By Kirsten Robinson

As communicators, you play a large role in shaping the culture of your company. In doing so, oftentimes the focus is on what differentiates you as an employer or supplier—the thing(s) that make people want to work for you or purchase from you. But what about the basics? Respect. Professionalism. Commitment. How do you communicate these to employees when core values begin to slip, without coming off as too heavy handed or disrupting the rest of your corporate culture mojo?

An executive recently asked our Employee Communications Forum just that. He was interested in how other members run a cultural program that builds a positive, supportive, responsive workplace with trust, respect and commitment. Read More »

By Kirsten Robinson

Good communication skills are fundamental to every successful relationship. In time for the holidays, let’s think about the film Home Alone in which series of miscommunications results in young Kevin being left behind while the rest of his family travels to Paris over Christmas. And while the boy successfully fends off burglars, I can’t imagine anyone would be happy with such a scary misunderstanding.

Poor communication doesn’t just affect personal relationships—it also hinders us professionally. Employees can’t learn how to improve their performance if they have little clarity on what the company really wants to prioritize. Successful communications begin with the sender of the message, so it’s essential for executives to package information as effectively as possible to ensure that employees are able to decode it. Read More »

By Kirsten Robinson

It’s no secret that the growth of digital publishing has required communications departments in all industries to rethink content delivery. And it’s not just for external audiences. Internal communications are also changing. Many companies are shifting from publishing a monthly magazine for employees to posting short blogs on an intranet. When channels change, your approach to the content itself must also adjust. Traditional print stories call for formal, fact-heavy text, while web writing should take a conversational tone.

Regardless of format, sources are what make a news story credible, and for most companies, valuable quotes from employees are essential for internal stories. But, transitioning print news to internal blog posts affects attribution—so, how do other companies incorporate employee voice without sounding too “newsy”? An executive in our Employee Communications Forum recently asked a similar question. Here are a few takeaways from that discussion:

• Avoid ghostwriting. CEC members who contributed to the discussion agree that attributing a blog post to an employee who didn’t write it will raise credibility issues. Ghostwriting also engenders homogeneity, as blogs lack the individual writing styles of each employee.
• Use a conversational tone. Blog posts are less formal and should have a free-flowing, personal voice. Try cutting back on jargon and corporate-speak. One member recommends removing quotation marks to make employee attribution more casual.
• Add videos. Putting employees on camera can be a great way to supplement posts or cover full stories. Short videos enable employees to add their own voice, and also make it clear who’s providing the information. Using a simple Flip camera works well here.
• Use quotes to tell the story. Instead of quoting an employee once, one member suggests using their quotes to write the post. Other members suggest using a simple Q & A structure.

How do you keep blog posts from sounding too “newsy”?

Related CEC Resources:

• Create content that will be easily shared. See how Intuit crafts “Tweetable” speeches.
• See how Aviva, Sprint, TD Bank, and Sabre source stories from employees and allow them to share their own with one another.
• Help executives tailor their voice for the web:Westpac’s Internal Discussion Forum

As economies went into freefall roughly two years ago, executives across different functional areas converged on a short set of priorities.  In fact, you might say just one priority – survival.  That meant shedding costs and doing anything possible to drive cash flow, quickly.  But as markets pulled back from the brink, functional heads returned to a (more normal) pursuit of their individual agendas, from social media adoption to staff development.

As we talk to heads of Sales, Marketing and Communications about 2011, I see a swing back to handling a common enemy – this time, ongoing uncertainty.  Uncertainty isn’t terribly attractive to most, but executives seem to be accepting it as part of the new normal and are trying to figure out ways to live alongside it.  That presents a little differently depending on your role in the organization. 

• In Sales for example, the problem is that deals are getting “stuck” with customers whose response to uncertainty is indecision. But it looks like most sales teams aren’t doing enough to make deals easy for customers, abandoning them prematurely in the sales cycle.
• For marketers, the challenge lies in figuring out – and then using to their advantage – changes in the way customers think about purchasing (triggered by the uncertainty customers face).  Coping mechanisms like in-the-moment comparison and peer feedback are driving psychology few companies fully understand, but must.
• Communicators are trying to help their organizations deal with uncertainty.  Specifically, as companies try to become more agile and responsive, the premium on moving information and aligning the organization increases.  But those are new-ish areas to most Communications teams.

How is uncertainty affecting you and your organization?  What are you planning to do about it?  Our research makes it clear that early movers in moments like this stand to gain disproportionately. I hope you’re one of them.

By Laura Newman

As I was boarding a British Airways flight for London the other day, I overheard a mother and teenage daughter having a heated discussion about the movie, “Thirteen.”  The mother was appalled and disturbed by the movie.  You could hear in her voice that she was concerned about the peer pressure her teenager potentially faces daily.  In the movie, one troubled thirteen year-old pressures a naive classmate into stealing, taking drugs, rebelling against her mother, and causing havoc.

There is no doubt that peer pressure plays a role in the growth and development of an individual.  But that got me thinking: What role does peer pressure play in a company?  Does it influence the formation of company strategy?  Of a company’s social responsibilities?

Read More »

I just got back from a glorious ten days in Croatia (which by the way, I would HIGHLY recommend– totally beautiful and so far, unspoiled) and now that I’m back, I am noticing more than ever the constant bombardment of information, emails, & instant messages that distract me from doing any true thinking.  Matt Richtel has coined the term the “three-day effect” when you are away from all technology and distraction.  After three days you start to relax, sleep better, and lose that nervous twitch of checking your blackberry every 3 seconds.  This is probably why the average weekend just doesn’t feel long enough; you get close to relaxing and then get pulled back to reality with a thump.

The New York Times reports that the average computer user checks 40 websites a day and can switch programs 36 times per hour.  Think of what that means in terms of how much information that you are subjecting yourself to on a daily basis.  It’s no wonder we hear, “I haven’t had time to think” so often.  It is only when you actually stop reading and taking in new information that you can sit back and really think what it all means, and actually process it.  By constantly rushing from one idea to the next without giving ourselves the time to think, we aren’t giving ourselves time to know what we really think.  I’m probably not the only one who sits there and has revelations when I’m on holiday.  You realize opinions you never knew you had.  You make life-changing decisions (or at least come up with the ideas for them).  In short, you think.

So as companies are striving to add more channels to reach their employees from all angles– are we actually doing more harm than good?  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.

Read More »

Still in need of vacation plans? Come to DC!

Summer can be a corporate communicator’s worst nightmare. Naturally, employees are less engaged in their 9-5 during the summer months. We’ve all got:

• family vacations to enjoy (endure);
• baseball games to watch (have you seen this kid Strasburg?!);
• barbecues to host;
• and, for we DC folk, jazz in the sculpture garden to sweat through.

This month is especially challenging for you, corporate communicators. Beyond the typical noise and distraction, you’re competing with the most watched event on the planet—the World Cup. Look to your right and left. Your colleagues who suddenly have earphones on in the morning are not listening to soothing, motivating Enya. They’re likely plugged into ESPN360.com or Univision to follow the action. Basically, no one is listening to you.

So take a break, right? Let people have fun for a few months, and reboot your engagement efforts when the sun starts to set earlier, the kids are back in school, and Q4 madness is in full swing?

Wrong. (I humbly suggest.) Read More »

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:

Read More »

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). Read More »