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Employee Communications
Businesses appreciate public relations and the valuable external promotions that result in New York Times headlines. However, internal communications and/or employee communications are a harder corporate sell. In fact, companies only recently recognized that an informed and motivated workforce can be paramount to a healthy and successful organization. Perhaps driving the value of employee communications are the results from companies that do it successfully like Google, Whole Foods Market and Starbucks. These top businesses are proving that just like everything else, success starts from within. While most of the same principles of any business communication apply to internal communications, some common communication pitfalls of employee communication often observed in today’s business environment follow:
Face-to-face: In today’s technology-driven business environment, internal communicators have access to e-mail, voicemail, newsletters, Intranets, audio and video podcasts and many other cutting-edge communication vehicles. As soon as the newest tactic arrives, companies are convinced that this new, innovative method is the best avenue to drive home today’s corporate message. But the truth is
much less exciting. Even in Silicon Valley, the most effective form of employee communication is still a face-to-face meeting.
Cascading communication: While a face-to-face meeting between a CEO and the company’s 20 to 200 employees is optimal, it is not as easy for the global corporations with 2,000 employees. The answer to this dilemma has become cascading communication. Executives communicate to their managers who then communicate the same messages to their team of front-line employees. Just like any game of telephone taken to an audience of 2,000 participants, this type of communication is rife with potential problems. Not only is there potential for the messages to substantially change, but some companies forget that not all managers are skilled in the art of communication. Therefore, cascading communication leaves the internal communication at the mercy of every manager’s communication skills. This type of scenario can motivate one team while its neighboring team becomes agitated with confusion.
Strategic communications: One way that companies can combat the pitfalls of cascading communication is by treating internal clients as you would external clients. Instead of employing tactic after tactic without focus or measure, consider creating a strategy that will reinforce the information through various methods and measure employee engagement in the company initiative throughout and after the program ends. Instead of strategic communications, companies often plan an exciting kick-off event in the corporate lunch area with colorful marketing collateral and a speech from the director of Marketing about the company’s “most important corporate initiative to date.” In the subsequent weeks, employees will hear nothing about the initiative. Until one month later, when the same employees are bombarded with new communication about the newest program deemed “the most important corporate initiative to date.” The lack of strategy creates employee distractions rather than effective employee communication.
Proximity: While any strategic communication will include appropriate measurement, avoid over-measuring. Surveys are excellent methods of tracking employees’ engagement in current corporate programming but sometimes measurement does not require a formal survey. After all, internal audiences are just that—internal. To gauge the moral after your monthly departmental meeting, simply walk outside your office or pick up your phone and ask.
The cardinal rule: As in any form of communication, stay relevant for your audience. Your employees will not respond to the verbiage from an executive memo or a press release. Cater your communication to your audience and remember to make it relevant. Start by addressing the “WIIFM,” or what’s in it for me, aspect of the program.
Resources:
http://themediapod.net/2006/09/03/employee-communication-from-a-canadian-perspective/
http://leehopkins.net/2006/09/14/a-heads-up-on-interviews-about-employee-comms/
Face-to-face: In today’s technology-driven business environment, internal communicators have access to e-mail, voicemail, newsletters, Intranets, audio and video podcasts and many other cutting-edge communication vehicles. As soon as the newest tactic arrives, companies are convinced that this new, innovative method is the best avenue to drive home today’s corporate message. But the truth is
much less exciting. Even in Silicon Valley, the most effective form of employee communication is still a face-to-face meeting.
Cascading communication: While a face-to-face meeting between a CEO and the company’s 20 to 200 employees is optimal, it is not as easy for the global corporations with 2,000 employees. The answer to this dilemma has become cascading communication. Executives communicate to their managers who then communicate the same messages to their team of front-line employees. Just like any game of telephone taken to an audience of 2,000 participants, this type of communication is rife with potential problems. Not only is there potential for the messages to substantially change, but some companies forget that not all managers are skilled in the art of communication. Therefore, cascading communication leaves the internal communication at the mercy of every manager’s communication skills. This type of scenario can motivate one team while its neighboring team becomes agitated with confusion.
Strategic communications: One way that companies can combat the pitfalls of cascading communication is by treating internal clients as you would external clients. Instead of employing tactic after tactic without focus or measure, consider creating a strategy that will reinforce the information through various methods and measure employee engagement in the company initiative throughout and after the program ends. Instead of strategic communications, companies often plan an exciting kick-off event in the corporate lunch area with colorful marketing collateral and a speech from the director of Marketing about the company’s “most important corporate initiative to date.” In the subsequent weeks, employees will hear nothing about the initiative. Until one month later, when the same employees are bombarded with new communication about the newest program deemed “the most important corporate initiative to date.” The lack of strategy creates employee distractions rather than effective employee communication.
Proximity: While any strategic communication will include appropriate measurement, avoid over-measuring. Surveys are excellent methods of tracking employees’ engagement in current corporate programming but sometimes measurement does not require a formal survey. After all, internal audiences are just that—internal. To gauge the moral after your monthly departmental meeting, simply walk outside your office or pick up your phone and ask.
The cardinal rule: As in any form of communication, stay relevant for your audience. Your employees will not respond to the verbiage from an executive memo or a press release. Cater your communication to your audience and remember to make it relevant. Start by addressing the “WIIFM,” or what’s in it for me, aspect of the program.
Resources:
http://themediapod.net/2006/09/03/employee-communication-from-a-canadian-perspective/
http://leehopkins.net/2006/09/14/a-heads-up-on-interviews-about-employee-comms/
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Latest page update: made by nicholasziegler
, May 29 2007, 1:05 AM EDT
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Internal Communications
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