Tag: internal communication

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Engagement

Gather Round: A Staff Meeting Template That Really Works

This popular post shares a practical and engaging staff meeting agenda. It’s been updated from its original posting in 2009.

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With e-mail dominating internal communications, staff meetings are becoming a lost art form. Here’s a meeting template that helps engage employees and minimize their passive participation.

I initially developed this template for an advertising & marketing firm that needed to bring together its creatives and administrators (aka “the suits”). With the creative staff at their desks and the account execs meeting with clients or media reps outside the office, casual internal communications was no longer effective for this group of 12 employees.

The following agenda (approximately one hour in length) was used in the agency’s staff meetings held twice a month. This template can be adapted by other organizations to suit their needs.

  1. What’s going on – agency principals share strategies, policies, and organizational updates with time allowed to address employee questions and concerns.
  2. Business development updates – account execs, sales and/or administrative staff members discuss:
    1. New clients and prospects,  including which account execs are involved so staff know the key agency contacts if a new client or prospect calls.
    2. Expanded client opportunities, soliciting employees’ ideas and suggestions on “what else” can be offered to help clients achieve their marketing and sales goals.
    3. Analysis of lost business to understand what happened with any terminated account.
  3. Campaigns in progress – creative and media staff members briefly share creative work and, if needed, changes or updates to existing campaigns.
  4. Lessons Learned – one or two employees voluntarily share a recent work-related experience:
    1. Favorite Mistakes (things we did that we don’t want to repeat)
    2. Favorite Catches (good things we did that we hope to do again).
  5. Wrap up/next steps – summarizing any follow up action items.

Implementing this meeting template resulted in a more informed and cohesive staff that better understood the firm’s business.They also expressed a better appreciation for how their individual and collective efforts contributed to client service and satisfaction.

 

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Customer service Engagement Featured Post

How to Engage Employees in Customer Care

When it comes to getting employees involved with customer satisfaction and retention, it’s not as difficult as some managers believe. Smart employees, including those who don’t have direct customer contact, have a vested interested in customer care. They get the reality that no customers = no business, and no business = no jobs.

Here are four critical keys to effectively engage employees in improving customer care.

Key #1. Solicit customer feedback from your employees. In staff meetings or in anonymous written form, ask employees to share what they hear from customers. You can use fill-in-the-blank type questions such as:

  • When asked what they like best about our company, our customers typically tell me …
  • When asked for ideas on how we can improve our products/service, customers tell me …
  • Recently, I heard about a customer’s (positive or negative) experience with our company. This is what the customer told me …
  • When people hear I work for this company, their typical response is …

Employees, especially those on the front line, have their ears to the market and need a safe outlet to communicate what they hear upward in the company. Their qualitative feedback is also valuable in alerting you to any changes in public perceptions about your brand.

Key #2. Solicit employee ideas on how to better serve your customers.  I once worked for a bank that received low customer satisfaction scores. Management responded by calling a meeting to share the results and then proceeded to berate the branch managers for the poor scores. And the bank wondered why their quarterly numbers didn’t improve while employee morale also declined! Yes, there were operational issues, but management didn’t want to hear about them. How much better it would have been for everyone if bank management had taken the time to ask branch team members some basic questions:

  • What gets in the way of your being able to provide quality service to our customers?
  • What can we reasonably do, given our resources, to overcome these obstacles?
  • In what ways can we better serve our customers?

Key #3.  Seek to strengthen workplace engagement from the inside out. Internal customer service drives external customer service. That’s why it’s important to engage the behind-the-scenes support staff who serve their fellow employees (i.e., “internal customers”). Encourage employees to work together to improve internal service and systems.

Key #4. Recognize your employees’ efforts in improving customer care. Acknowledge and reinforce employee engagement in improving customer satisfaction and retention in whatever way works best  in your organization.  And don’t forget to celebrate your success. (Not sure what to do here? Ask your employees.)

CAUTION: Employees feel respected when management asks for their input and listens to them. Nothing will shut down communication and trust faster than when employees see managers as just going through the motions to engage them. That’s why I advise you to proceed ONLY if you are serious about responding to your employees’ input and ideas. You’re not expected to implement every single employee idea you receive, but you are expected to explain which are feasible and which are not. Otherwise, you can forget about passing go and forget about collecting $200, as they say in Monopoly. Most definitely, you can forget about employee and customer engagement!

 

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Engagement Featured Post Training & Development

Overcoming the Responsibility vs. Authority Conflict: Lessons in Collaboration

How do you manage working with others when you’re responsible for a project they’re involved with, yet you’re given limited or no authority to get the work done?

While I do not recommend this approach, I’ve observed it in many organizations due to reasons that involve internal politics, lack of role clarity, and unshared commitment to goals, to name a few. I’ve also seen people without management authority effectively hurdle the challenge of working with others. Here are examples and lessons learned from two former clients I had the privilege of serving.

  • The “consortium” included representatives of federal statistical agencies from different countries that voluntarily came together to share their work and improve the comparability of their data. What was fascinating was this group worked cooperatively together in addition to their regular job responsibilities and without any extra staff support and resources. They developed and agreed on a mission statement, strategic plan, and working groups to complete a special joint project. They also walked a fine line to work informally–without bureaucratic interference from their respective agencies–while maintaining the necessary formal communication with their respective senior managers to assure continued institutional support for their activities.
  • The “coordinator” was set up to implement a federally-funded initiative for social change that called for integrating the efforts of existing community partners. The coordinating organization in this case had no authority over the partners and no grant-making ability to fund their involvement; i.e., partner participation was purely voluntary. While the overarching mission for social change was closely aligned with the partners’ respective missions, the nonprofits involved were already stressed with more demands than resources. So to engage its partners, the coordinator applied the WIIFM (“what’s in it for me?”) principle by offering them the opportunity to:
    • maximize their respective organizations’ impact in support of the initiative’s overarching goals
    • have a voice in making a difference
    • network with other partners
    • enhance their community visibility.

Lessons Learned
The purpose, structure, and goals of the “consortium” and “coordinator” were vastly different. However, they shared one thing in common: they had to rely on collaboration, rather than authority, to operate effectively. Here are the common elements of how they made it happen:

  • Mutual respect for all the participants/partners involved
  • Aligning and reinforcing a shared mission, vision, and goals among the various players
  • Clarifying and communicating role expectations
  • Frequently sharing progress updates with those involved
  • Recognizing and celebrating individual and collective achievements.

These lessons are applicable in almost all situations, not just those with responsibility vs. authority issues. As communications consultant Kare Anderson says:

“For most of our lives we’ve been advised to lead and manage others. We’ve been taught to resolve conflict, influence, negotiate and otherwise attempt to get what we want from people … But what about the concept of us? More people would rather enjoy the camaraderie of smart collaboration than be lead, persuaded or managed.”

Categories
Training & Development

Staff Meetings 101: A Guide for Younger Employees

Undercurrents in the workplace are conspiring against face-to-face staff meetings. Organizations seem to hold fewer of them, due to time constraints or a preference for the expediency of electronic communication. A growing generation of high school and college grads are entering the workforce with finely-honed texting and screen-time skills, but less experience in face-to-face interaction. In addition, corporate “soft-skills” training programs in management development and organizational communications have been waylaid by reduced budgets.

Despite this gloomy scenario, face-to-face meetings will never become extinct. So here’s a quick guide to help younger employees and/or those new to the workforce effectively participate in (and eventually conduct) productive staff meetings.

  • Know the reason for the meeting BEFORE you attend; if this info isn’t available, ask the meeting leader to clarify the meeting’s purpose. It’s a waste of peoples’ valuable time if they’re not told the reason for the meeting. The only exception is a special meeting called by senior managers to share sensitive information that they’re unable to let employees know about in advance.
  • It’s OK to ask: “What is supposed to happen as a result of this meeting?” For example, is the meeting’s purpose to make a decision? Or clarify issues and concerns as input for decision-making? Asking questions in meetings can be a great strategy to clarify information, probe deeper into issues, and demonstrate that you’ve been listening  – as long as you’re not asking questions just for the sake of asking questions. However, if you’re confused about the discussion, it’s better to speak up than to sit quietly and give the impression you understand when you don’t have a clue. In most cases, if you have a question, so might other people … and they’ll appreciate that you spoke up about it.
  • Be prepared to participate – know whether your role is to provide information, present issues/concerns, exchange ideas, and/or listen so you can take the meeting’s information back to your fellow employees. The more you know what is expected of you, the better you can prepare and contribute to a productive and efficient meeting.
  • Be respectful of everyone’s time; save any small talk during the meeting for the break room or coffee machine. There may be chit chat at the beginning of the meeting while the group warms up, but continuing it during the meeting only wastes time and annoys co-workers (not to mention the meeting leader).
  • It’s good to ask: “What follow up is needed? Who will do what … when?” The answers should confirm and reinforce any follow up that’s expected of you and others. Whenever possible, you want to avoid saying, “I didn’t know I was supposed to do [fill-in-the-blank] after the meeting!”
  • It’s also good to ask: “What, if any, information from this meeting needs to be shared and with whom?” This response should help ensure communication is passed along to others in the company. It will also prevent you from making the major mistake of sharing sensitive or confidential information not meant to be shared.

Besides knowing what to say and do in a staff meeting, it’s helpful to know what NOT to say and do. I’ll cover that in my next post.

 

Categories
Engagement

Stop Treating Employees Like They’re Stupid

A friend who works for a Fortune 500 company called me in disbelief. His company held an all-employee meeting to share its end-of-year results. Among the key messages:

  1. The company had a great year and profits were up.
  2. Due to the uncertain economy, no merit increases would be given.
  3. If employees were upset, they could write to their congressional representatives because the government’s inability to make a decision on the debt situation was to blame for fiscal uncertainty.

Sadly, it’s not uncommon these days for companies to hold back from sharing the wealth. [Check out this Business Insider post, We Need To Stop Maximizing Profit And Start Maximizing Value.] But to suggest employees blame the government?! I’m guessing the internal communications folks didn’t get a chance to vet the CEO’s remarks.

Here’s the takeaway for employees who do their best to help the company achieve its financial goals: their hard work is acknowledged and recognized but NOT rewarded because senior management says it’s out of their control. Yeah, right …

Not to worry, though, as this company’s employees are still engaged – they’re engaged in updating their resumes and networking for new jobs.

 

 

Categories
Engagement

When Your Business Needs Help: What to Ask and of Whom

You’ve got to love the results of contradictory studies. One day you’re told that salt, eggs, caffeine, or fill-in-the-blank is bad for you. Then later you’re told that it’s not that bad.

Such conflicting advice isn’t limited to health – you also find it in business. For example:

  • Think BIG … Think small.
  • Be innovative … Stick to the knitting (i.e., what you know and do best).
  • Adopt best practices … Use your intuition and make your own path.
  • The devil is in the details … Don’t sweat the small stuff.
  • Plan for the short term … Plan for the long term.

Which advice should you follow?
The answer is relative: whatever makes the most sense for your organization – depending on your industry and your corporate culture/values/stakeholders, etc. To find the answer(s), you can look in-house.

That’s right, I advocate you start with your employees before going to an outside consultant. Why? Because “The insiders of an organization understand the stupidity of its traditions better than the outsiders,” according to successful entrepreneur Andrew Filipowski. He understands that those closest to the situation may have the best ideas for improvement.

If you find yourself in a quandary about what to do to move your organization forward, ask your employees to discuss and share ideas based on their responses to the following questions:

  • What has worked for our organization in the past? … How can we do more of what worked?
  • What hasn’t worked? … How we can do less of what hasn’t worked?
  • What do we need to continue doing?
  • What else do we need to do?

These are simple, yet profound and powerful questions that are solutions-oriented. (Note: you can learn more about this approach in this introduction to “Solutions Focus in Organizations”.)

You have employees who can help, and you have the questions to ask them. What are you waiting for?

Categories
Engagement

“Share of Mind, Share of Heart” Book News

Nonprofit professionals, leaders and volunteers interested in Share of Mind, Share of Heart: Marketing Tools of Engagement for Nonprofits now have the option to purchase it in both print and electronic versions. In response to numerous requests, my latest book is available for purchase and download at Energize Inc.’s Bookstore. I’m honored that Energize, Inc., a valuable resource for ALL things related to volunteerism, has chosen to offer my book.

For those readers who prefer print, Share of Mind, Share of Heart: Marketing Tools of Engagement for Nonprofits is conveniently available online through WME Books, and Amazon.

Categories
Engagement Featured Post Training & Development

You’re in Trouble If Your Employees Can’t Answer These Questions

  • What is your organization’s mission (purpose) and where is it headed (strategy and goals)?
  • What is expected of employees in helping the company achieve its goals?
  • Who are your customers and why do they choose to do business with you? Also, how do employee efforts impact customer satisfaction?
  • What is your brand promise and what’s involved in delivering on it?
  • How do employees know they are valued by the company?

Seriously, you can’t expect to engage employees if they don’t know why their work matters and what it entails. Be prepared to provide them with clear answers upfront (when they join the company), and then frequently remind them because the responses are likely to change based on what’s happening in the competitive marketplace.

Don’t make them guess the answers. It’s really no fun for your employees, customers, and stakeholders.

Categories
Engagement Marketing

What They’re Saying About “Share of Mind, Share of Heart”

I’m thrilled with the positive response to my new book, Share of Mind, Share of Heart: Marketing Tools of Engagement for Nonprofits.

I’m honored to share these more detailed book reviews by Ivana Taylor, Small Business Trends, and Wayne Hurlbert, Blog Business World.

Here are several recent reviews that I’m also honored to share.

“With a great passion for (and deep expertise in) nonprofit marketing, Sybil Stershic has written an immensely practical, valuable book. “Share of Mind, Share of Heart” clearly explicates both marketing fundamentals and more sophisticated concepts for nonprofit marketing professionals in plain, easy-to-understand language, with concrete examples.

“Unlike many academic texts on nonprofit marketing, this book is peppered with questions designed to get you thinking tangibly and immediately about how the concepts discussed can be applied directly to the day-to-day business of your organization. I found her insights into internal marketing tools of engagement to be particularly apt and important. Too often in leanly staffed, undercapitalized nonprofits where staff is pressed for time, we overlook this crucial area. Morale and profits suffer as a result, with organizations sometimes seeming disconnected and disengaged from their customers, volunteers, and (in some cases) overall mission.

“‘Share of Mind, Share of Heart’ is a book that should be on the shelf of every nonprofit marketer, both novices and veterans.” – Andrew Edmonson, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Houston Ballet

“Like the author, I have served on a variety of non-profit boards and counseled them about marketing. I’ve found that the whole idea of marketing is intimidating to many non-profits. They often believe marketing is too complicated for them and requires a commitment of resources (both human and monetary) beyond their capability. This insightful book dispels these fears as myths. Marketing is presented here as it truly ought to be: a simple, people-based idea about creating and communicating value. Each chapter provides an understandable exercise that will cause the reader to pause and reflect upon how to bring the marketing concept to life in any non-profit.”     – Frank Haas, Dean of Hospitality, Business and Legal Education, Kapiolani Community College

“Every now and then, you find a book that contains more than a powerful message—it houses a poignant experience. Share of Mind, Share of Heart is an experiential wisdom-sharing tome written for organizations that benefit us all. Full of practical how to’s and laced in the language and philosophy of non-profits, it will open eyes, enhance skills, and enrich outreach.” – Chip R. Bell, noted author and consultant, The Chip Bell Group

Special thanks to Andrew, Frank, Chip, Ivana, and Wayne for taking the time to review and share their thoughts on my book!

Categories
Engagement Training & Development

Why We Still Need to Get Together for Work

I consider technology both a blessing and a curse in the workplace. While it enables employees to communicate and collaborate across time and distance, it also makes work more insular as people seem to engage more with smart devices than with co-workers, customers, and channel partners.

So as workplace technology continues to expand, I’ll continue to advocate the power of employee gatherings.  Bringing people together in an effective face-to-face forum can provide a rich and satisfying experience. This was the case for a large company that brought together marketing and sales support staff from its regional offices as part of an “all hands” planning event. The company is in transition as a result of restructuring, and its divisional leader recognized the need to bring staff members together. The event combined training, planning, and team-building activities in an informative and comfortable setting.

Employees appreciated the opportunity to step back from the daily grind and focus on:

  • better understanding where they fit within the “big picture” of the company
  • expanding their internal resources through networking and relationship-building with co-workers
  • enhancing organizational capacity through shared learning and planning.

The event also provided employees an effective forum in which they could get answers to their questions, contribute their ideas and be heard.

Regardless of whether your team’s goal is learning, planning or problem-solving, sometimes there is no substitute for getting off the cloud and bringing people together, face-to-face.

“One of the single most effective ways to enhance your creativity is to regularly break the cycle of isolation and interact, talk, and share your work.”
– David Burkus, Why Sharing Your Work, Setbacks & Struggles Breaks Creative Blocks.