Tag: internal communication

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Engagement Training & Development

Ooops! Learning from Our Mistakes

“I’m never wrong. I thought I was once, but I was mistaken.”  -Lucy Van Pelt, Peanuts

Lucy’s perfectionism aside (heaven help those who work for people like Lucy!), here are some non-threatening and productive ways to institutionalize learning from our mistakes.

  • Mistake of the Month – Have people share their mistakes & corresponding “lessons learned” at staff meetings.  Then staff vote on which one taught them the most.
  • Favorite Lessons Learned– This is a variation of the above.  Allow time at staff meetings for people to share one or both of the following:
    • “Favorite Mistake Not to be Repeated”
    • “Favorite Catch of Stuff Done Right that We Hope to Do Again”
  • I don’t have a name for this, but I found it on Christopher Hannigan’s blog and loved it.  CarMax CEO Austin Ligon uses this as a meeting opener: “What are we doing that is stupid, unnecessary or doesn’t make sense?”  What a great way to break the ice on an uncomfortable topic.

Let’s face it, no one is perfect (not even Lucy).  So we need to find ways to collectively share in the learning from our mistakes to avoid making them again.

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Engagement

I just wanted to hear your voice

As an update on e-mail & communication effectiveness, Brad Bellaver steered to me a post on the Collaboration Loop that cites research reinforcing the selective use of e-mail based on message content.

I was just talking with a colleague about traditional vs. contemporary forms of communication.  She told me she’s been trying to get her 18 year old son to practice communication beyond IM – actually writing complete words & sentences (with correct spelling, too!).  We joked about this being a generational thing, especially for some of us “Boomers” who prefer more traditional means of communication.

I’m definitely one of those.  Emoticons aside, sometimes I really want to hear vocal tone & inflection … to be able to listen to what someone is saying with and through their words.

From a sociological perspective, it’ll be interesting to see what happens as communications technology continues to evolve.

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Engagement Marketing

Memorable & Meaningful Mission Statements – Part 2

Building on last week’s post about making mission statements memorable, I’ve seen too many organizations fall victim to the “Field of Dreams” approach to mission statements – if you post it, they (staff) will follow.

Awareness is only half the battle

Developing and disseminating the mission is not enough.  While mission statements may be beautifully crafted, they may not be easy to relate to.  For example, what does it mean to you (as an employee) to work for an outfit whose mission is to:

  • exceed the expectations of customers, partners, and fellow employees?  Or,
  • achieve superior financial results for stockholders?  Or,
  • create quality solutions and services that foster innovation, creativity and production for global customers and partners?

These are adapted from real companies.  I didn’t make them up, honest!

Meaningful mission statements

The problem is most statements couldn’t pass the that’s-nice-but-what-does-it-really-mean? test.  To be meaningful, a mission statement needs to be translated into specific, even measurable behaviors.

One way to accomplish this is to complete the following sentence:

Our mission is [insert your firm’s mission statement], which means [fill-in with the appropriate behaviors, based on internal and/or external standards of performance].

Translating the mission this way may not be easy, but it is a worthwhile exercise.  And depending on your organization, one size may not fit all.  Various departments or units within the company may have different translations or may need to develop their own mission statements based on the corporate or institutional mission.

Don’t get lost in translation

Regardless of how you do it (via the translation exercise above or some other way), the point is: Will employees know what is expected of them in helping the organization fulfill its mission?

Employees will know what the mission statement really means when they can answer that question.

But wait, there’s even more to make a mission statement memorable and meaningful.  I’ll cover this in my next post.

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Engagement Marketing

Memorable & Meaningful Mission Statements – Part 1

I have a client who’s frustrated with his organization’s mission statement.  Stepping back to observe it somewhat objectively, he finds it’s neither memorable nor meaningful.

Both elements are critical.  And to give them justice, I’ll focus on the “memorable” aspect now with follow up posts on making a mission statement “meaningful.”

The essence of a mission statement is to briefly articulate your organization’s purpose & reason for being. Its role, according to respected leader Frances Hesselbein, is to help inspire, direct, and mobilize employees.  But how can it do any of these if your people don’t know what the mission is?

That’s why a mission statement has to be memorable.  And brevity helps.  (Most of us can’t remember the Gettysburg address from grade school.  So how are we going to be able to remember a three-page mission statement?)

Halt!  Who Goes There?

The best way to reinforce a mission statement’s brevity comes from this anecdote shared by consultant/facilitator Tony Nash.  He cites Laurie Beth Jones‘ book The Path in which she tells a story she learned from her uncle who served in WWII – an unidentified soldier who appeared suddenly in the dark and could not state his mission was automatically shot.

Based on this story, she cites the following criteria for a good mission statement:

  • no more than one sentence long
  • easily understood by a 12 year old
  • recitable at gunpoint.

Now there’s a formula for a memorable mission statement!

In my next post I’ll talk about making mission statements meaningful, so stay tuned …

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Engagement

Follow Up on E-mail’s Impact on Workplace Relationships

I heard from several folks in response to my request for formal research on e-mail’s impact in the workplace.

A special thanks to Vanderbilt professor David Owens and Brad Bellaver for sharing several academic research papers involving the use of electronic media.  Brad also recommended Melcrum Publishing as a resource.

From management’s perspective, e-mail is still an evolving medium – especially relative to the traditional communications media many of us grew up with – and we’re still learning as we go.

But as my friend Chris Bonney put it, using e-mail as a substitute for personal interaction – particularly when distance or expediency is not an issue – seems to be “a recipe for lousy morale and lost opportunity.”

Too bad there are managers out there who don’t know how else to cook.

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Engagement

The Lost Art of Conversation?

In last week’s post I asked for help in finding published research on e-mail’s impact on workplace relationships.

Still thinking about it, I recall a time several years ago when web viruses started making their rounds and IT departments were temporarily shutting down company e-mail to deal with the problem.  One of my colleagues called to alert me that she was unable to send an e-mail she’d promised.

I’ll never forget her comment about the situation, despite its temporary inconvenience: “You know what’s really amazing?  People in my office are actually talking to one another!”

Where did all the real conversations go?

I think I found an answer in a recent Fast Company interview with Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert:

“Even in the office, there’s a growing preference to communicate solely by email so you can ignore all human contact …I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met recently who state, outright, that they don’t like people.  They love technology … And now technology actually gives them the option of avoiding all human contact.”

Scary, isn’t it?

My own preference is for face-to-face communication (assuming geography/proximity isn’t an issue), followed by voice-to-voice, and then e-mail (for convenience and/or distance).  And I’ll admit there are a few people I only want to communicate with through e-mail rather than in-person.

Still it frightens me to think that, sooner than later, conversation might truly be a “lost” art.

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Engagement

E-mail’s Impact on Workplace Relationships

My friend, Emily, prompted me to write this post and seek your input.  She’s looking for formal research on e-mail’s impact on workplace relationships, including the effectiveness – or lack thereof – of bosses who manage by e-mail.

Here’s the situation, and it’s one you might be familiar with.  Or at least know someone who is.

Managing by e-mail

A mutual friend of ours works in an office where the boss manages primarily by e-mail — giving directions and having electronic “conversations” with staff instead of talking with them face-to-face … even when their desks are only ten feet apart!  The result is a build up of resentment and misunderstanding that’s hard to overcome.

As Emily acknowledged, “It all comes down to using e-mail efficiently and choosing the appropriate medium for internal communication.  E-mail can be a great connector and communicator, but it can also break down relationships if it is used instead of personal contact.”

What we’ve found on this topic so far

Shawn Smith, a management & organizational development consultant, says in a white paper on workplace communication barriers:

“In this age of electronic communication, far too many managers use email as a substitute for personal interaction … While you should never seek to discuss sensitive or delicate matters electronically, even everyday business is better handled through personal contact when possible.  More direct contact will help create better rapport and trust.”

In Bosses: 10 Tips for Better E-Mails, written for Microsoft’s small business market, editor Monte Enbysk cites Vanderbilt management professor David Owens on managers’ use of e-mail:

“E-mail is an extremely valuable communication channel for today’s managers, but it can be abused if used carelessly or too much. [So] use e-mail as one channel of communication, but not your only one.  It’s fast and easy … But it also misleads bosses into thinking they can manage large groups of people through regular e-mails.  Use e-mail wisely, but don’t manage your company through it.”

Got research?

What I’ve learned in my own work with clients who want to improve internal communications is that too often there’s an over-reliance on e-mail at the expense of face-to-face communications.

I know lots of folks, including Emily, agree with me.  But to help her friend deal with this situation, we’re looking for formal research on the subject.  So if you know of any out there, please let us know.

Thanks!

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Engagement Marketing

Business Communicator Weighs in on Internal Marketing & Branding

I love Shel Holtz’s post entitled “Employee communications is the chicken, marketing is the egg” in which he addresses communication’s critical role in effectively engaging employees in the context of internal marketing & branding.  He notes: ” … companies are putting their reputations more firmly in their employees’ hands, not only as producers of products, but as touch points for customers.”

What’s interesting to me, however, is to hear it from a business communicator’s perspective.  Shel builds his case (including citing GlaxoSmithKline’s initiative of turning its sales force into PR ambassadors) as a platform to garner management’s “renewed attention” on the importance of internal communications.

Why does management need to listen?  Because, as Shel so aptly puts it: ” … throwing employees into the public spotlight without the benefit of a strong internal communication effort is beyond risky.  It’s stupid.”

As a marketer, I’m with you 110%.

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Engagement

Attention HR: It’s not just about the new hires

This story comes from a colleague of mine who’s making considerable progress in improving internal communications despite roadblocks from Human Resources.  Here’s the situation: HR spent over a year compiling a new employee handbook.  And the internal communications officer recommended it be distributed to all employees (to have everyone “on the same page”).

But it was not to be.  Since policies are likely to change, HR didn’t want to distribute the new & improved handbook to everyone; it was just for new employees.  And for everyone else?  They could find it on the organization’s web (according to my colleague, “buried” is more like it) in a 60+ page PDF.

What’s the message to existing staff?  You’ve been here so long, you don’t need your own copy.

I understand HR’s concern with putting out a document subject to continuous updating … it’s the nature of the beast.  But would it have been so terrible to distribute the handbook en masse – with a disclaimer about possible changes being posted on the web?  (Or if cost was an issue, giving employees the option of getting it in print or on-line?)

Sadly, with its selective distribution of the employee handbook, HR missed the opportunity to reinforce the value of ALL the organization’s employees.

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Engagement Marketing

More on Internal Marketing & Internal Branding

As a follow up to my recent post on Internal Marketing vs. Internal Branding, here’s another difference-turned-similarity between the two concepts.

Internal Marketing requires an ongoing effort for the care & feeding of customers and employees.  Most people think of applying Internal Branding, however, only when they’re launching a new brand or revitalizing an old one.

But …

According to marketing & branding consultant Debra Semans, this suggests a limited view of Internal Branding:

“Too often,” she says, “companies just do internal branding when they launch a new or changed brand and then assume everyone gets it.  But people forget, new people come on board [who weren’t exposed to the previous internal branding efforts], and then you get brand creep.  The ideal is that it becomes part of the way they do business, their culture … you have to maintain it in order to maintain delivery of the brand promise to the marketplace.”

So Debra recommends Internal Branding be included in an organization’s ongoing training program as a “refresher course” as well as part of new employee orientation.

Makes sense to me … Internal Branding, like Internal Marketing, is not just a use-it-only-when-needed tool.