1. 1. COMMUNICATION counts a really interesting action packed fact book
2. 2. 2COMMUNICATIONCOUNTS PROCESS SKILLSET MINDSET Leadership Why? .. EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION .. AN OPPORTUNITY
3. 3. BILL QUIRKE "There are areas of businesses which are quietly getting on with harnessing communication to change cultures, re-engineer processes and build their brands. However, the internal communication departments are often busy elsewhere, either missing the action or being kept out."
4. 4. 4COMMUNICATIONCOUNTSINTRODUCTION action This useful little fact book is about doing more of the right things and developing great habits maybe just half a dozen things! It dips into strategic and tactical communication WHYS and HOWS plus some of the SKILLS required to effectively communicate. It aims to be food for thought, provide maps to get you thinking differently, asking more questions and taking action to put effective communication on your business agenda. NOW! Think big thoughts how could you business utilise communication in a more strategic way to help deliver your business agenda. Are your communication team strategic or tactical? What sort of function do you need and want? Are leaders and managers equipped with the training and support they need to deliver effective communication on the ground? What are you willing to invest in time and resources ? How are you going to measure your return on your investment (ROI)? Then what about you and your skills set - identify 6 things you could start doing and 6 things you must stop doing from today. To start with simply keep adding in 1 new task a week until it becomes part of your routine. It takes 30 days to create a new habit so get that communication counts as a leader, manager, in your career and in life generally these are life skills you need to develop.
5. 5. communication counts This practical little fact book seeks to provide an introduction and food for thought to the following: Plus a call to action, resources, quotes and a little bit about Warwickers 5COMMUNICATIONCOUNTS 1 2 3 5 Big picture thinking on communication as a strategic tool to: support the business agenda; create connections; focus on customers; build an employee brand and engage employees. Planning focused on outcomes not outputs to work out what you want your audience to think (get), feel (support) and do (act). Focusing on messages, audiences, channels and measurement. A toolkit for great meetings, email etiquette, designing intranets, dealing with negative publicity and communicating change. Personal skills and attributes to communicate effectively including you, your brand, your mindset, your state, questioning, listening, speaking, influencing, building rapport, presenting, writing, facilitating, ideas, stories and feedback. 4 Communication roles to determine who is involved. What is required from leaders, managers, pathfinders, champions, communication functions and business partners?
6. 6. John P. Kotter Without credible communication, and a lot of it, the hearts and minds of others are never captured.
7. 7. 7 COMMUNICATION COUNTS
8. 8. 8INTERNALCOMMUNICATION communication internal What is the Internal Communication Challenge? Is the glue that holds organisations together and yet it keeps coming unstuck. It has a major influence on organisation effectiveness and yet it is often a tactical afterthought. It needs a lot more effort, skill and sensitivity than is often shown and yet it is often just seen as a process. It is based on assumptions and individuals perspective/ views of the world and yet this is not often acknowledged. It cannot be perfected and yet this is OK as peoples expectations constantly change ! communication Effective communication is communication that works! The Communicator understands: Why they need to communicate (Purpose/ Intent). What they need to communicate (Content). The skills they need to help them communicate effectively (Skills/ Attributes). The tools, methods and channels available to them (Process). The receiver confers meaning on the message not them (Perspective). Success is measured by the response in relation to the objective/ intent (Outcome). The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place. George Bernard Shaw The purpose of internal communication is to inform and engage employees; to support behaviour change; build pride in the business and to deliver measurable value to the organisation. Companies communicate to ensure that their employees get, support, and do things that will make a measurable impact on the business. EFFECTIVE = DELIVERED, UNDERSTOOD, ACTED UPON - IT WORKS!
9. 9. 9INTERNALCOMMUNICATION internal communication How can we apply communication for strategic advantage? We are seeing a new business focus with more attention on leadership, less tolerance of average performance and fewer staff doing more work. Every process and function within a business needs to show how it adds value. Communication management is not about improving communication it is about tangible business results. In determining where to focus leaders need to ask: 1. Where are the best opportunities to improve performance by better managing communication, information and knowledge? 2. Where will you get the best pay off for your investment? 3. How can managing communication give you a competitive advantage? Organisations are complex and multifaceted often serving diverse markets and customers from local to global perspectives. Leaders have to communicate daily with a diverse range of local and global, internal and external audiences. As businesses, more information is available to us than ever before, so managing information flows and know how is key. There is an expectation on leaders to be credible under unprecedented scrutiny and visibility. Many organisations have Communication Functions to manage their communication maze. However many struggle to use it as a strategic rather than tactical resource. This is represents a missed opportunity in todays environment. Communicating during a downturn is even more important. Make sure your people know your coping strategy in challenging times. Use communication to ensure you build trust with employees, keep morale up, increase productivity, enhance customer service, generate new ideas, build your brand and keep your good people. However some leaders and managers underestimate the effort it takes to translate your plans, so they have real meaning for employees and contribute to business success.
10. 10. Chip Heath To make our communications more effective, we need to shift our thinking from "What information do I need to convey?" to "What questions do I want my audience to ask?
11. 11. 11COMMUNICATIONCOUNTS LONG TERM SHORT TERM P R O C E S S E S Strategic Partner Change Agent Creative/ Project Manager Employee Champion communication The role of communicationInternal Communicators as business partners supporting and facilitating the agenda for employee dialogue on: Customer centricity, Business strategy and direction. Business priorities, performance and news, Organisational change, Business issues and crisis management, The Brand, Pride, Employee engagement, Risk and compliance, Corporate social responsibility Strategic Tactical Personal skills Competitive advantage, value added, strategic enabler, customer centric, brand delivery, innovation, productivity, profit, knowledge sharing, collaboration, employee engagement, skill builder, business alignment, performance culture, knowledge management. Campaign, initiative, toolkits, conferences, memos, presentations, intranet, social media, meetings, newsletters, town halls, blogs, MBWA, video, surveys, focus groups, training, text, email. Persuade, inspire, speak, lead, influence, question, listen, discuss, ideas, write, present, rapport, facilitate, role model. P E O P L E inform instruct engage educate
12. 12. 12COMMUNICATIONAUDIT communication 1. What does communication need to achieve to support the business? 2. How do we do it now? How are we doing? 3. What are the gaps between what we have and need? 4. How do we build the new function? 5. What is our IC Strategy? 6. SLAs and Plans? Typically businesses audit their communication channels effectiveness rather than a comprehensive review of their business use of communication. This model is used to audit the business and its communication needs from a strategic perspective. audit
13. 13. 13COMMUNICATORS10TIPS 1 2 3 4 5 Begin with the end in mind focus on what you need the communication to achieve outcomes not just outputs. Plan by identifying what you want people to get, support and do as a result of the communication. Also consider what might prevent this from happening and what will help. Simply the planning journey is: Where are we now?; Where do we want to go?; What is the gap?; Why does it matter?; How do we get there?; What do we need from our employees? Focus on clarity refine the message until you are certain it is really clear what you are trying to say. Avoid corporate jargon, acronyms and management speak. Keep it simple use the appropriate style, tone and language. Dont underestimate the power of plain language. Grab attention with a great headline. In this busy world choose the right medium to gain impact and to deliver the message; in doing so, recognise the importance of good writing, design and creativity to get noticed. Understand your audiences and their environment recognise you may have different audiences for the same message. Identify them, segment them and profile their interests and needs. What is happening for them and what are their hot topics? TIPs10
14. 14. 14COMMUNICATORS10TIPS TIPs10 Translate your message for each audience based on their needs and interests. The more relevant you are the more likely the message will be received, understood and acted upon. Talk with them not at them. Use appropriate channels for each audience keep it simple - have a few core channels that deliver the message effectively: face to face, remote and written. Recognise some audiences do not have regular access/ or time to use a PC so mix your channels. Focus on doing each of them well, in a skilled and proficient way. Have a quality rather than quantity approach. Make it easy for your audience to navigate the messages and to respond through using clear visual and verbal signposting. Keep it conversational. Seek dialogue, inspiration and engagement not just information exchange. Identify the metrics of success as they are key for determining value. This could vary from simply testing understanding, to measuring communication effectiveness to delivering competitive advantage . So make it an integral part of your communication planning linked to 1. Aim for real business value by helping the organisation achieve its strategy and goals. Take the opportunity to build a consistent brand align you internal employee branding with your external brand. Consider behaviours, language, identity, environment and values. 6 7 8 9 10
15. 15. 15 BIG PICTURE
16. 16. Chip and Dan Heath Made to Stick Stephen Covey in the book The 8th Habit describes a poll of 23,000 employees drawn from a number of companies and industries: He reports the Poll findings: Only 37% said they have a clear understanding of what their organisation is trying to achieve and why. Only one in five was enthusiastic about their teams and their organisations goals. Only one in five said they had a clear line of sight between their tasks and their teams and organisations goals. Only 15% felt that their organisation fully enables them to execute key goals Only 20% fully trusted the organisation they work for. Pretty sobering stuff. Its also pretty abstract. You probably walk away from these stats thinking something like Theres a lot of dissatisfaction and confusion in most companies. Then Covey superimposes a very human metaphor over the statistics. He says, If, say, a soccer team had these same scores, only 4 of the 11 players on the field would know which goal is theirs. Only 2 of the 11 would care. Only 2 of the 11 would know what position they play and know exactly what they are supposed to do. And all but 2 players would in some way, be competing against their own team members rather than the opponent. The soccer analogy generates a human context for the statistics.
17. 17. 17COMMUNICATIONSTRATEGY 1. Organisation identity and story 2. Leadership agenda 3. Business context and needs 4. Organisation objectives: focus and priorities 5. Employee perspectives : interests and needs 6. IC strategy, purpose and ethos 7. Remit and roles for IC 8. Framework and infrastructure 9. Channels and activities 10. Process and policy 11. Resources: financial , time and people 12. Plans and measurement Structure Culture Management style Communication style Power sources Change agenda Audiences Being strategic means influencing outcomes and affecting results. Being strategic is not just about having a plan. It is more about the quality of the thinking; seeing issues and challenges from different perspectives to gain insights; challenging preconceptions and being a catalyst for change. A communication strategy is merely a means to an end i.e. helping tackle the challenges facing the organisation. These headings and the model provide maps and words to get you thinking about content and context rather than process. Value proposition: what you are here to do and how you go about doing it. strategy communication Simply: Where are we now?; where do we want to go? = the difference is the gap; and then: How do we get there?; Why does it matter?; What do we need from our people?; Where can internal communication have the greatest impact?
18. 18. 18BUSINESSCONTEXT Begin by populating your business context map to have a complete overview of everything that is going on in the business. A great learning journey for the business for customer facing and support colleagues. It is the big picture literally it should be visual it provides brain food for focus, opportunities, points of leverage, quick wins, necessary endings, new beginnings, themes, stories, challenges and potential risks. Most importantly it seeks alignment and establishes ownership. A great planning tool too. business context
19. 19. 19COMMUNICATIONCULTURE FROM TO Reactive - activity in response to problems Proactive - needs evaluated systematically to support strategy, plans and initiatives Hierarchical pyramid Strategic networked or inverted pyramid Information based - tell Communication based - dialogue Largely top down Multi-directional and involving Seen as a specialist responsibility Seen as a key competence Top management encouraged to set an example/ role model All managers trained how to set an example/ role model Communication an afterthought Communication on every agenda Open expression of dissent patchy and not encouraged. Problem focus. Dissent being aired and constructive ideas harnessed. Solution focus. Need to know Want to know Tactical events with no big picture view of communication for business agenda Clear link with business goals, strategy and plans Outputs with no evaluation of ROI or just subjective evaluation Outcomes with impact measured against objectives and valid benchmarks culture Create acommunication
20. 20. 20CEOBUSINESSAGENDA businessHOT TOPIC Business drivers and sales Key customer satisfaction The marketplace Finances/ ROI Shareholder ROI Improving productivity Navigating change Business issue resolution Retaining and developing talent Right product and service mix Innovation, research and strategy development for competitive advantage IDEA: Introduce an editorial committee senior people from each of the main functions (and operational pathfinders) meeting monthly to agree what is important on the business agenda and the main company wide messages to communicate. A concise 1 page CEO business case 1. What is planned? 2. Business context? 3. Why it is a good idea? 4. Expected outcomes? 5. Value created? CEO agenda Working with your CEO: 1. Use your network on the ground so you can get information for the CEO on how people feel about particular issues quickly. 2. Be proactive and sell your ideas based on the business agenda, business language and focus on the benefits. Be succinct but have the detail ready just in case. Keep it to a page. 3. Simplify processes when you meet Summarise previous discussions and actions at the start of each meeting. Prepare an agenda. Create a framework for sign offs. Provide a timetable of forthcoming events and brief the CEO on the objectives for their events. Highlight important trends and give employee feedback. Ask for feedback too. 4. Be flexible in when and where you meet. Find out the times that work best for them. Seek a minimum of 30 minutes a week. Have contingency plans in place for events involving the CEO including back up presentations, standby presenters and opening questions. 5. Attend CEO Events to ensure they run smoothly and be prepared to coach and give feedback on communication skills. Build on your leaders own style and inherent strengths. 6. Build relationships with the CEO and their assistant to support you in your role.
21. 21. 21CUSTOMERCENTRICITY customerHOT TOPIC 1. Determine where your customer needs and business value intersect . 2. Identify your brand key words and phrases in. 3. Focus on serving the customer needs and embed a customer orientation in everything you do. 4. Put the customer at the heart of the business and ensure everyones facing in the right direction. 5. Live by Maxs Law: This restaurant is run for the enjoyment and pleasure of our customers, not the convenience of the staff or the owners.Which way is everyone in your Business looking? Your customers expect your entire operation to revolve around them. SAP Ad. Customer centricity The language you use needs to match what you do the brand language needs to be alive inside the business as much as outside. Employees need knowledge, good processes and skills with the right attitude that gives them an emotional connection to the customer. Why do businesses focus on themselves rather than the customer? Are they inwardly focused with a short term focus on profit because they are led by shareholder above customer interest. Both profit and shareholder value are key as outcomes of great customer centric strategies. A great customer experience can only be given by someone who wants to give it. Employees who are passionate about what they do and choose to give the best then deliver that great experience. Throw away your organisation charts and show people where they fit based on this.
22. 22. 22BRANDPROMISE HOT TOPIC Bringing your brand to life Your brand is about who you are, what you do and why it matters. It is about being consistent. Making sure the employee culture and promise to the customer are totally in step with each other. Employee engagement is partly driven by an employer brand experience strategy that actively involves employees in delivering the brand promise. 1. Translate your brand message (point of differentiation) from marketing speak to every day language provide one consistent message - also make sure your people understand your products and services and how you position them. 2. If you are developing a new internal or external brand take employees with you on the journey let them articulate the language with you so they own it. 3. Think in terms of how the external brand values translate out into employee behaviours and link this to the internal brand. How do your people need to behave? 4. Make your employees brand ambassadors and recognise their contribution. 5. You need to clearly define your employee brand and then create an implementation plan to ensure all employees understand it and buy into it. Make it fun! 6. You are making an implicit promise - ensure your external and internal brands are aligned through behaviours, language, identity, environment and values. Ensuring your employees deliver on your brand promise 1. What is your brand promise to customers? 2. How do you explain to each individual how they impact it? 3. Do they know the touch points and moments of truth they own? 4. How are they going to deliver on this promise to the customer through behaviours, attitude, skills and knowledge? brand promise
23. 23. 23EMPLOYEEBRAND HOT TOPIC employee brand We suggest culture surveys are better at highlighting touchpoints for your employee focus than satisfaction surveys as they relate to behaviours. It is important to look at different audience populations to identify their main points of leverage and then use this to communicate with them. Your employee brand is how you bring these experiences together and align them with your purpose and values to give them meaning for employees. The importance of touch points and points of leverage You probably already identify your major touch points for employees with customers for your external brand. You need to undertake the same process internally. Identify your major touch points for all employee audiences as part of your segmentation process with customer facing and support teams. Initially you could look at specific points of interaction in the workplace linked to customer experiences/ or performance and through the employee lifecycle above. Where are your touch points and points of leverage (moments of truth) that impact on employee retention, satisfaction and business performance? If you do not know do some research. The internal brand strategy is how the business consciously differentiates and consistently communicates its reputation and culture to current and potential colleagues as a desirable place to work. For starters consider: 1) How do you live your values? 2) How does your environment reflect your brand? 3) Review your recruitment process, induction, orientation, appraisals, intranet, events, discussion forums and surveys how do they build on your brand?
24. 24. 24INTERNALBRAND HOT TOPIC Internal service providers (Audit, Finance, HR, IT, Operations, Procurement, Properties, Communication, Risk etc) regularly suffer issues around how they are perceived. Many do not pay enough attention to their internal brand and how they communicate with their internal customers. They are often seen as an internal cost centre and their clients dont see them as equals or partners. They are seen to have a monopoly in the business and their clients may question: their abilities versus external providers; the lack of clarity on their value proposition; their teams business literacy and the jargon they use when they communicate with them. As an internal service provider how can you begin to improve the level of understanding on what you offer and increase satisfaction in the delivery of your service? brand internal 7 steps to rebrand internal service providers 1) Get clear on your value proposition What does the customer gets by using your service or advice?; How do you go about doing what you do?; Where do you add value?; How does your value proposition align with other service providers?; How can you work together? Ask them. 2) Brand - How do you support the external brand and values in how you deliver your service?; Where is the line of sight to your external customers?; What does this bring to your value proposition? Ask them. 3) What do they want from you and value about your service?; What is in it for them? Ask them. Put your internal customers at the heart of what you do. 4) How do you currently engage with them? What communication channels do you use?; Do you deliver what you communicate that you do for them? Ask them. 5) Can you improve the experience and make it customer friendly the offer, delivery of the service, the ease of use for them and access to your services? Ask them. 6) Can you improve the communication? How you let people know about your services?; How you make them feel like customers?; and how you communicate? Ask them. 7) Communication counts - Typically you communicate to inform, instruct, educate and hopefully engage your audiences use this guide to kick start the improvement process - articulate your value proposition, understand your audiences interests and needs, improve your communication effectiveness and become a partner that adds real value.
25. 25. 25EMPLOYEEENGAGEMENT engagement HOT TOPIC Engagement is a two way partnership of meaning and purpose. When it works - your employees will be proudly involved with sense of ownership in the business and its success. Their engagement shows in their attitudes and behaviours and your results. You as employer will be engaged in working with them to deliver business success. The Business engagement shows through leadership attitude and behaviours, your culture plus in your processes and policies. Start with yourselves as an employer; involve your people and ask the following questions: 1. What makes this business a great place to work in our sector? 2. How do we support our leaders and managers to be great people to work for? 3. How do we create a great energising environment to work in? 4. How do we treat our people as partners? 5. How do we deliver on our commitments to our people? 6. How do we look after their wellbeing? 7. How do we keep our people informed on what matters and how they can help? 8. How do we communicate and live our values? 9. How do we involve our people in delivering our strategy and plans? 10. How do we involve our people in delivering great service to our customers? 11. How do we ensure our people have the best tools to do their work? 12. How do we encourage our people to work together and collaborate? 13. How do we encourage our people to innovate and be solution oriented? 14. How do we reward success? 15. How do we recognise contribution? 16. Do we offer our people challenging and interesting work? 17. How do we welcome our new recruits into the business? 18. How do we ensure our people feel part of something important and valued? 19. How do we help our people grow and develop? 20. How do we inject play and creativity into our workplace? Engagement is a two way recipe so before you seek it from your people make sure you have a great employer brand. employee
26. 26. 26EMPLOYEEENGAGEMENT employee What the research says matters: 1. The importance of senior leaders and line managers communicating. 2. A strong sense of purpose 3. Autonomy through employee decision rights and accountabilities 4. Compensation and benefits. 5. Opportunities for career advancement and growth. 6. A people centric culture. 7. A sense of belonging engagement The communication solution lies in leaders having the right conversations a formal and an informal ongoing dialogue that connects with your peoples needs and interests: 1. Provide people with regular updates on the business context about your market, your performance and your strategy to navigate the tough times. How are you doing what are the numbers? How are the customers doing? How are your competitors doing? What are you planning to do to survive and thrive in these times? How does this fit with your vision? 2. How do they fit in and how can they help? Discuss how everyone directly or indirectly adds value, talk about the behaviours that will make a difference, encourage process improvement and ask for their help involve people in generating solutions rather than talking about problems. 3. Keep messages simple, balanced and honest - be positive but dont make promises you cannot keep. If you dont have the answers say so. Dont keep talking burning platforms, create opportunities for change move towards something new. 4. Spend extra time with middle managers and team leaders support and equip them to have the right conversations with their people and provide them with the tools to motivate and empower.
27. 27. 27EMPLOYEEENGAGEMENT employee A compelling change story that involves your people Plenty of face to face communication Regular dialogue and involvement on the journey One learns through the heart, not the eyes or intellect Mark Twain engagement When employees perform what makes them fully engage, put their heart into what they do and go the extra mile? What do your leaders need to get, support and do to keep your employees engaged? In challenging times employee engagement is vital for the success of the business. Engaged employees go the extra mile to deliver. They provide better experiences for customers, approach the job with energywhich enhances productivityand come up with creative product, process and service improvements. They remain with their employers for longer tenures, which reduces turnover and its related costs. However it is not always high on the business agenda. The questions asked are: 1. Is it a nice to have or must have? 2. Should it just be a general business philosophy or a formal programme? Even if leaders and managers recognise the value they often have difficulty making time to conduct research, develop engagement strategies and tactics, build commitment, change team structures and find new ways of working to engage people more. They are already having to juggle time consuming, stressful operational projects and meet business targets plus many other responsibilities. A motivated and engaged workforce is recognised as driver for business performance so how can it be achieved without implementing a full blown strategy? You can always start with: If leaders are not credible and communications are not engaging people are not interested. People will only engage with a subject if they are able to take actions, be in control and bring themselves to the challenge there is not a standard formula we are talking about motivating people - it is about doing things with not to your people.
28. 28. 28EMPLOYEECONNECTIONS employee Strategy Frontline delivery of services For internal communication to take on a strategic role it must help the sharing of knowledge and information, encourage collaboration, create shared meaning and support decision making. Overall it must add value by connecting the business strategy to what happens on a day to day basis. Through providing for content, context and conversations. The strategy and business priorities need to be communicated in words that mean something to your people so they are heard and encourage action. Talk about the behaviours that will make a difference: going the extra mile for customers, spotting new opportunities, finding process improvements. Information Connections How best to share, structure and gain meaning from data, concepts and messages. How people perceive and relate to each other involving issues of trust, credibility, collaboration and relationships. Each individual should be able to see their personal line of sight between what they do and business performance; understand who their customers are and their impact on the business customer; know how they add value and how they can help? And how their role fits into the organisation jigsaw with all of their colleagues the connections that matter. Vertical communication, alignment and connections between teams and divisions across the organisation are as important as horizontal leader to employee dialogue. The more joined up the greater the impact for the customer. connections
29. 29. KEY TOPIC How well do you work with other departments? Do you get wars between departments where poor teamwork, poor communication and myopic thinking have led to a hardening of positions over time and nobody really knows why? When it's time to communicate with others from different departments do you take a deep breath, or smile and relish a chance to renew contact with colleagues from elsewhere in the company? Do you relish or dread committee work with other departments? Does it seem their aims are contrary to your department's? When other departments contact you for help do you regard it as a nuisance, a distraction and a drain of your valuable time? Can you see the greater good that comes from helping them solve their problems or fulfilling their needs? internal collaboration 29INTERNALCOLLABORATION Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. Henry Ford The important thing to know is that all employees, whether coming in direct contact with the customers or not, have an opportunity to make a difference. Once a company adopts this philosophy, there is no stopping them. You need to get internal customer service right too. Functions need to recognise they serve the internal customer well to support the frontline delivery to external customers. This is the starting point for employee engagement. Businesses need to foster a culture where people appreciate each other and how to best work together to achieve win-wins for the greater good of their customers. Everyone says they care about the customer but are you putting pressure on each other without realizing it. The delivery of the customer experience spans many areas of the business. Whilst many excel at their role in silos what matters is the sum of the parts i.e. when they come together. Many organisations struggle with getting teams to collaborate due to competitive cultures, strong leaders, geography, communication channels and structures. Is your business designed with collaboration in mind? What structures are in place to make it work, what are the barriers and what does you culture depict in the way you do things i.e. the difference between what you say and what you do? Your employees take more notice of what you do than what you say. How do you harness technology to help with this?
30. 30. 30COMMUNICATINGCHANGE10TIPS TIPs10 1 2 3 4 Create a sense of urgency in parallel with a sense of continuity and stability focus on what is creating the need for change, frame it as moving towards something, say what is changing (process and behaviours) , how the change evolves from where you are now and what is staying the same. Think Endings, Transitions, New Beginnings (William Bridges) Communicate the business context, the why and then the what business literate employees, with a grasp of the wider context, who understand the thinking behind the change, will adapt more easily. Seek to separate big picture from implementation communication. Only communicate task related information and implementation details once the context is clearly understood. Do not rush it. Make face to face communication the main channel people prefer to receive communication on change from their immediate manager. However for major change messages they prefer a senior manager followed by their manager for questions and updates. What sort of change? 1. Culture (changing the way we do things specific attitudes and behaviours); 2. Structure (restructuring, merging); 3. Initiative (long term impact on behaviour); 4. Campaign (business objective and time specific). Each requires a different communication approach using differing levels of information and interaction depending on how it impacts individuals. Translate your message sort your audiences and the messages by perceived change impact first (positive, neutral, negative). Use the change curve to understand peoples reactions to change. Then translate what it means for individuals as everyone wants to know how it will impact them and their perception of the change will cause them to react differently. Remember they are unlikely to be where you are on the change journey. So do not sell them on a bright new future before they get the need to change. 5 change communicating
31. 31. 31COMMUNICATINGCHANGE10TIPS TIPs10 change communicating Branding, themes and logos keep it simple and use them to build on your brand and bring a sense of cohesion to large scale change programmes. Keep the use of logos to culture/ structure changes and campaigns not for every minor initiative and project team. Themes and logos should be signposts, helping people understand how things come together and not be stand alone entities. Train managers in communicating change and for each specific communication provide guidance success depends more on their credibility, openness, listening skills, empathy and influencing skills rather than presentation skills. They will need to be skilled for one to one, team and large scale change communication. Provide toolkits including information, tips, sample scripts and FAQs. For large scale changes offer courses where they see the communication delivered (Remember they will often be impacted too if they get the chance to experience the message being delivered to them and then deliver it the learning will stick), get new skills training and have an opportunity to rehearse the difficult bits. Get people involved encourage people to participate especially in implementation in their own areas. The more ownership and perceived control the more buy in and less resistance. 7 8 9 10 Resources (time, people and money) communication is a process not an event so give it the attention/ time needed to work. Have a plan. Ensure managers allocate the time to deliver the messages effectively. Provide the appropriate people to provide ongoing support and the appropriate financial resources to make it work. 6 Do not wait be proactive - if you do not deliver the message quickly the grapevine will and you will put your managers in a difficult position. Talk through the options officially rather than leaving it to the rumour mill.
32. 32. Mac Anderson You Cant Send a Duck to Eagle School Know the Power of One Page Joe Calhoon and Bruce Jeffrey are consultants who specialize in helping companies create a simple one page strategic plan. I love the idea because there is something magic about one page. Here are the 6 key elements of the plan: VISION: A clear picture of your destination MISSION: The driving purpose of your business VALUES: The guide you use for decision making and how you treat each other OBJECTIVES: The numbers you track STRATEGIES: The paths youve decided to take PRIORITIES: The work that needs to get done and who needs to do it
33. 33. 33 COMMUNICATION PLANNING
34. 34. 34COMMUNICATIONMESSAGEPLAN WHY? Clearly state the business need, purpose and goal for the communication. WH0 DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE? To what degree does the audience know and understand the issue? What do you want the audience to do because of this message? What new attitudes, perceptions and behaviours will the audience need to adopt to be and feel successful? For the audience are there any specific factors that you need to be aware of? (i.e. levels of cynicism, shift work, culture differences) WHAT KEY MESSAGES? What does the audience need and want to know? What do you want to say / ask your audience? How can you grab their attention? Translate WIFM (whats in it for me) message? WHEN - TIMING? When is the best time , how often and over what time period? What needs to happen to communicate in a timely way without delays? Will your message compete unnecessarily with or be impacted by other events? HOW- METHODS? What mediums are available to use for each audience? (F2F dialogue, intranet, newsletter, payslips, video, team brief, social media, email ,text) What tools are most effective for this message to reach each audience? 1 2 3 5 6 4 message plan WHERE - DELIVERY? Channel location? (Intranet , meeting space , offsite , reception , desk drop) What is appropriate and gets noticed by the target audience?
35. 35. 35COMMUNICATIONCAMPAIGN campaign Define Objectives Brief Expectations established: Get, Support, Do. Determine environment and audience mindset Research Opportunities and challenges determined Craft themes and key messages Message Themes compelling , messages targeted and translated Create, test and produce appropriate communications Develop & Design Audience involved and engaged Evaluate, take lessons and present findings Review & Learn Targets achieved and lessons learned 1) Identify what needs to be accomplished (outcomes and outputs) 2) Determine whom you wish to reach (each stakeholder audience) 3) Decide what each of your target audiences should understand (head), support (heart) and do (hands). 1) Review business context and the environment 2)Define what each of your audiences currently knows/ believes 2) Identify the facts, values and perceptions driving those beliefs 3) Outline potential opportunities from and challenges to your message 1) Craft persuasive messages that reinforce positives, counter negatives and enhance peoples understanding 2) Map each message in terms of a theme, a summary statement and supporting evidence 3) Determine the best channels to use and mediums to deliver the message 1) Plan approach, who involved, timings and tactics 2) Create collateral 3) Test with target audiences and generate new ideas 4) Revise collateral 5) Obtain approvals 6) Brief and train those involved 7) Implement plan 1) Measure impact, reactions and opportunities to enhance perceptions 2) Create new collateral needed 3) Present lessons and results 4) Establish new communication briefs
36. 36. 36COMMUNICATIONOUTCOME Often people confuse outputs with outcomes where they focus on the tactic or objective rather than what it will achieve for the business. The outputs are the strategic plan, campaign, intranet, business partner, training course, email or presentation. The tactics (events/ actions) that hopefully move you towards your outcome. An outcome is the final result of your actions the why? or that will enable us to get a, support b and do c which means that. The key word is result - examples of the outcome could be knowledge gained and acted upon, skills in action, increase employee satisfaction or morale, employee retention, customer satisfaction , increased business profit or competitive advantage. So use this checklist with leaders and managers as your starting point in taking briefs: The Question What do you need people to get, support and do as a result of your communication and how will you measure success? outcome
37. 37. 37GETTHEMESSSAGEACROSS message The aim is to ensure your business communication encompasses all four boxes.
38. 38. Sydney J Harris The two words information and communication are often used interchangeably but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out. Communication is getting through.
39. 39. 39COMMUNICATIONMESSAGE message focus on the individual However many people are receiving the communication think individual - you are talking about individual motivation logic and emotion. Roger DAprixs 6 questions is a good starting point for the minimum you should seek to communicate to each person: 7th
40. 40. 40CHANGECOMMUNICATIONMESSAGE People dont resist change. They resist being changed! Peter Senge Aware Inform Understand Educate Accept Involve Act Motivate Change Support Engage Lead Degree of change required The greater the impact on the employees the more you need to communicate with them Employee effect Employer activity Time and resource commitment If you want people to be aware - you inform them. If you want them to understand - you inform and educate them. If you need them to accept something - you inform, educate and involve them. If you want them to act differently - you inform, educate, involve and motivate them to want to do it. If you want them to change - you inform, educate, involve, motivate and support them through the change journey. If you want to engage them - you communicate effectively by informing, educating, involving, motivating, supporting and most importantly leading them! message change communication
41. 41. 41COMMUNICATIONMIX-MESSAGE Communication Methods Words = 7% Vocal tone = 38% Body language = 55% We recall approximately... Repetition Increases Understanding 1st time - 10% retention 2nd time - 25% retention 3rd time - 40%-50% retention 4th time - 75% retention Actions speak louder than words! 10% of what we read 20% of what we hear 30% of what we see 50% of what we see and hear 70% of what we say and do 90% of what we explain as we do Repeat your message using many different mediums, dependent upon your objective and target audience. Repetition is vital in advertising they expect to repeat a message at least 7 times take this as your minimum. Recognise with the increase in technology use how much room there is for misunderstanding. Always check your communication has been received, understood as you intended and acted upon. message 2 WAY communication mix
42. 42. 42COMMUNICATIONMESSAGEMAPS Message maps provide a consistent and repeatable methodology to think more strategically about your key topics core messages. This process ensures they are aligned and delivered consistently. Steps 1 to 3 are usually developed at a facilitated messaging session. The Map with 4 and 5 are the outputs from the session. Once developed they serve as a blueprint for all communication on that topic. They provide the basis for management talking points to make it easy for leaders to develop their communications. message communication maps
43. 43. 43COMMUNICATIONTARGETAUDIENCE When communicating it is essential to identify all audiences (often known as stakeholders) for each core message/ or campaign. Too many messages are sent out to all employees or large groups to make it easy. The more specific groups you identify the more relevant you can make the communication. You can also undertake stakeholder analysis on the likely impact of a communication on each target audience. Who are your primary audience directly affected by the message? Who needs to get this message directly as a recipient? How should they be grouped? Then who needs it as a support resource? Some people need to be involved and maybe take action others just need to be informed the communication has taken place. Take the time to get specific. target audience Message Role Impact Geography Task or project Employee profile
44. 44. 44COMMUNICATIONAUDIENCESEGMENTATION audiencesegmentation Each group has distinct needs. You will need to do some audience segmentation to identify useful employee profiles across the business. Without segmentation content, channels and messages become diluted and lose the ability to engage distinct groups. To get to the profiles you can undertake employee research on roles, divisions, grades, locations and access to communication channels. You can also look into generations, attitudes, likes, interests and world views. Create the segments with the data and business context in mind. Keep updating it. Some examples of profile groups Do the preparation work in advance. In identifying target audiences do not just think of a downward cascade of information by organisation hierarchy. Most organisations today are made up of lots of distinct groups and networks. Identify key groups, create mailing lists and compile data into profiles. Share the profiles to encourage leaders to think laterally in who they engage with and how. Some examples are shown in the diagram. Stakeholder analysis Remit Geography Traits and likes Business context Objectives Change impact Culture Leadership Challenges Change readiness Language Communication mindset Communication skill set For major projects you will also need to do a stakeholder mapping analysis (right) for all the key players involved. With key influencers this is usually mapped by individual to understand their position and how best to influence them. The main message is really understand your audiences and their needs.
45. 45. Maslow Hierarchy of Needs Audience newbies victims rear view mirror early adopters onboard Physiological and safety Belonging and self esteem Personal growth and fulfilment ME US/ OUR fence sitters adventurers Outlook WE/I audienceand change 45COMMUNICATIONAUDIENCEANDCHANGE Business and Personal There are lots of ways to use this chart to understand about communicating change messages effectively. Based on An interesting take on Maslows Needs relating to business. Recognise that your audiences perspective based on the success of the business and their experience in your and previous organisations will affect their outlook. A good tell tale sign is how they speak about the business i.e. We/I, Us/Our or Me. If people are in survival mode it is all about ME. Often Senior people bought into a business to save it are Adventurers talking to Victims very different outlooks!
46. 46. John Smythe Employee engagement is first and foremost a management philosophy based on the idea of including the right people in the right decisions at the right time in the right way. Inclusion in decision making and change is not a one-way ticket for employees to butt their noses in wherever and however they want. Leadership sets the boundaries and governs the process; and citizens in the process have responsibilities to behave as partners in the process.
47. 47. 47TRANSLATEYOURMESSAGE 1) Understanding your audience Their role Their needs and wants Their language Their culture Education level What motivates them? What interests them? What is important? What engages them? ASK THEM 2) Translate your message for your target audience/ stakeholder Why do you need this communication? Simple intent? Empathise with the your audience and understand their needs. Focus on your intent to get your core content and then your supporting messages. Start with the facts that affect them. Keep it as simple, clear and short as you can. Put the heart in through what you emphasise. Use their business language. Use relevant anecdotes and stories. Where is the value for them? How are you getting their attention? Get the tone right based on the sender and receiver. Review with the audience to check it is relevant and the message is understood as you intended. translateyour message Recognise for global audiences communication will need to be translated. Even if the business language is stated as English, check comprehension levels of all audiences. Use locals to translate based upon intent/ outcomes and feelings rather than a literal translation. Also do a culture check for language choice, pictures, metaphors and stories. Check preferred communication styles and auditory, kinaesthetic and visual preferences. Audiences care about value and how the communication affects them (WIFM) you are shaping what they think about.
48. 48. 48COMMUNICATIONCHANNEL channel face to face remote written 1 to 1s Town halls/ Panels Team Brief/ Huddles Breakfast Updates Informal coffee chats Lunches Walkabouts (MBWA) Training/ Seminars Conferences World Cafes Roadshows Exhibitions Open Space/ Ai Event Video Conference Telephone Voice mail Web cast Conference call CEO Podcast Weekly Newscast Video Executive Vlogs Email/ Memo/Tweet Intranet/ SharePoint Briefing Pack Executive Summary Toolkits Training guide Letter SMS/ Pager Blog Social Media Sites Posters Newsletter/ Ezine Fun collateral Daily Ticker Persuade with content reinforced by your voice, body language, eye contact and physical appearance and supporting visual collateral Persuade with content reinforced by voice and listening skills and supporting visual collateral Persuade with content, reinforced by attention grabbing words, visuals, good design The message comes first, then the target audience and translation followed by the best channel/ medium to deliver the message. You should seek several delivery channels to meet individual preferences. For example: and medium
49. 49. 49COMMUNICATIONCHANNEL channel1. Less is more - Limit the number of official channels you use, choose carefully and use them really well 2. Channel choice - Initially it comes down to considering two factors how concerned will people be about the message and how urgent is it to get the message out there? 3. No PC - Recognise some of your employees do not have access (or regular access) at work to a PC. If you want them to use online resources put kiosks in. However do not rely on this as a main channel. Ask if you want to regularly text them if this is the appropriate channel for them. 4. Time and timing: Even if they do have access their role may make it difficult to take time out to read communications i.e. call centre staff. Allocate adequate time for regular communication with these teams. If you are doing events and shift workers make provision for them to attend or be involved in some way. Intranet Short, quick information retrieval Paper Learning complicated information Face to face Behaviour change Use the chart below based upon your intent to think through the channel mix you will need.
50. 50. 50COMMUNICATIONCHANNEL-TECHNOLOGY choose your technology channel Evolving technology is having a major impact on business communication especially with its accessibility, interactivity and speed especially mobile technologies. This technology should be an enabler, to provide solutions that can help businesses, to reach the dispersed audience they want to engage. We need to remember it represents new channels of communication that are useful to many but not to everyone it is just part of the mix. However do not ignore it as it represents a massive culture change within society especially mobile technologies. However be careful of new shiny object syndrome it can be fatal. There have been significant changes in employee attitudes, values and behaviours in recent years. With the technologies employees use at home there is an expectation to use them at work. It is changing peoples behaviour, the way they connect, collaborate and share their opinions, ideas and experiences. Influence comes through relationships and social networking is an integral part of building these relationships. Connection and participation Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate information sharing, collaboration and user centred design on the web including hosted services, web applications, social networking sites, video sharing sites, wikis, blogs, mashups and tagging. These intranets/ websites allow users to interact with each and change content rather than just passively view them. (e.g. SharePoint, Face Book, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, Bebo, LinkedIn). There are so many tools available. Choose carefully and if possible involve IT and your younger colleagues to support you. 1) Ensure the tools you choose are relevant to people and are useful in their work. Ask people what they want to achieve, listen to their ideas and seek to solve business issues. 2) Keep it simple and develop a limited toolbox of useful tools with guidance/ examples on how to use them. Let people decide which ones will help them with the support of local technology and social media champions. 3) Publicise the tools internally on a regular basis and hold events/ training sessions to promote how to use them make the fun and useful. Take action to show you are listening. 4) Establish guidelines on content, confidentiality, etiquette and standards for internal and external social media usage.
51. 51. 51COMMUNICATIONCHANNELS technology channel Coming in house with SharePoint and Yammer For larger organisations intranets are now seen as the foundations for internal communication. However few have developed these into the online collaboration tools especially if they are led by IT rather than internal communication. However the recent arrival of Microsoft SharePoint with Yammer (a free add on to its Server) provides the technology platform to deliver this much more easily within Businesses. It provides a fully functioning web portal for content management, collaboration tools, shared calendars and contacts, alerts, discussion boards, blogs, wikis, document management, web collaboration and customizable web pages. Allowing you to bring Web 2.0 in house and brand it. Have a look at the website. The opportunities Technology provides the opportunity to innovate and experiment it is about creating communities, encouraging dialogue, knowledge sharing, ideas generation, encouraging questions and sometimes dissent. You need to let your employees help create this new world and bring the conversations in-house. Ownership is about championing and nurturing not controlling. IT need a solution oriented remit as an enabler to make it work for you. If increasing dialogue, aiding transparency and breaking down silos are within your communication aims these technologies can be powerful enablers. You do not need to use it all at once just dip your toe in. Begin piloting some of these concepts and tailoring them for your culture. Using employee segmentation and new media provides the tools and support to create online forums for communities to share information, best practice, knowledge, solutions to everyday challenges and ideas i.e. for managers, projects, talent, graduates, champions, pathfinders, locations, specialism's. Also for employee surveys you can set up discussion boards/ build an interactive e-zine on key issues, use twitter for on the pulse feedback or introduce your own LinkedIn/ Facebook for networking within the business. You also have the tools to filter, analyse and digest the content for language, themes and hot issues. Also with the shift to Mobile and Tablet use ensure your content can be accessed and works easily on all platforms. Do not ignore, do not legislate against - just seek out the opportunity and explore the possibilities.
52. 52. 52COMMUNICATIONMEASUREMENT measure The goal of all communication should be to have the right impact. There is a growing expectation that communication activities should be linked to business performance. However people often struggle to measure the impact of internal communication through lack of skills, resources and management commitment. They say it is intangible and it often becomes more about happy sheets than linking it to the business bottom line and return on investment (ROI). Internal Communication often struggles to be valued as a strategic rather than tactical resource. Without measurement such a shift is less likely to happen as business leaders need to see the value of internal communication in supporting important business activities. things that matter In our experience it is about where you start from not where you finish up. You have to identify how you are going to measure outcomes as you establish objectives. The more they relate to business rather than function metrics the better. When you are working within your business as strategic enablers and business partners it will be much easier get them working on outcomes as well as outputs early on. 1. Go BIG picture first. - The importance of you understanding the business context and business metrics. Measure ROI for the Function and the value it adds to the business keep evaluating. 2. Involve Senior Management early on in setting objectives and agreeing the measures that address business performance. 3. Focus on desired outcomes not outputs and work out how you are going to measure before you start. 4. Set critical success factors (CSFs) that are quantifiable, achievable and aligned with business goals. As the project progresses, if plans shift, remember to move the measurement too. 5. Whilst the soft side is harder to measure, the value and learning from both together can be invaluable. Use pulse surveys and focus groups to gauge the effectiveness of specific communications or channels. 6. If you have resistance to measurement - learning is a good place to start with a softer message in showing the value of communication measurement and results. 7. Start from an external customer centric position and link to customer data. Then get to know your target audiences needs really well. These are your foundations. 8. Publish interim results for Divisions/ Business Units. You will create a healthy sense of competition between units and improve response rates. 9. Consider establishing Pilots studies and control groups to create business cases. 10. Reviewing specific channels is as much about learning as ROI. 11. Measure managers communication knowledge and skills to ensure they know what is expected of them. 12. Use secondary sources of benchmark research like Melcrum and the IABC to support your business case.
53. 53. 53EMPLOYEESENSING sensing employee dialogue Sense making - Face to face through focus groups, world cafes, open space events, surveys (satisfaction, culture, pulse), discussion forums and interviews. Online using interactive discussion boards, Facebook, blogs, twitter and innovative tools to track opinions. They should be structured and scheduled as part of the way we do things to measure communications impact on business effectiveness and to really understand your audiences. Establish a regular timeframe for your surveys and stick to it. Employee sensing sends out a message we are actively listening. It is about involving people gaining different perspectives, learning, identifying priorities, creativity and new ideas, articulating the business language, giving people the opportunity to contribute, engaging hearts and minds, challenging stuck mindsets and having fun. It also means you need to show you have heard by taking action. 1. Begin with the end in mind what are you trying to find out/ achieve?. 2. Aim to capture qualitative and quantitative information from employees by engaging and involving them. Treat them as intelligent business partners. 3. Face to face sessions can be from a traditional Q & A to an off the wall adventure. Consider using surveys, voting, listening walls, creative expression, games, storytelling, challenges, role plays within the groups. The sessions should be a learning experience for everyone. 4. Sensing exercises are a commitment in resource; and as they engage hearts and minds they raise expectations that something will change as a result of the dialogue. So there needs to be a commitment from leaders to follow through before you begin. 5. Provide feedback on the results to show: You have listened; what actions you will be taking; what you wont be doing and why. It is OK not to do but you need a why not communication. 6. Take meaningful action and get buy-in by continuing to involve people in action groups and implementation teams. Employee listening and dialogue to measure and make sense of THEIR world. What are they interested in? What makes them tick? How can you engage them?2 WAY Feedback as an employer of choice Testing new approaches/ systems Checking awareness Testing understanding Appreciative inquiry Gathering new ideas/ improvements Identifying motivators Identifying improvements Articulating what the brand means to employees Gathering stories and anecdotes
54. 54. Peggy Norman Presidential Speech Writer If I were advising a candidate I would say : Dont be so eager to be bright and quick and clever and memorable. Be YOU, try to be honest, speak with all the candour you can muster and say it the way youd say it to your family
55. 55. 55 COMMUNICATION ROLES
56. 56. 56COMMUNICATIONROLES roles Managing Leading Planning and budgeting Establishing Direction Organising and staffing Aligning people Controlling and problem solving Motivating and inspiring Producing predictability, consistent results on time, on budget Producing change often dramatic Efficiency - does the thing right Effectiveness does the right thing Make communication a formal part of the leaders and line managers role, identify core communication competencies, give each manager effective communication training and set performance measures in appraisals. Support them centrally by investing in a Internal Communication Function. Eliminate the barriers and guide them on where and how IC can add value. Consider providing local Business Partners and a Pathfinders/ Champions network. communication Communication barriers 1. No time/ other priorities 2. Little or no planning 3. Poor communication skills creates fear 4. Trapped in the tactical 5. Communication is check the box activity 6. Not engaged in role 7. Doesnt value communication 8. Communication is reactive and scattered 9. Knowledge is power - withholds information and limits what is shared 10. IC limited access/ not at the table Communication Counts!
57. 57. 57LEADERSHIPCOMMUNICATION Let Leaders lead the way the ideal is a highly visible senior team that get out and about to engage with employees. A team who understand the importance of effective employee communication and show commitment towards it with time and resources. They understand their role to deliver key messages about strategy, goals and priorities so everyone can work towards them. They also seek to inspire, motivate and engage employees. Credible leaders Technical skills Relationship skills Walk the talk + + Empathy Likeable Personable Approachable Competent Expert Composed Consistent Action oriented Get things done Integrity Promises to action The leader (and manager ) communication challenges 1. Bringing the strategy to life for their team 2. Getting the business message across meaningfully 3. Leading the team through change and making sense of all the initiatives 4. Supporting the party line in a way that does not impact on their credibility and integrity 5. Sharing difficult and bad news communication leadership The art of communication is the language of leadership James Humes
58. 58. 58LEADERCOMMUNICATING leader communicating Direction and focus Be visible, manage by walking around (MBWA), set a course for the business (vision, goals, strategy) and the focus/ priorities (business agenda). Provide clarity by simply communicating the business strategy and agenda to multiple audiences to achieve alignment and consensus. Then move forward keeping people informed, involved and aligned by sharing stories, decisions, knowledge and ideas. Also introduce and communicate change as necessary. Roles clearly communicate the roles people will play getting to the destination and make sure you delegate responsibility whilst retaining accountability. Together create ownership in the outcome by involving people, giving them a voice and ensuring they understand their responsibilities in the journey. Persuade with passion be authentic, convey your passion, inspire, influence others and build momentum. Show you care, are committed to the outcome and motivate others to join you. Empathise to connect and see things from your audience perspective. Take into consideration how they will be thinking, what they will be feeling and their behaviour. Recognise the impact of different communication styles. 1 2 3 4 5 Celebrate recognise milestones, others contribution and give recognition ensuring you share the credit with everyone involved. Say/ Do actions speak louder than words we speak with our words but we communicate with our actions - recognise you give as many messages by what you do as what you say your people are watching - make sure your actions match your words and you always follow through. Role model the change you want to see and lead by example. Be proud of and an advocate for the business. 6 7
59. 59. 59LEADERCOMMUNICATING leadercommunicating The rules of speech simple, repeatable, memorable. Elevator strategy speech 1. One sentence on what the strategy is seeking to achieve 2. Three reasons why we are doing it 3. Three things we are going to be doing 4. Three benefits of this approach Bill Quirke Making the Connections What does Get, Support and Do mean for a Leader? Guidance for leaders: 1. Focus on the vital few promise less and do more often. 2. Be really clear on your intent. 3. Do lots of listening and questioning. 4. Make sure your communication is succinct but also content rich not hot air. 5. Be deliberate about making promises and be willing to say no.
60. 60. Peter Drucker Leadership is not magnetic personality, that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not making friends and influencing people, that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a persons vision to higher sights, the raising of a persons performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.
61. 61. 61MANAGERCOMMUNICATING manager communicating 1 2 3 4 5 Task plan and manage the allocation and achievement of tasks supported by regular communication with individuals, your team and colleagues who are involved. Roles clearly communicate the roles people will play getting the job done and make sure you delegate responsibility for targets. Ensure everyone knows how their job fits into the bigger picture and in meeting customer needs. 1 to 1 give timely performance feedback to your team members on their roles, development and career opportunities. Act as a mentor and a coach. Involve them in discussions and listen to them too. Commitment deliver leader and central communication to your team regularly and give feedback. Show your commitment to leadership direction, convey your enthusiasm and build momentum locally with your team. Encourage collaboration with other teams within your area and across the business. Join in. Team build a team with regular scheduled team time for information exchange (business wide programmes, updates on their and other teams activities and senior team messages) and discussion (ideas and suggestions). Tailor messages to the local business context. Recognise milestones, acknowledge contributions and give recognition ensuring you share the credit with everyone involved. Organise regular informal social gatherings too. 6 Say/ Do make sure your actions match your words. Do not over promise. Role model best practice and lead by example so your team support you. Managers are popular sources of information as they impact employees daily lives and therefore what they communicate is seen as more credible and relevant. Make sure the manager engages in regular two way dialogue on subjects that matter to their team and they find interesting. Make communication a formal part of the line managers role, identify core communication competencies, give each line manager effective communication training and set performance measures in appraisals.
62. 62. 62MANAGERCOMMUNICATIONSKILLSTOOLKIT Navigating change Targeting communication Hearts, minds and hands delivery skills Thinking of the Business context Effective cascade Singing from the same song book MANAGER COMMUNICATION SKILLS TOOLKIT Coaching people Listening Understanding and resolving conflict Interpersonal skills
63. 63. 63COMMUNICATIONPATHFINDERS pathfinders A network of upcoming energised talent sponsored by the CEO as business pathfinders (finding the way through). The task to be advocates for change, lead as role models and promoters of business priorities across the business. The aim is to get the talented middle managers involved in engaging employees and improving their communication skills. Also the role encourages more senior ownership, buy in and commitment to business programmes. 1. To provide Internal Communications with ideas/ feedback on engaging management audiences on their role to lead the business. 2. To provide feedback to Communications on the business environment. 3. To engage peers in supporting and delivering programmes and key business priorities by selling them on the value of the them. 4. To lead by example live the values. 5. To promote campaign messages and build momentum. 6. To notice and recognise when others live the values. 7. Support and mentor your Champions network. 8. Support business Orientation/ Induction programmes. 9. As future senior leaders of the business to learn about: driving change, generating and delivering on ideas, engaging audiences, developing great influencing and communication skills and the value of IC within the business as a strategic tool. PATHFINDER = TALENT Direct, Lead, Advocate, Inspire, Engage, Role Model, Support Role support ideas: Campaign Briefings/ Q & A for programmes; Quarterly open invitation two hour think tank on topical topics; Quarterly IC Ideas Caf; 6 monthly CEO Pathfinder lunch Put yourself in my place discussions; Intranet chat room to openly discuss key topics; Represented on Business Working Groups; Involved in Business Orientation/ Induction programmes; Attendance Champions Team Days.
64. 64. 64COMMUNICATIONCHAMPIONS Working with their Manager Partner and supporter in their role as an effective communicator Doing it with them and for them not to them Manager Briefing toolkit Tasks. For instance: Explaining and administering central initiatives for them Targeting and translating messages for the audience and briefing your Manager Feedback on the teams communication preferences Organising meetings and preparing materials Explaining communication methods and tools Giving them feedback from your audience (their team) How do you create a support network for corporate communications internally, support for managers, skill build future leaders and build a network across the business? Introduce Communication Champions for each distinct area of the business. Establishing and developing a team of communication champions across the business creates a network, an official company grapevine, manager support team, content providers, skill builds and adds a local resource to deliver programmes. You need Senior Management support for selection and the roles. Be clear on their responsibilities , brief their managers well and set boundaries so they are not seen as management moles! Bystanders Champions Loose Cannons Weak Links Emotional Commitment IntellectualUnderstanding GET SUPPORT DO champion The network of champions needs to reflect the organisation chart with representatives from key teams, functions and geographies. They need to be trained, connect regularly and be briefed at least each quarter. They should also have a toolkit and their own intranet space to build their community. They should be recognised and rewarded as an integral part of the team.
65. 65. 65COMMUNICATIONCHAMPION Core: connected, credible and respected by their peers right attitude can do Skills: good influencer well networked in Business Unit action planner some experience of delivering presentations some writing skills potential facilitator empathy keen to learn change agent resilient Role Model Ambassador Champion Networked Networker Knowledgeable Well Informed Planner Communicator Facilitator Listener Presenter Coach Mentor Empathiser Idea Generator Change Agent Doer/ Implementer Evaluator Contributor 1) Content providers 2) Supporting communication campaigns locally 3) Delivering messages within their team 4) Gathering regular feedback 5) Supporting managers to help them communicate better 6) Building know-how: business and communication skills champion Asking the right questions at the right time? Meaningful conversations
66. 66. team There are many different structures for internal communications. A starting point is to set up the discipline to mirror the business structure so that it can provide support with local business partners. You need an effective, senior level head of internal communication leading a professional team . They should be structured and focused on providing business partnering, consultancy and communication delivery for the business. They need to add value and be a strategic catalyst for change. You will also need Senior Executive sponsorship for the Function. Such a diverse remit requires a team of specialist practitioners with a broad knowledge and range of skills including: strategic and conceptual thinking, business literacy, coaching, creativity, relationship management, communication and planning. The speed of change within businesses and within the communication industry means they also need time to keep abreast of whats happening In relevant fields. Internal Communication (1: IC) often reports into another Function: Corporate Communication (2:News Agenda/ CSR), Marketing (3:Customer Service) or Human Resources (4:Employee Engagement) each of these creates a bias (1 to 4) that needs to be managed. All four perspectives are required wherever it sits. 66COMMUNICATIONFUNCTION Business Partners supporting/ facilitating the agenda and employee dialogue on: Customer centricity, business strategy and direction. business performance and news, organisational change, issues and crisis management, the brand, pride, employee engagement, corporate social responsibility functionexample
67. 67. 67COMMUNICATIONFUNCTION function team The Senior Team need to define the role of Internal Communication so they clarify what they want to achieve. They need to sponsor the team, provide regular access to leaders and ensure they focus on business objectives. The model shown allows you to: 1) centralise tasks when you need alignment for corporate strategy and consistency in message delivery and 2) devolve tasks to local teams when you need greater alignment to business operations with more tailored communications. The Business Partners can then implement central and local initiatives based upon the operational business agenda. They can share creative and event management resources centrally. This also allows the Communication Director to hold a picture of the complete business context to support Senior Leaders. The Air Traffic Control function can then help develop and manage the channels for the business, ensuring business critical messages get heard..
68. 68. 68COMMUNICATIONBUSINESSPARTNER The professional Business Partner: 1. Partner with local management as a strategic advisor, catalyst for change and communication expert. 2. Coach leaders on communication skills and guide on best practice 3. Business literacy speak the language of the business, understand the business context and what the customers need help with outcomes rather than outputs. 4. Support the design and delivery of Local Communication Plans and the IC Service Level Agreement. 5. Co-ordinate and deliver key central messages. 6. Articulate and deliver innovative and creative local campaigns and messages with local teams. 7. Establish and build local communication channels: 8. Manage employee sensing processes. 9. Support major change initiatives assess the climate for change, identify issues and get people ready, engage people and focus on changing behaviours. 10. Measure results and gather regular feedback on performance. Provide local management with a communication dashboard showing the results. 11. Business Unit Representative within Corporate Communications function. 12. Support and skill build the champions network. Business partner: Proactive business literate Partner, Relationship Manager, Communicator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Expert, Mentor, Change Agent, Manager, Politician, Influencer, Motivator, Planner, Deliverer, Measurer, Innovator, partner business Be courageous, be curious, look for the possibilities, empathise, broaden your knowledge, enhance your skills as a communicator, lead and support. Listen and advise Ear to the ground, info on hot topics and issues, overview on business context, advise on when and how to participate Succinctly craft Communicating on their behalf to protect and enhance their reputation Channel Consultancy Advice on type of channel and context it will be delivered in - when to call, write, meet face to face or remote. The mix. Engage as Partner Engage with their agenda to support them and their teams to deliver - not direct activities.
69. 69. 69CORPORATECOMMUNICATION corporate Stakeholders Customers Shareholders Employees Partners Suppliers Competitors Government Regulators Trade Bodies Financial Community Media/ Journalists Consumer Groups The remit to deliver effective corporate communication includes: a) Managing and interpreting relationships b) Encouraging listening and engaging in dialogue c) Protecting and maintaining reputation Government Relations Media/ Press Activity Public Affairs Investor Relations Sector Relations PR Relationships Events and Sponsorship Management Agency Management Crisis Management Communication PR Management Internal Communication Corporate Social Responsibility Sustainability Agenda Brand and Reputation Management Corporate It is important to understand Internal Communication is one part of a larger picture where alignment between the external and internal roles is key.
70. 70. Jim Rohn Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions occur, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity and the emotions to affect other people.
71. 71. 71 COMMUNICATING SKILLS
72. 72. 72PERSONALCOMMUNICATIONSKILLS From business to politics, those who command attention in their personal or professional lives are typically masters and developing and delivering great communication. The ability to speak well, write clearly and communicate powerfully helps you accomplish many things. In a business environment every phone call, meeting; in fact every opportunity to communicate demonstrates your abilities and value you need to be constantly conscious of the impression (spoken, written and unspoken) you make on everyone - communication skills count and yet many people fail to recognise their importance in doing their job and enhancing their career prospects. Your communication style, the way you present yourself, how you articulate who you are and what you care about; and the way you communicate with those around you, are business critical skills. You need to be able to connect with your audience. They demand passion, inspiration, preparation, clarity, brevity, presence, simplicity and all delivered in a visually compelling package. What you do needs to support what you say. It is vital to focus on the clarity and simplicity of the content. However it is not just what you say but also how you behave that sends messages . Define your own style and always seek to focus on the small details like introductions, names , manners, thank you and congratulations. They matter and create the right impression. skill set Speak Write Present Action Content Style Delivery YOU personalcommunication
73. 73. 73COMMUNICATIONSKILLSPERSONALBRAND brand Start with the questions above and write an attention grabbing one page introduction to you WHO YOU ARE, WHAT YOU DO AND WHY YOU DO IT Include a photo! If you are the product what differentiates you and your personal brand? Be your brand, be confident and stand up for what you believe in: word, deed, action and package design! Be consistent at all levels. Be proud of who you are and what you do. What do I stand for? What am I known for? What am I passionate about? What am I best at? How can I stand out? How do I add value? How visible am I?
74. 74. 74COMMUNICATIONSKILLSHELLO Get comfortable with your story. If it is well thought through, and you believe it then it wont sound false. Confidence counts here. I AM Who I am Who I serve I DO What I help them do How I help, support and add value BECAUSE WHY I do it Show your passion (this is the differentiator and provides the emotional connection) hello GET IN STATE B L FL FOUNDATIONS Image, confidence, skill set, technical know how, presence. BUILD RAPPORT GET INTERESTED Ask questions, listen, be creative, generate solutions, sell benefits, be enthusiastic, enjoy yourself, be real. FOLLOW THROUGH
75. 75. 75COMMUNICATIONSKILLSGETINSTATE state This is about creating the right frame of mind and way of being to succeed and be confident. We each make choices all the time on our outlook on life. We can change our state in a minute by changing what we focus on, the language we use or simply moving our body in a different way. To be a successful communicator we can choose to be authentic, live by our values, have an optimistic outlook, with an energised and upbeat can do attitude. We can focus on success and achievement. Having a solution orientation towards our work, with 100% commitment to being a professional and adding value. We can walk tall with confidence and believe in our talents. We can choose to live in the moment. We can choose to own our actions. Or we can live our life through the rear view mirror, lacking confidence, worrying about past mistakes, politicking, blaming others, concerned about our jobs and lacking any real energy to change anything. We can choose to play victim it is everyone elses fault! 1. Part of my work - not an extra task if I get time 2. Positive can do attitude and enthusiasm 3. Total self belief I am ok and I add value 4. Great language 5. Clear and relevant 6. Give and prove your value 7. Enjoy the journey! OWNER or VICTIM? You CHOOSE your response. Make the right choices and focus on the triad above to directly influence your behaviour. Cultivate a winning attitude.
76. 76. 76COMMUNICATIONSKILLSQUESTIONS question the conversation 1) Seek to understand their issues/ challenges from different perspectives. 2) Find out which messages are most important to them and why. 4) Go into depth what is the evidence and what is the impact of the issue for different stakeholders. 5) Summarise to check you have understood. 6) Articulate the core message and supporting messages for each stakeholder. Start with a genuine interest and do your research beforehand. Ask more questions than you answer. Remember: Open questions to open up dialogue and closed questions to conclude/ summarise. Effective questioning brings insight, which fuels curiosity, which cultivates wisdom. Chip Bell What is the real question rather than the answer? How does this tie into the business strategy centrally/ locally? What is happening and why? What is the impact of ineffective communication on the business results? How important is it to communicate right now? What does our culture suggest about the way we should communicate? Who are all the stakeholders we want to communicate with? What do we want people to get, support and do in your business? What is the core messages we want to get across to different employee groups? What is the most effective means to get the message across? Do we communicate as effectively across all locations? Do we communicate consistently to head office functions and within our business lines? Are our managers skilled communicators? How do we know our communication is effective?
77. 77. 77COMMUNICATIONSKILLSLISTEN 1. Value the speaker respect their position and be patient. 2. Actively listen for the content of the message. 3. Communication takes place when information passes from a source to a receiver. If you spend all of your listening time planning how to zing the other party, then, when they finally stop talking, you havent heard them. 4. Show that you are listening look at the person speaking, give them your full attention. Resist distractions even when other things are going on in the room. 5. Listen to the FACTS that people are saying at different levels to the FEELINGS they are expressing and to the INTENTIONS which may be hidden amongst their words. 6. Note the speaker cues how it is said - verbal and non-verbal . 7. Listen to your clients point of view with an open mind i.e. dont find excuses to offer others criticism/ feedback. Sometimes what they say is true but you dont want to listen. Put preconceived ideas aside. 8. Respond to the feelings of the speaker. 9. Listen to what is not said listen between the lines. Ask clients to expand on their statements by focussing on what has not been said. 10. Acknowledge information as you go along and ask questions. 11. Remember to summarise and reflect back what you have heard. 12. Check immediately if something is not clear. 13. Do not interrupt. 14. Do not rely on your memory so take good notes including key words and phrases. Mans inability to communicate is a result of his failure to listen effectively Carl Rogers Two ears and one mouth - use them in that proportion Listen more than you speak. DEVELOP THE SKILL OF ACTIVELY LISTENING
78. 78. 78COMMUNICATIONSKILLSSPEAK speak 1 2 3 5 6 4 Be real. Make sure your communication comes across as natural, sincere and authentic. The purpose of communication is to deliver a message so always start with the audience in mind not yourself. Think about the issues your audience will care about not what you want to say. Be confident and clear about what messages or points you want to make have a clear goal every time you speak - before you speak, try to be clear in your own mind how your points relate to the topic under discussion. Make the benefits to the audience the common denominator in every message. Language think about the words you use carefully choose words that connect with people - to build upon, reinforce and powerfully get your message across so that it is noticed and understood. Speak in ways that help people understand what you want to say: Speak loudly enough so others can hear. Keep focused on key points. Dont ramble. Explain special or unusual terms you use: Avoid jargon when you can Avoid sarcasm and put downs. Practice making eye contact with the people in the room as it helps listeners feel more connected to you Try drawing a simple sketch of what you h