Overcoming seven common blog concerns

Overcoming seven common blog concerns

If you think blogging comes with too many hidden glitches, prepare in advance for the more common problems, then see your blogging blossom.

Through a search engine, a directory of blogs, or other techniques, employees will be able to discover the blogs that are of interest to them. They can read blogs on a regular basis, or subscribe to the RSS feeds and get the information assembled in one place on their news readers (and to only the ones that are directly relevant to them). Under this scenario, what happens to the concerns about intranet blogging?

1. Inappropriate content
The uses of blogs are defined as part of the strategy and communicated as policy. Everyone knows what they can and cannot do on an internal blog.

2. Content is not official or approved
No, but it doesn't have to be - because it's not official. This is the kind of material that in the past travelled in memo form, was discussed in the hallway or sent via e-mail - none of which ever required approval. Nobody ever thought it was official. Because it's in blog format, employees will easily recognize the distinction between blogs and authoritative content.

3. Time investment (authoring)
Overall productivity increases as a result of the blogs, as information and knowledge move more freely through the organization. The time investment represents only a shift in what employees spend their time on. If companies are sincere about knowledge management, blogs represent a startlingly good channel for it.

4. Time investment (reading)
Employees won't read what doesn't help or relate to them. The blogs they do read will help solve problems and obtain knowledge. The combination of RSS and blogs makes accessing information a time saver rather than a time drain. Employees get all the content they need collected in one place - they won't be spending hours looking for the information.

5. Employees won't embrace blogs
Sure they will - eventually. Early adopters are able to show they are reaping benefits from using blogs, so others will cautiously get on board. You can give it a push by supporting blogs through culture change initiatives. (For example, by including blogging as a subject of reward and recognition. As those who blog appropriately in the organization get raises and other rewards, everyone else will figure that using blogs will pay off for them, too.)

6. Few aggregators work behind firewalls
But some do. Use them until something better comes along. As those who blog appropriately in the organization get raises and other rewards, everyone else will figure that using blogs will pay off for them, too.

7. IT service is required
True, somebody has to maintain the software and database box. But if blogs are shown to produce value for the organization, then management won't have any problem funding the position so the company can continue generating those returns.

By Shel Holtz, principal, Holtz Communication and Technology

Ten core skills for communicators

Ten core skills for communicators

How do you get the best from yourself and your workforce? By developing these core skills, you should be well on your way to communication heaven.

1. Face-to-face
You need to get the best from your most effective communication channel by knowing precisely how and when to use it. This will involve listening, understanding nuance and even knowing when not to communicate.

2. Writing skills
Good writing never goes out of style, because it maximizes the impact of messages. All communicators should optimize their technical skills and work on a style which compels and motivates their audience to change its behavior.

3. Business literacy
Fluency in business jargon will earn the respect of senior management. Key competency areas are budget balancing, financial awareness, marketing theory and practice, business law, quantitative analysis and brand management.

4. Working in a wired world
Communicators need to understand the rules of new media: an understanding of why writing for the web is different and an ability to take control of e-mail to exploit its benefits and avoid its pitfalls. Use the corporate intranet to achieve wins for communication.

5. Strategic insight
Link your strategy with your organization's. It starts with crafting a communication plan which tackles the key issues facing the organization. It requires an understanding of both cross-functional strategy and how the audience applies communication to achieve strategic goals.

6. Building strategic models
This is how you breathe life into your communication plan and get key messages to stakeholders through the most effective channels. Use communication mapping to promote corporate strategy and models, which help to identify opinion leaders and pinpoint issues. This skill will require an understanding of how people use models.

7. Issue identification
Recognizing danger zones before they become problems for your company is a truly indispensable skill. Today's communicator needs to be media savvy and must understand the emotional and rational aspects of the brand. Look at both internal (e.g. employee surveys) and external (e.g. web activity, proposed laws) sources of intelligence.

8. Coaching
This could mean anything from helping managers with a presentation to identifying weak points in skills and processes. Coaching demands a wide-ranging skill set including presentation and motivational skills, training needs analysis and an understanding of how people learn. Remember, top-level support precedes high-level counsel.

9. Influence
Strategic alliances benefit the communicator and add more value to the business. If a communicator can't influence people, he or she will never change the way they work. Key characteristics of influence include focus (for impact), awareness, judgment, accessibility and trust.

10. Measurement
Communicators need to apply data to solve business problems and demonstrate cost-effectiveness. The challenge is to know what works and achieving that means measuring as you go. Focus on outcomes and use executive interviews and feedback management in addition to basic tools like surveys and focus groups.

source: the HUB

Are you guilty of spreading corporate jargon?

Are you guilty of spreading corporate jargon?

We're all guilty of overusing business jargon - but why do we do it and which company's annual report is a particularly cringe-inducing example?

Speaking at this year's UK Strategic Communication Management Summit, Lucy Kellaway of the Financial Times explored the whys and wherefores of business jargon. As the writer behind the FT's Martin Lukes column, she is more familiar than most with a phenomenon that - at worst - can lead to what she describes as "woolly language that masks woolly thinking - or no thinking at all."

Commonly used business jargon on Kellaway's blacklist includes:

· to drive - only acceptable when there is a steering wheel involved;

· to own - as in "the team owns the change initiative;"

· to grow - you can grow tomatoes, not the bottom line;

· to deliver - instead of "delivering added value," you could say you are doing your job well;

· solutions - this has become a particularly meaningless catch-all.

Kellaway told the 180 communication professionals gathered for the Summit's opening keynote session that there are numerous reasons people use business jargon. These range from a need to sound knowledgeable or "in the club" to a more sinister desire to mask the truth. Corporate communicators, she said, have a duty to use clear, fresh and interesting language.

One delegate suggested that jargon has been spurred by globalization and a need for common points of reference and even Kellaway admits that sometimes there's just no alternative - there's no quicker, more logical way to describe "benchmarking" or "outsourcing" for instance.

Turning on the consultants
As several in the audience began to realize just how culpable they are are of immersing themselves in jargon, Kellaway closed by ravaging one organization's annual report. The report states that the company's "capabilities are global, track record is proven," and its "passion is relentless." It was the last phrase that stirred Kellaway's jargon-busting approach. Passion, she told the audience, means "having easily roused emotions, intense, easily angered, or sexually ardent," while relentless means "pitiless, merciless." Putting these two together paints a rather alarming organizational picture. And what kind of company would describe itself like this? The answer - Accenture.

Source: The Hub

The key to increased productivity is better staff communication

The key to increased productivity is better staff communication

A new report from workplace communications consultancy CHA paints a pictureof a typical workplace where communication initiatives abound but workersstill aren't sure what their organization's plans are or how theircontribution is going to make a difference.

The report's main findings include:
- 60% of workers who are kept in the dark plan to leave in the next twoyears.
- Workers who know what the plan is are five times more likely to bemotivated.
- 65% say too much of the information they get is not relevant to their job.
- Over 80% of workers who receive clear communication are motivated to addvalue; the figure falls to less than 36% in organizations where the communication is confusing.
- Team meetings, leaders' visits and staff conferences are the three most motivating communications tactics.

Colette Hill, chief executive of CHA, says, “There is a clear message inthis data: the power of face-to-face communication should not beunderestimated. Some organizations hide behind high-tech solutions such asvideo and intranet which are not always the right answer. Business leadersneed to become better and more regular communicators.

They need to get outinto the field to have conversations with their employees; they need tobring staff together to share ideas and plans; and they need to ensureleaders at every level in their organization see employee communication as avital part of their day job.”

Source: "A little more conversation: Employee communications approaches and their impact" http://www.chapr.co.uk

How to improve team briefings

How to improve team briefings

Q: If the primary objectives of a team briefing system are to get information out to staff and to encourage face-to-face communication, is there a better way to do it in this e-enabled age, or could even a very short, daily briefing system work instead? And how do you make sure managers use this system? Has anyone seen a team brief cascade system that works right across the organization?

A: Alasdair Edwards
E-mail and intranets are fine if every employee has access to a PC or is office-based. However, the telephone is the most universally available communications tool and a briefing from a chief executive or department head can be recorded on most voicemail systems.

Daily briefing sounds a little impractical. The key is to broadcast a monthly briefing from the top of an organization (conveyed by e-mail, intranet or telephone) so that all staff have access to a message before team briefings take place. The message from the top is then consistent and is not watered down or garbled and the team meeting can then deal with the issues raised.

The team meeting need no longer consist of the team leader sharing news and can become more issue- or discussion-focused as the "news" has already been delivered. In addition there is an increased obligation on the team leader to ensure the team meeting takes place as staff know that a briefing has been issued.

I can't say I have ever seen a cascade system that works right across the organization, as this scope usually means it depends on too many people to make them work effectively.

A: Arlene Muys
Organizations where the team briefing process operates best usually have it backed up by their performance management system (i.e., it's a specific requirement in the managers' performance agreements, linked to promotion or bonuses).

The most difficult aspect of getting a team briefing process to work is the behavioral change you are bringing to the way managers do their jobs and communicate with their staff. Perhaps you could talk to HR or look into other ways you can influence behavior, such as using reward and recognition; running focus groups or interactive training sessions with managers; and maybe even creating a minor embarrassment for people who are not doing it. (This can be done in many ways, but one is simply to publicize communication survey results by department – the under-performing ones will suddenly feel the pressure.)

If you are looking at ways to make briefings more effective, maybe you should get a few of the managers who use them to help redesign them. They will then have more ownership of the process, and it's more likely that you will find the best fit with their needs and working styles.

Defining corporate vision and values

Defining corporate vision and values

Q: Has anyone done any work on defining corporate vision and values? If so, do you have any tips?

A: Christopher Hannegan
I'd suggest you start by interviewing those employees on the front line or those actually 'touching' the customer. You'll start to uncover common themes, reasons for working there, and insight into how to connect to them emotionally as well as rationally. In my experience, the vision and values have got to "bubble up" from the employee level and then be supported by senior management. By taking this approach, you can base your vision and values on ideas that are truly relevant, rather than just based on headquarters' thinking.

A: Judy Jones
The process needs both 'top' and 'bottom' participation. Consider that our most critical themes these days are senior management accountability and transparency in business conduct (trust), and where does our business fit in today's economy as we face armed conflict?

Clearly, both front line employees and leadership are necessary to the success of the process. If possible, the communication function needs to work closely with the organizational development function to support the internal dialogue. Interviews alone – no matter how inclusive – tend to feel isolated. Then the communicator pools the results and teases out the common themes and overlapping beliefs, but no matter how insightful and accurate the communicator is, the audience – management and employees – can feel like they're experiencing the effect of a "black box". The results are no longer their own and they don't buy in. In my experience, it's better to bring people together in facilitated discussion with the explicit aim to articulate a mission. Let the fights happen in the room with a professional facilitator. The communicator supports the process through documentation, excellent writing skills and a true ear for the broad audience – both internal and external.

Once you have final output, you'll need to turn your attention to the art of distribution and delivery. I use the word 'art' on purpose. The communicator needs to effectively support the managers, supervisors and whoever communicates directly with employees. The media isn't important, whatever works for your culture is what you use. But the communicator needs to be 'invisible' or the rollout will appear contrived, which means that the mission and values are contrived.

Here's a final tip: storyboard or write a narrative of the ideal process from beginning to end. In this way, you'll be able to effectively visualize and convey where all this 'soft stuff' is going. By pointing to your storyboard or narrative, you'll know where you are and your organizational development professional will love it. Management will thank you too.

Proving the value of internal communication

Proving the value of internal communication

Q: How do you justify the expense of internal communication when there has been little impact on the bottom line? In other words, how do you defend your budget in the face of unimpressive business results?

A: Houston Spence
I'm in the telecoms industry. Even if my company had the best internal communication and most performance-oriented corporate culture, our revenues, credit rating and stock price would still be in the toilet right now, along with all our competitors. For years I thought the communication professional's holy grail was something like a "Communications ROI". I still think it's a fun idea, but I've become skeptical about it too. Even if internal communication adds value to the business, that value might fail to show up on the bottom line in any traceable form. It doesn't generate revenue. It doesn't lower costs. It's an enabler. It can enable initiatives that generate revenue. It can enable initiatives that lower costs. But it might not do either.

Still, I don't think we should give up and let nature take its course. The benefits of good internal communication are clearly measurable, they're just not clearly measurable on the bottom line. We've got to make the case for our value (and our budgets) in other ways. One way is to draw the logical case that better internal communications, down the line, improves senior executives' ability to direct the activities of the enterprise. That impact is measurable. Another argument is about employee satisfaction and retention. That is also measurable.

There are other examples, the most powerful being the ultimate impact of internal communications on customers. We've got many ways to measure the value of our work, but the bottom line probably isn't one of them.

A: Simon Bottery
I agree with the scepticism. More provocatively perhaps, I wonder whether we're making the mistake of turning an abstract concept (communication) into a real thing and then looking for a (non-existent) way of measuring and valuing it. If communication is 'an act of the receiver' then it's not the thing you do that constitutes communication but the state of mind it creates, like 'happiness' or 'fear'. Both of these probably have an impact on the bottom line as well but try measuring them.

A: David Kirchhoffer
I think the key is to define in advance the objective of any communication in line with strategic business objectives. For example, when advertising burgers our strategic business objective is to increase sales. Therefore, the objective of the communication is to make consumers buy more burgers. Knowing this in advance makes it easier to declare the success or failure of a campaign.

In the slightly more complex world of internal communications, if the business decrees that it is strategically desirable to create a culture that encourages honesty, then the objective of the communicator is to change people's behavior by making them more honest. One could measure the success of a campaign by monitoring the levels of internal fraud, for example. Measure the behavior that the communication is intended to create or change. Then you'll know if your communication is effective. How those behaviors impact on the bottom line is irrelevant to the communicator. The business leadership believes that such a behavior is beneficial for whatever reason. So be it.

The face of leadership communication

The face of leadership communication

Although the term senior leadership can often cover many hundreds of people, communication activity around senior leadership often only seems to be centered on just a few people - or even only one.

In 48% of all companies surveyed by Melcrum, for its new leadership report, Delivering effective senior leadership communication, it is the CEO who is the face of leadership communication, followed by senior managers at 29%, the chairman at 9% and the chief operating officer at 5%.

But the face of leadership communication changes according to industry. In transport and logistics companies, only 32% put forward their CEO as spokesperson, with 42% saying senior managers are the predominant employee communicators.

The trend is also true in the healthcare and retail sectors, where 42% and 40% respectively say that senior managers are the face of leadership communication.

Respondents from the consumer goods/FMCG and utilities industries are more likely to report that they have a chairman/CEO who is their chief spokesperson. It seems that it's more common in these industries for the same leader to hold both these titles, and to be in charge of communicating with employees.

Source: Delivering effective senior leadership communication

Using the intranet for CEO communication

Using the intranet for CEO communication

The following question was recently posted to The Communicators' Network:

Q: What's the best direct channel (via intranet), other than a letter or a blog, which encapsulates simple, direct and personal communications from the CEO?

A: Two suggestions, both very simple at heart.

1) An 800 number: The equivalent of an all-employee voicemail, but accessible from any phone in the world, or through the company network. In this format you can script and rehearse the (really short) message from the CEO to give it urgency and make sure it's jargon-free. As a high-tech add-on, you can also make the message available on the internet as a Pod-cast.

2) Stand up video: Again, both high-tech and low-tech. You travel with a little video camera and do stand up reports from various locations. You can then drop it almost straight onto your intranet (after saving it as low resolution).

A lot of this will depend on how adventurous and comfortable your leaders are. While the fear of self-exposure is high, the risk is low. And the effect and rewards in terms of employee engagement are really high.

David Ferrabee

Getting senior leaders to interact with each other

Getting senior leaders to interact with each other

Megan Taylor, group manager of internal communications at Sensis, shares the following ideas used within her organization:

Senior leadership meetings: Every week, the company's top 80 leaders meet for a one-hour live video- and tele-conference to get updates from the CEO and to discuss revenue updates, customer performance, competitive intelligence, product development, etc.

Senior leader workshops: Two to four times per year, the top 80 leaders take part in a one-day workshop to discuss business updates, critically review and develop the strategy and provide feedback on business initiatives. They then share the key messages to come out of the workshop with their employees.

Leadership summit: On an annual basis, the company hosts a leadership summit, which involves all the company's 460 leaders (from executives to team leaders). The two-day event is designed to build business literacy among all leaders by exposing them to decision-making at both a corporate and a business-unit level. Leaders are expected to share the outcomes of the summit with their employees, so helping to cascade important business information throughout the company.

Leadership breakfasts: These informal breakfast gatherings provided the wider leadership team an opportunity to hear the business leaders from outside the company talk on a range of pertinent topics. Taylor believes these events help leaders build rapport and increase business knowledge.

CEO scholarship program: In January 2005, an annual scholarship program was launched to encourage the development of up-and-coming leaders within the company. Based on the demonstration of Sensis Leadership Capabilities, each senior executive nominates one leader from their team (there are 15 teams). The CEO then selects the top five performers to receive a scholarship, which offers them the opportunity to develop their career and leadership capabilities through professional development (e.g. through a university course or international benchmarking in their chosen field).

Source: Delivering effective senior leadership communication.