Need engagement? Don't communicate

I've posted along these lines before, but because the hot topic of engagement doesn't seem to be going anywhere soon, it's worth a refresh--and this brief article from Forbes online make the point again.

Businesses seek engaged employees because the unleashed energy will drive the business farther and faster.  But the focus and energy of engagement aren't the same thing as "happiness."  If anything, they're more like "hope."

As the article mentions, one more team lunch at Olive Garden won't do the trick, probably because that lunch will be seen as 1) the shallow gesture it is and 2) the time spent now means I'll be getting home later.  So much for happiness.  People get energized about their work when they can see that their best efforts can make an important difference: product quality, business reputation, recognition, pay, new opportunities (and no, you can't add "you get to keep your job" to that list).  People have to be hopeful their increased energy and investment will pay off for them.

Will a strategic communication campaign get that done?  Probably not.  As the Broadway song put it, "Don't talk of June, don't talk of fall -- don't talk at all! -- show me!"  The goal is that employees have first-hand experiences of the effectiveness of their efforts and the responsiveness of their leaders and systems.  Communications can support those experiences, but it can't deliver them.  

One of the most tried-and-true tactics to take when facing an unengaged workforce is to stop and ask people to articulate what's grinding them down.  First, you get credit for listening.  Second, you're likelier to get the solution right.  And be sure that "listening" doesn't feel like just another employee survey.

Next time you have the urge to sink resources into that campaign-theme video, sit down until the feeling passes.  It could just be another kind of breadstick.

Who's ready for BYOD?

Two articles: one a trend piece, the other a cautionary tale.

Shel Holtz, in the newest CW Magazine, talks about the "bring-your-own-device" culture that is emerging in the workplace:

"Some refer to this phenomenon as the consumerization of IT.  Others label it technology populism. . . Technology populism has weakened IT’s ability to keep the hatches battened down by simply controlling what people use.  What’s more, IT has been forced to deal with a growing demand among employees to use their personal devices—smartphones, tablets and more—at and for work.  BYOD has gained momentum among employees who would just as soon use their preferred technology as anything the company would give them."

Implications:

• employees want to be able to access company assets (intranets, file servers) from their own devices
• employees want their business apps (sales tools, logistics trackers) to go onto their personal devices
• employees may NOT want to receive typical corporate communications this way
• employees may not fully understand the risks they're absorbing (lost unprotected devices, redistribution of proprietary info)

I carried around two phones for a while—mine and the company's—and it sucks.  So BYOD is a trend that won't reverse, especially after IT starts to report some cost savings.  But is someone in your business thinking through those implications and how to manage them into effective communications?

The cautionary tale is from DiversityInc.  They give an example of how hot—in this case, racist—election rhetoric can find its way into the workplace via technology.  It's a very short distance from reading or downloading to discussing or, worse, forwarding.

IT, Legal, HR, division leadership and Communications are going to have to work on this together.  What should be your business' first step?

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Your employee's new world

This fairly simple graphic from the Corporate Executive Board -- in their usual, elegant style -- says it all. This is the big change that has occurred to everyone working in organizations: matrixed relationships.

Multiple accountabilities, multiple influencers . . . and the task of integrating it all falls to the employee as it never has before.

The implications of this shift for corporate communications are enormous.  You can no longer assume that the voice of senior leadership is the most important voice to hear.  Now senior leaders have to earn their credibility, not only through knowledge and relevance but also through acumen of how employees hear, learn, grow and act.  For executives formed in the old environment, operating in the new environment is not intuitive.

How would you support a leader to be effective in this new world?  You'd have to start by pointing to those new levers of influence that they can uniquely wield -- authority, authenticity, clarity -- and then consider how to deliver their particular insights in smaller and more surprising ways.

Is your leadership -- are you -- ready to do this?

Image from "The communicator's new reality: Building an agile organization"

© 2012 The Corporate Executive Board Company.  All Rights Reserved.

Your memo did not change my life—sorry

We're hopeful creatures.  We want people to think and behave rationally, and to respond well to facts and rational arguments.  In business, we just know that if we explain things well enough, everyone will a) understand, b) agree, c) feel enthused and d) take a new course of action.

Never mind that this is contrary to our own experience.  Research continues to show that the place inside us that weighs attitude changes is much nearer the heart than the head.  And the kinds of evidence that we admit -- or the kind of person who delivers it -- don't capture our attention just because they seem rational.

Marketers, who place high value on word-of-mouth and third-party validation, know this.  But somehow this recognition hasn't jumped over into organizational communications that assume that Facts Delivered By The CEO are the key to behavior change.

This article from the New York Times Magazine last Sunday leads with the topic of moral beliefs and the phenomenon of political flip-flopping, but you'll see the relevance to how businesses might better achieve a), b), c) and d) above.  There's probably a comms plan in your email that shows the messages and vehicles and delivery dates and audiences for an upcoming announcement or campaign, but where is the column in the plan that weights the potential effectiveness of each tactic?  That memo you're editing may be efficient, but it may also be useless.

How can you plan to really communicate with employees in ways that matter to them and to your bottom line?

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Teen attitudes toward social media: some surprises

There's a new study out from Common Sense Media about attitudes among US teens about social media and technology use -- and it's got some surprises.  Be sure to click through to the full report.

You know who teens are, right?  They're your next generation of employees.  And it turns out their loyalty to social media may be less monolithic than you think.  How many wish they could go back to a time without Facebook?  How many may be having their life online tainted by encountering bias content?

Spend a minute with some of the anxieties and interests reflected in these teens' responses -- and then reflect on how your use of social at your business could seize the opportunity to be different and valuable.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What have you got to give?

This solid blog from Rock The Post is a great summary of current thinking on how and why social media works.

The bottom line: social is about what you've got to give.  If a business wants to use social media internally, for its people, it has to think through what the medium will give people (and that had better be something they actually value or want).

Much corporate comms doesn't feel like a "gift" at all.  Even when it's pleasant, it only feels like a fist in a velvet glove.  But if you're giving people what they really want to know, your social platforms will light up like fireworks.

Do you know how to discover what your employees really want to know?

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Is it "crisis management" — or the new normal?

A problem hits.  Leaders huddle.  What do we do about the problem?  And what do we tell people about the problem and what we're doing about it?

In today's social media environment, delay is seen as lying—or, at best, figuring out how to spin.  A group of leaders basically has a few minutes to figure out what to do.  Which really means they need to have figured out options well in advance so they can use those few minutes to pick one to use.

This used to be the sole domain of crisis management, and the end goal was preparing a crisis management plan.  But now, in everyday matters as well, standards for speed of response and transparency are higher than ever.  If you have a well-oiled communications engine, you'll be ready for both crises and quick relationship opportunities.  This article from Listed nails it: "The more places and ways in which people can find you, the more ways you can influence or ensure you're a part of the conversation."

If you don't know if you're ready, you're probably not.   So where are your lists of:

• The types of things you can say immediately and the types of things you can't
• Who can go out—live, right now—and start responding
• The internal and external channels you always want to use
• Places where you'll be able to do real-time measurement of impact
• Who's on your quick-response team as you proceed (Legal, PR, HR, Marketing)

Or you could just wait a while and see what happens...

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net