their manager. What begins as a successful one-on-one dialogue ripples out and results in thriving business.

The problem is that while company success depends on effective communications, most managers aren’t very good at it. There can be many reasons—competing priorities or lack of self awareness. Whatever the case, poor dialogue skills are detrimental to achieving good business results; it sets back schedules, it weakens relationships, and it decreases employee motivation. We’ve also been hearing from members who are facing  pushback from managers who lack the drive to learn advanced dialogue skills or just assume that communication is someone else’s job.

But line managers are the preferred source of communication—and by way of ripple effect, they can make or break business results. So, how can your Communications team help managers become better communicators? We’ve created an online training tool, Investing Employees in Business Results Through Dialogue, to help managers improve their communications skills and gain employee buy-in. The training module helps managers to: Read More »

A culture of communication.  Sounds like a communicator’s dream. Yet it is also even more of a necessity when facing the communications environment we’re operating in:

• The number of channels for Communications to “fill” is ever-expanding
• The bar for content relevancy is higher than ever before
• The interactive nature of Communications –and the resulting demand to keep-up with “always-on” channels – is unsustainable, especially for smaller Communications teams

I recently had the opportunity to join a group of “small shop” communicators for a two day workshop on Creating a Culture of Communication. We discussed these challenges and came to the conclusion (backed by CEC research) that to achieve a culture of communication, active dialogue—i.e., outside of dialogue led by Communications—needs to be occurring across the organization.

For many communicators this is a formidable task.  You’re facing managers who think that hitting forward on company message counts as communicating; CEOs who fear what employees might say if you were to put a comment feature at the bottom of their messages; and autonomous business units who don’t have a natural reason to share feedback or ideas.  A culture of communications may sound like an impossible dream gift on a communicators’ holiday wish list. But, every company has stakeholders that like them.  And at every company (yes, even yours), there are a portion of those stakeholders who actually talk about the company. Read More »

What if you overheard a story around the water cooler?  And instead of the typical office gossip, your colleagues were discussing good news. And you reacted: “wow, this message is spreading like fire among employees (and outside the organization) and that was exactly our goal”?

Research shows that engaged employees are more productive, exhibit less absenteeism and are more likely to stay at their company longer. So how can you capture the power of a passionate group?  The Allstate Insurance Company has proven that engaging them as Ambassadors can drive positive business results.

Allstate’s exclusive, in-the-know employee group has been designed from the bottom-up with the goal of expanding the company’s network of advocates to promote its brand and reputation.

CEC members, join us and Laura Glaza, member of the Reputation Leadership team from Allstate, on November 18th to hear how they’ve designed the program and how the movement has created ambassadors who are excited about speaking on behalf of the company. We guarantee that this is not your standard “corporate” ambassador program. Register here.

For a sneak peak into how the program works, read on.

Read More »

I am as guilty as anyone of listening to the rumour mill. Information just seems so much more exciting when it’s a little bit illicit.  Whether it’s while you are making a cup of coffee (or tea for us Brits), grabbing lunch, or passing each other in the corridor, these informal exchanges with colleagues are the most powerful flow of information in your company. So, who are the most influential nodes in your employee network? How can we leverage the conversations already going on for our strategic advantage?

CEB has been partnering with Rob Cross, an expert in all things to do with social networks, to better understand the answers to some of these questions. Rob has developed a scientific approach of mapping influence across organizations and highlighting those individuals who hold disproportionate power – those who excite and build energy, and those who kill it – within employee networks. We are excited to host a webinar with Rob on the 20^th July to share some of the themes from his work.  CEC members can register for the webinar today.

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By Laura Newman

I am embarrassed to say that I watched “Out of Africa” for the first time just a few days ago. There’s no doubt I have a soft spot in my heart for Africa—I’ve spent close to a combined three months in Uganda and Kenya, I was in South Africa  for the World Cup two weeks ago (it’s Ayoba time!), and I’ve even visited the Nairobi farm of Karen Blixen, the author of “Out of Africa.” But I’d never gotten around to actually watch Meryl Streep fall in love with Robert Redford in the film.

When I finally curled up on the couch to watch it in my London flat last Monday, I was swept away by the beautiful scenery and passionate romance. But I was also encapsulated by another aspect of the movie—the importance of storytelling.

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Before the namesake of ObamaCare was in the U.S. Senate, I completed an undergraduate certificate program in Health Policy, primarily to stay on the family payroll for an extra semester.  Last week, those extra credits foolishly prompted me to volunteer this entry on what communicators should know and do about the reform bill.  Fortunately, our sister program serving benefits executives has produced a tidy 6-page summary of key provisions, but it may be more fortunate that they have us, as their recent online survey revealed communications about the bill as their most immediate concern.

Here are the most important things for corporate communicators to know right now about the health care reform bill:

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Over the past six months, I’ve been touring the world to meet with CEC members about the topic of Mobilizing the Workforce (some of the best work CEC has ever done, IMHO). One of the central themes is the power of personal connection…when employees can see a clear link between their daily work and the organization’s larger mission. These employees are proven to work smarter and harder on the things that matter most…and hey, who couldn’t use more of THAT these days?

But how can we as communicators help every single employee make that connection? The short answer is simple: WE can’t. That responsibility has to rest with the managers throughout the organization—the people who employees know, and have some kind of relationship with.

At this point, you might be wondering, OK…so how can I help managers create that connection? I think you already know. And I think I can prove it. Read More »