Talk Internal Communication

Employee’s emotions and motivation change on a daily basis but according to recent Harvard research there is one tool that motivates employees more than anything else. Can you guess what it is? It’s not clear goals, it’s not incentives, it’s not even recognition for good work. According to lead researcher, Teresa Amible the biggest improvement in motivation will be seen if you focus first on helping your employees make progress. The researchers have named this phenomenon the progress principle and the implications of it for managers are laid out in the book The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work . The research, which took over ten years to complete, explains that while recognition and providing financial incentives for a job well done are still important, there are two questions above all else that help managers motivate their employees. The questions are: “What can I do to help my team make progress in their work today?” “What is g...

I read recently that many leading companies are printing employee communications on the office toilet paper! Thankfully that was a joke. However, it is a fact that more and more organisations are using the company restroom as an opportunity to communicate with employees. In an article entitled  ‘It's okay to 'stall' employees’ Employee Benefit News outlines how  you can boost communication by capturing employees attention while they are taking a break. They rationalise that i n most American homes, the bathroom is the library so it is logical that companies should use their restroom facilities to provide company reading material Among their suggestions to effectively use the restrooms for communication are: 1. Post communications at eye level for those seated in the stall. 2. Keep the in-stall info sheets to a single page. 3. Include images, since people are more likely to pay attention to messages with pictures. 4. Change the materials every two wee...

No-frills employee focus groups can sometimes be the best way to get employee feedback. Below are five tips to help ensure you get the most out of your focus groups. 1. Keep it intimate. Invite only 10 to 12 participants to the session. The more people you have in a room, the easier it is for some of the more reserved participants to withdraw and keep quiet. If you have a smaller group, they will feel more a part of the discussion. 2. Mix it up. Work to have as departmentally diverse a representation as possible, depending on the topic. You want to get input from different workgroups in the organisation. 3. Set ground rules. The purpose of the roundtable is to gather input on a chosen topic. At the outset, let participants know that what they say is confidential, that you are there to listen, capture feedback and report on general comments. 4. Stay on track. Try to keep the session to one topic if you can. 5. Keep it short. Keep your focus groups to about 45-minutes. In my ex...

I was lucky to present at Bledcom in Slovenia, an International Public Relations Symposium that has been organized over the past 17 years to provide a venue for public relations scholars and practitioners from around the world to exchange ideas and perspectives about public relations in all its forms. This year the focus is on Internal Communication. It was a great conference and the debt of knowledge presented at the event shows how seriously internal communicaiton is now being taken. My paper, “Internal communicators who fail to talk the facts and figures of the corporate suite" was the first time I presented the main findings of my PhD research. Here is the abstract to my paper: Abstract Business leaders and internal communication managers inherently understand that effective internal communication is a business imperative. It builds staff morale, motivation and engagement. It also builds a healthy organisational culture and helps facilitate change, all of which delive...

I read an interesting article on insidedge recently and I really liked the analogy of employee communication being similar to selling a used car to a family member. If you don’t tell the truth, he or she will find out sooner or later that the roof leaks or the brakes stick; whatever might be wrong, or right, will always come out.  So, you have to tell the whole truth before you ask them to buy, because they won’t be going anywhere. They’ll be around for holidays, and they definitely know where you live. Full article here. 

Here is an interesting article if you want to learn what the best companies do to help build effective leaders.  Corporate officers for each of the top twenty companies listed discuss their employers' approach to developing strong leaders. Short and to the point - it makes an interesting read.  http://images.businessweek.com/ss/10/02/0216_best_places_for_leadership/index.htm?chan=careers_special+report+--+best+places+for+interns+2010