Strong Employee Relations Equals Solid Organizations
a. 60 percent of corporate CEOs reported spending more of their time communication with employees
b. Importance of internal communication:
i. The wave of downsizings and layoffs because of technological change→ employees understand that they are expendable, no such thing as “lifetime employment”→ honest internal communication
ii. Widening gulf between the pay of senior officers and common workers
iii. Move toward globalization (geographically dispersed organizations)
iv. Companies that communicate effectively with their workers financially outperform those that don’t.
c. Most important asset= employees= intellectual capital
d. Evidence of a trust gap between management and workers→more effective employee communication narrows this gap
Dealing with the Employee Public
a. No such thing as the “general public”
b. A smart organization will try to differentiate messages according to the many segments in the employee public
c. Employees don’t know where they stand in the eyes of management→ lack understanding→ frustration and problems
Communicating Effectively in a
a. 5 principles
i. respect
ii. honest feedback
iii. recognition
iv. a voice
v. encouragement
b. Six criteria
i. Willingness to express dissent
ii. Visibility and proximity of upper management
iii. Priority of internal to external communication
iv. Attention to clarity
v. Friendly tone
vi. Sense of humor
Credibility: the Key
a. Trust in organization would increase if management
i. Communicate earlier and more frequently
ii. Demonstrate trust in employees by sharing bad news as ell as good
iii. Get employees involved in the process by asking for their ideas and opinions
b. Smart companies realize that well-informed employees are the organization’s best goodwill ambassadors.
c. Employees want to be treated as important parts of an organization
SHOC the troops
a. All communication must be strategic
b. All communication must be honest
c. All communication must be open
d. All communication must be consistent
Employee Communications Tactics
a. Internal Communication Audits: in-depth interviews with top management to know what it wants from the communications team and with communicators to know what it thinks management wants (objective analysis of the situation)
b. Online Communications has ushered in a whole new set of employee communication vehicles from e-mail to voice mail to tailored organizational intranets to individual blogs. Such vehicles
c. The Intranet: sites high in visual appeal but low in usefulness will likely be ignored. Prevention by:
i. Consider culture
ii. Set clear objectives and tthen let it evolve
iii. Treat it as a journalistic enterprise
iv. Market
v. Link to outside lives
vi. Senior management must commit
d. Print Publications
i. Assigning stories
ii. Enforcing deadlines
iii. Assigning photos
iv. Editing copy
v. Formatting copy
vi. Ensuring on-time publication
vii. Critiquing
e. Employee Annual Reports: factual, explaining the performance of the organization during the year, and informational, reviewing organizational changes and significant milestone during the year. Typical features:
i. Chief executive’s letter
ii. Use-of-funds statement
iii. Financial condition
iv. Description of the company
v. Social responsibility highlights
vi. Staff financial highlights
vii. Staff financial highlights
viii. Organizational policy
ix. Emphasis on people
f. Bulletin Boards: display of federally required information and policy data for such activities as fire drills and emergency procedures.
g. Suggestion Box and Town Hall Meetings: mounted on each floor and employees often anonymously, deposited their thoughts on how to improve the company and its processes and products. Feed back must be ensured
h. Internal Video
i. Face-to-face Communication: 90 % preferred source
The Grapevine:
rumors circling in the company (layoffs, closing) can hinder the internal communication; but implicating the workforce in decision making can avoid this phenomenon.
Strong Employee Relations Equals Solid Organizations
a. 60 percent of corporate CEOs reported spending more of their time communication with employees
b. Importance of internal communication:
i. The wave of downsizings and layoffs because of technological change→ employees understand that they are expendable, no such thing as “lifetime employment”→ honest internal communication
ii. Widening gulf between the pay of senior officers and common workers
iii. Move toward globalization (geographically dispersed organizations)
iv. Companies that communicate effectively with their workers financially outperform those that don’t.
c. Most important asset= employees= intellectual capital
d. Evidence of a trust gap between management and workers→more effective employee communication narrows this gap
Dealing with the Employee Public
a. No such thing as the “general public”
b. A smart organization will try to differentiate messages according to the many segments in the employee public
c. Employees don’t know where they stand in the eyes of management→ lack understanding→ frustration and problems
Communicating Effectively in a
a. 5 principles
i. respect
ii. honest feedback
iii. recognition
iv. a voice
v. encouragement
b. Six criteria
i. Willingness to express dissent
ii. Visibility and proximity of upper management
iii. Priority of internal to external communication
iv. Attention to clarity
v. Friendly tone
vi. Sense of humor
Credibility: the Key
a. Trust in organization would increase if management
i. Communicate earlier and more frequently
ii. Demonstrate trust in employees by sharing bad news as ell as good
iii. Get employees involved in the process by asking for their ideas and opinions
b. Smart companies realize that well-informed employees are the organization’s best goodwill ambassadors.
c. Employees want to be treated as important parts of an organization
SHOC the troops
a. All communication must be strategic
b. All communication must be honest
c. All communication must be open
d. All communication must be consistent
Employee Communications Tactics
a. Internal Communication Audits: in-depth interviews with top management to know what it wants from the communications team and with communicators to know what it thinks management wants (objective analysis of the situation)
b. Online Communications has ushered in a whole new set of employee communication vehicles from e-mail to voice mail to tailored organizational intranets to individual blogs. Such vehicles
c. The Intranet: sites high in visual appeal but low in usefulness will likely be ignored. Prevention by:
i. Consider culture
ii. Set clear objectives and tthen let it evolve
iii. Treat it as a journalistic enterprise
iv. Market
v. Link to outside lives
vi. Senior management must commit
d. Print Publications
i. Assigning stories
ii. Enforcing deadlines
iii. Assigning photos
iv. Editing copy
v. Formatting copy
vi. Ensuring on-time publication
vii. Critiquing
e. Employee Annual Reports: factual, explaining the performance of the organization during the year, and informational, reviewing organizational changes and significant milestone during the year. Typical features:
i. Chief executive’s letter
ii. Use-of-funds statement
iii. Financial condition
iv. Description of the company
v. Social responsibility highlights
vi. Staff financial highlights
vii. Staff financial highlights
viii. Organizational policy
ix. Emphasis on people
f. Bulletin Boards: display of federally required information and policy data for such activities as fire drills and emergency procedures.
g. Suggestion Box and Town Hall Meetings: mounted on each floor and employees often anonymously, deposited their thoughts on how to improve the company and its processes and products. Feed back must be ensured
h. Internal Video
i. Face-to-face Communication: 90 % preferred source
The Grapevine:
rumors circling in the company (layoffs, closing) can hinder the internal communication; but implicating the workforce in decision making can avoid this phenomenon.
