Tag: internal marketing

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Engagement Marketing

Why I’m Celebrating This Week

Wow, this is my 5th blog anniversary and 300th post!

It’s been quite a journey, and I’ve learned much from researching and writing content devoted primarily to engaging employees and customers with internal marketing & communications (along with sharing some personal reflections along the way).

It’s also been quite an effort, and I mean that literally. While I consider myself a good writer, it’s a difficult and slow process for me. I’m also terrified of the blank page and sometimes suffer from writer’s block. Then there’s the emotional spectrum I experience ranging from sifting through an overload of ideas to pure panic at not having any relevant content to share.

Despite these writing challenges, the effort is well worth it given the support and feedback from you – my blog readers, fellow bloggers, and thought leaders. I also enjoy the pursuit of continued learning and development in my chosen field.

So stick around and join me for the ride as I continue to write about internal marketing & internal communication for employee engagement, employee satisfaction, leadership … and all things related to creating a workplace dedicated to employee and customer satisfaction.

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Engagement Marketing

Whatever Happened to Job Satisfaction?

The latest Conference Board report on job satisfaction isn’t good – only 45% of those surveyed say they’re satisfied with their jobs (based on a sample of 5000 US households).

Not a shocker considering the current economy. I know many people unhappy with their work – due to constant downsizing of resources (one can only ‘do more with less’ for so long) and lack of leadership in uncertain times. These folks are just waiting to bolt when the economy improves and better jobs become available.

What surprised me, however, is this latest survey shows an overall decline in job satisfaction over the past 20 years – including times when the economy was robust.

According to The Conference Board:

“The drop in job satisfaction between 1987 [the first year of this survey] and 2009 covers all categories in the survey, from interest in work to job security and crosses all four of the key drivers of employee engagement: job design, organizational health, managerial quality, and extrinsic rewards.”

On second thought, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. For more than 30 years now I’ve been advocating internal marketing as a way to engage employees and customers.

I’m not sure what the answer is … perhaps growing attention to the study of employee engagement will help reverse this trend. In the meantime, I try to find and learn from the folks who enjoy their workplace. And when that seems to be a challenge, I page through Zappos’ Culture Book to keep from getting discouraged.

 

 

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Engagement Marketing

Internal Marketing Enhances Intranet Usage

Large companies with thousands of employees depend on their intranets as a critical internal communications medium. As intranet design continues to evolve, companies are also applying internal marketing to better engage employees and promote intranet usage. For example:

  • More employee involvement in improving intranet design and usage via research and beta testing.
  • More social networking to better connect work groups and encourage individual employee participation in shared discussions and contributing content. Also CEO and executive blogs are being positioned to make senior management more approachable and encourage more employee dialog with them.
  • Better introduction and promotion of redesigned intranets to increase employee usage via cafeteria demos and road shows, IT expos, beta testers as site ambassadors, and internal commercials featuring employee users.

Source: Ten Best Intranets of 2010 by Jakob Nielsen. (Special shout-out to Bob Johnson’s Higher Education Marketing Newsletter where I found this intranet article.)

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Engagement Marketing

A Gift to Improve Employee Engagement

This holiday, give the gift of employee engagement … and it’s free!  Employee Engagement Advice Book is a new e-book written by members of the Employee Engagement Network (EEN) and compiled by network host David Zinger.  EEN members (including me) share advice – limited to one sentence each – on how an organization can improve employee engagement.

The book contains over 200 contributions from people who are passionate about employee engagement, including several featured in this blog: Terry Seamon (see his advice on page 6); Kevin Burns (page 9); Paul Hebert (page 28); and Richard Parkes Cordock (page 35). (My contribution is also on page 35.)

Recurrent themes include communication (especially listening), valuing employees, empowering them, recognizing their efforts, and leadership involvement. It’s worth scrolling through to find the quotes that resonate with you. Pass it along and share it among your colleagues … to inspire them and/or reinforce their employee engagement efforts.

Happy Giving!

 

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Engagement Marketing Training & Development

Zappos Culture Book: Best Ever Business Reading


Zappos.com’s 2009 Culture Book is here (!) and I’m thrilled to add it to my business library – next to the previous edition that I got on my visit to Zappos last year.

The book is written by Zappos employees who share what the company culture means to them. It’s a beautifully designed and produced book, supplemented with color photos and captions that capture the true spirit of Zappos. The book includes Zappos core values, a brief time line of the company’s 10 year history, and, most important, what the people who live the Zappos culture have to say about it.

Regardless of where they work in the company (customer loyalty center, merchandising, finance, technology & project management, Kentucky warehouse, marketing, etc.), Zappos employees share how valued they feel as members of the Zappos family … how they engage in “serious fun” … how they’re empowered to do and be their best … how they live the company’s values … and how truly happy they are to work at Zappos everyday. (Would your employees say the same? Honestly, I don’t know that many companies whose employees love their workplace.)

Zappos Culture Book should be mandatory reading in every undergraduate business class, MBA, and leadership program.

Read this book to your kids at night, and I swear they’ll tell people “When I grow up, I want to work at Zappos!” This is no fairy tale – Zappos is for real.

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Customer service Engagement Marketing

Interview with Chip Bell on Internal Customer Service

Chip Bell has been writing about customer service for as long as I can remember. An internationally renowned consultant, speaker and author, he has written several customer service classics, including his latest book, Take Their Breath Away: How Imaginative Service Creates Devoted Customers, co-authored with John Patterson. [Note: see my review of his new book.]

I asked Chip to share his expertise and insight on the topic of internal customer service.

QSM: What do you see as the relationship between internal customer service and external customer service?

Chip: The requirement for remarkable external service is exactly the same for internal service. The quality of the service the external customer gets is a match set with the service that is delivered to colleagues internally. Go to the “back of the house” of any Ritz-Carlton hotel and you will observe the exact same service between associates that you will see the front desk clerk deliver to a hotel guest. Internal service reflects the organization’s true commitment to remarkable service.

Service between internal units is sometimes like getting service from a monopoly service provider. If you don’t like the service from your Department of Motor Vehicles, you can’t take your business elsewhere. Likewise, if you get poor service from the HR department as an employee, you often cannot go to another HR department like you might abandon a Sears for a Nordstrom. However, it is important to remember that almost all internal units could be outsourced. Job security does not always come with being the sole source, especially in challenging economic times.

When customers (internal or external) do not have a choice, and get poor service, they often take out their frustration on the front line person. It suggests perhaps an even higher standard from units or organizations that are the only game in town.

QSM: Based on your extensive experience in the field, what would you site as an example of great internal customer service?

Chip: Several exemplars come to mind. Sewell Automotive (Dallas) has been the #1 car seller in the nation across most of their brands—Lexus, Infiniti, Cadillac, GMC, etc. One of their secrets is the terrific partnership between sales and service. Other examples include USAA (San Antonio), the insurance company that caters to the military, retired military and military dependents. Zappos.com and Amazon.com are both best in class as e-tailers for their great handouts and superior internal service.

QSM: Who should be responsible for internal customer service?

Chip: The same people who are responsible for external customer service—everyone! Customer-centric and customer-focused organizations, like the ones already named, make every employee responsible for remarkable service. A service ethic is hardwired into their organizational DNA. I asked a waitress in a Ritz-Carlton hotel restaurant what she liked most about her job. “Working here at the Ritz has made me a better wife and parent,” she said. “The values that we practice at the hotel with each other and with the guests are the values that make all relationships special.”

QSM: What advice do you have for companies struggling with maintaining customer service (both internal and external) in an environment with reduced resources?

Chip: As cash-strapped customers seek service, they expect more and more value for their hard-earned funds. Customers may not always be able to judge the quality of the products they buy or the fairness of the price they have to pay, but they are always gifted at judging the quality of their service experience. It is the front-line that creates that experience.

When companies started making cuts, they should remember to spare the most important variable in their customer’s definition of value. Front-line employees should be respected, heard, trained, empowered, and affirmed for their crucial contribution to the company’s reputation. It is important to remember that employees learn how to serve customers by the way they are served by their leaders.

QSM: Thank you, Chip!

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Engagement Marketing

Interview with Barry Nelson on Employee Communications & Commitment

Corporate communications expert Barry Nelson, retired founder of The Story Board, is a strong advocate of workplace journalism – a business communications approach that addresses employee concerns along with business concerns. With economic turmoil taking a toll on employee engagement, I wanted to get Barry’s perspective on how we can use employee communications to make a difference.

QSM: What’s the most important message that companies need to send to their employees to minimize disengagement?

Barry: The whole trick of getting through hard and trying change with your people still behind you emotionally is to establish a mutually caring human connection with them. Business reasoning and economic motivation aren’t unimportant, they’re just not the most powerful tools. To establish such a connection, the company can’t simply tell, but must show its staff that the company’s top management cares about them as human beings, not just work assets. That means a company must set up institutional infrastructure — policies, systems, programs — that average workers can recognize as promoting their welfare. This goodwill toward workers can’t be whimsical or dependent on the style of a boss who may be gone tomorrow — it has to emanate from and be embedded in the company itself.

A well validated body of research shows that companies where employees believe their organization (not just their direct supervisor) supports their best interests, are overwhelmingly more likely to enjoy high, across-the-board levels of employee loyalty and commitment than those where that perception is lacking. But for employees to get and maintain such a perception, they need a continuing stream of evidence that it’s so. This presents an opportunity for internal communication programs to systematically provide the needed evidence. That’s why I’ve always urged that at least a portion of the content in ongoing internal communications should be about issues employees experience in the work environment, and what the employer is doing to help. It can’t be all about management’s view of the world.

QSM: What internal communication trends do you see emerging in the coming year (or two)?

Barry: Really hard to say, but I would hope that the immensely more difficult job of maintaining employee commitment in these hard times, when work-force and perhaps pay reductions may be unavoidable, might drive our more resourceful colleagues toward more empathetic, less management-centric forms of communication. The rise of social media clearly offers that potential, as overall communication becomes more multi-directional and democratic. But without an underlying philosophy that management doesn’t have all the answers, that employee views matter greatly, even on issues not perceived from the top as central to the strategic agenda (but which could be disrupting efficiency and sapping worker vitality) — without this more humble institutional mindset, the mere implementation of new communication toys won’t do much good.

QSM: What advice do you have for smaller organizations who don’t have anyone formally responsible for employee communications?

Barry: Such an organization these days is almost surely one with a small enough work force that a high level of personal contact by the top leaders is either happening or at least possible. I’d advise those leaders, and the HR or administrative staff who support them, to remember that you lead people mainly by their feelings. And those feelings won’t run in your favor unless you show your people, often and sometimes very deliberately — going out of your way if necessary — that you genuinely care about them. There’s no more powerful communication, or one more likely to be repaid, than an act or expression of love. You don’t need a communication degree to send that message. But you do need to really feel it.

QSM: This is great advice for every manager and business communicator. Thank you, Barry!

 

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Employee Recognition Backfires

As a follow up to my last post on Employee Appreciation Day, I was reminded of a positive-turned-negative recognition experience I had earlier in my career.

The positive recognition came from the American Marketing Association in appreciation of my service as a volunteer leader. AMA’s executive staff acknowledged its volunteer leaders (at both the national and chapter board levels) with a letter of thanks. In addition, staff asked for the name of the chief contact where the volunteer was employed so AMA could acknowledge the company’s support as well. (AMA was smart to realize that in many cases volunteers relied on company resources and/or were allowed time to be involved in such professional development activities.)

The message conveyed in this letter was basically: We appreciate the leadership contributions of your employee [name] who served as [volunteer leadership position] … and we appreciate your support of their efforts in advancing marketing practice.”

What did you say your name was?

The bank I worked for was undergoing a merger, so I gave AMA the name of the CEO of the merged bank. I even forgot about this recognition until several months later when my boss showed me a copy of AMA’s letter that had been sent to the bank CEO. Not knowing who I was (or even taking the time to find out and respond), he wrote a note across the top of the letter: “What’s this about?” The letter was sent to HR, forwarded to the senior VP in charge of the region where I worked, sent to my boss’s boss, and eventually landed on my boss’s desk. My boss then asked me to provide a write-up about my AMA involvement for the higher-ups … and I never heard about it again.

Come on, how difficult would it have been for the CEO or one of his regional officers to have followed up with a note or phone call? (Someone in the executive suite could have at least whited-out the “What’s this about?” at the top of the letter, scribbled “Nice job” in its place, and sent me a copy.)

My husband teased me as I wrote this post, “Get over it, already!” I did a long time ago. I just wanted to share this story because it reminded me that effective recognition doesn’t have to be expensive or extensive in terms of what it involves. The irony here is that AMA’s letter gave my employer an easy way to recognize an employee … but the CEO didn’t care. That was the message I took away from this experience.

Your turn

Have you ever been in a situation where employee recognition backfired? Would love to hear about it.

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Employee Appreciation Day

What are your plans for celebrating Employee Appreciation Day coming up Friday, March 6, 2009?

Yes, Virginia, there is special day set aside for this. Given how stressed out many employees are these days, the event is worth considering.

You can find some great recognition ideas ranging from lunch with a mentor to a handwritten thank you note – ideas that are applicable at any time beyond this designated day.

And if you want to have fun recognizing employees, check out Funny Employee Awards’ gag trophies. (My personal favorites include “The Spammie Award” for an employee who excels in e-mail and “The Burning Rubber Award” to recognize the employee who’s out the door the fastest at closing time. You can also present this award to honor the team that helps the company speed past the competition or completes a project the fastest.)

I’m giving serious thought to personally celebrating this day. As a soloprenuer, I treat myself on Boss’s Day and Administrative Professionals Day, so why not Employee Appreciation Day? Especially since I qualify for my company’s Employee of the Month/Year award!

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Engaging Talent

Before I get to the heart of this post, I’m thrilled to unveil my blog’s new look! I’ve been working on this for the past few months with graphic art designer Karin Choi, who’s extremely talented AND patient. Bless her and all creative design professionals who work with clients like me who know what we want, yet can’t articulate it. Thanks, Karin!

This week’s internal marketing message

Our current economic meltdown has given rise to a new urgency on engaging employees. Here are two perspectives on this issue.

In this month’s Tom Peters Times, consultant Valarie Willis reminds us that “the talent is the brand.”

“It is the talent in an organization that brings its brand to life. If the talent are no longer happy, if they are concerned about their own welfare, or they’ve hunkered down to stay out of sight, the brand may be on its last breath as well. And when the brand is struggling to survive, the impact is on the customer experience.”

To minimize brand dilution, she recommends organizations realign and reconnect the brand promise, employees [AKA “talent”], and customers.

In his white paper, Engagement and Appreciation in a Time of Crisis, Maritz employee engagement consultant Mel Van Dyke also acknowledges a growing number of employees are suffering from anxiety about job security and financial well-being. It’s hard to engage folks who find themselves on the lower rungs of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. To address this challenge, Van Dyke offers employee-focused appreciation and recognition strategies.

“Thank you can never be said enough, especially now … Acknowledging not only the environment that key employees are now facing but also their individual contributions to success is a great way to keep employees focused on a positive work experience rather than an external labor market.”

Although their specific coping suggestions vary, both Willis and Van Dyke advocate the need to be more attentive and responsive to employees. We can’t afford to ignore our employees – those we’ve chosen to retain as well as those who’ve chosen to stay with us. We need their ideas, support, and perseverance to get through this financial mess.