Talk Internal Communication

This video by INVOLVE is based on statistics from the Harvard Business Review. It  summaries the importance of employee engagement and the impact it has on an organisation's bottom line.  I like it. 

I am delighted to be able to give you details about a text book on internal communications to which I have contributed, entitled Exploring Internal Communication. Chapter 5 entitled 'Auditing internal communication: four quadrants of internal communication success', is based on my PhD research and provides readers with a powerful tool to measure and improve internal communication quality. The tool helps build successful communication in a business. Edited by Kevin Ruck the book is both a companion for UK's Chartered Institute of Public Relations qualifications in internal communication and a general introduction to the fast developing fields of internal communication and employee engagement. It is relevant to people currently working in these areas, from either a corporate communication or human resources background, and also to operational managers seeking a better understanding of internal communication. The book is available on amazon.co.uk at  Exploring Internal Co...

It’s that time of year. Edelman have just published their 2012 Trust Barometer. Unsurprisingly, trust in government has massively dropped. But what’s the score for businesses and the implications for internal communication? There are a few significant findings: 1. There has been a dramatic increase in trust in social media – it is now at almost the same level as corporate information sources. This is a important consideration for internal communications as employees now have ready access to information about the company from external social media sources. 2. There has also been a massive drop in trust in CEOs, the most trusted resource within an organization is the average employee (60 percent). This highlights the importance of face-to-face communication as well as employee "communication champions". 3. The average person needs to hear a story three to five times from different sources before they believe it. This reinforces the fact that our internal messages have to...

On average, however, usage is fast outpacing effectiveness. While the use of social media has expanded over the last 12 months for all, highly effective communicators are more than twice as likely as the least-effective group of companies to have expanded their use of social media. This online article highlights results from Watson Wyatt on the use of social media in organisational communication.

You can view all my recommendations for communication books on  http://www.delicious.com/laoise.omurchu .

Most of us now know of the Gallup poll that says the number one reason people leave their job is because of a poor relationship with the boss. “People leave managers not companies…in the end, turnover is mostly a management issue.” Gallup adds that poorly managed work groups are on average 50 percent less productive and 44 percent less profitable than well-managed groups. There is a long list of “bad boss” behaviours that contribute to poor but, the most common complaint is, “My boss doesn’t listen to me.” The way to become a better listener is to practice "active listening". This is where you make a conscious effort to hear not only the words that another person is saying but, more importantly, try to understand the complete message being sent. In order to do this you must pay attention to the other person very carefully and take the following steps: L: Look – make eye contact. I: Inquire – Use who, what, where, when and why questions but do not mak...

A number of change models have served me well. I used all or a version of all the five models listed below. They are useful to have in your change toolbox and they are all must reads if you are going to be working alongside those involved in organisational development.   1.   Kotter’s 8 step model . This was the first change model I used and it appears to be the most widely cited. It is probably the oldest of the change models but that doesn’t mean it is not still useful today. It was developed by Harvard Professor John Kotter and he spent a career perfecting it. It is very intuitive and clearly presented. I have found the 8 step model a very useful guide.   2. Bridge’s Change model. First outlined by William Bridges in his book Managing Transitions, Making the Most of Change . This model provides step-by-step strategies for minimizing the disruptions caused by workplace change .  The primary model is “Endings, Transitions, and Beginnings”, but the book also has ot...

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. 

Your next Town Hall meeting is marked in your CEO’s calendar – that in itself may be an accomplishment – but how to you make the town hall exciting. How to you get employees to leave their desks, come to the venue and engage in the session? Getting employees to actually want to attend is the role of manager’s throughout the organisation but you as communicator can help. Here’s are some tips: Plan ahead. Start planning about 4-5 weeks before a quarterly meeting. Identify front-line and middle managers who are opinion leaders and can act as communication champions. These managers are key to encouraging employees attendance. Outline the purpose of the meeting. Define the purpose for the upcoming meeting and set a participation goal – no less than 90 percent. Write a personalised email from the CEO to the identified managers about the purpose of the meeting. Canvas staff opinion. Canvas staff for key topics that staff would like covered at the town hall meeting. This ensures tha...

In San Diego at IABC World conference. Lots of interesting information. Will have newsletter with the key learnings from the conference. Let me know if you'd like to receive it.

Just back from EuroComm 2011. Learnt a lot and met some really interesting people. Also presented  own research on internal communication practices in Ireland. You can read my article  on  http://www.simply-communicate.com/news/understanding-language-c-suite .

The Harvard Business School has proven the effectiveness of storytelling  to communicate even the most complex issues. But how do we create an effective story. This interview with McKinsey provides some valuable insights.  Good stories have three components: a strong beginning, a strong end, and a point of tension. Most people confuse stories with situations. They’ll tell about a situation:  X happened,  Y  happened,  Z  happened. But a good story takes  Y , the middle part of the story, and creates tension or conflict where the reader or the audience is drawn into the story, what’s going to happen next. Treating stories as assets is an underrealized idea right now. Stories serve as glue to unify communities. Stories spread from employee to employee, from consumer to consumer, and, in some cases, from employee to consumer or consumer to employee. Stories are much more memorable than statistics or simple anecdotes and are a mechanism that allows co...

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

Recent crises have led me to wonder what some leaders see when they look at themselves in the mirror . As if in the “Hall of Mirrors” in a carnival, what they see appears to be different to what a majority of those looking directly at them see. This distorted reflection can be the result of leaders isolating themselves, choosing to be surrounded by people who gain the most by taking viewpoints the leaders most want to hear. It is understandable that leaders may not want to face the anger of their people or employees but if they don’t they have no way of knowing what is truly happening. Shutting off contact and communication enables a self-deception. It enables the leader to disengage and disconnect from the actual reality. It enables them to disconnect from the impact their decisions are having on others. This can do untold damage to those affected and it creates a trust gap. This inevitably leads to loss of motivation, morale and productivity. It is our job as communicators to ensu...

Interesting  research from McKinsey  suggests that companies using social media  or “collaborative Web 2.0 technologies” are achieving higher profits. This makes the case for a return on investment, a question that is often asked by senior management as well as public relations professionals trying to get to grips with social media as part of PR 2.0. It seems to show that companies that are starting to do it well are being rewarded for their efforts. More than that, it says those that fail to implement social media could be making a “critical mistake”. McKinsey says these “networked enterprise” are gaining significantly improved performance and are not “only more likely to be market leaders or to be gaining market share”, but also use management practices that lead to margins higher than those of companies using the web in more limited ways. Read more:  http://wallblog.co.uk/2011/01/10/companies-using-social-media-are-making-more-money-says-mckinsey/#ixzz1Ar97PY...

I discovered this great 11 minute video, with fantastic illustrations, that argues that money is not the main motivator for employees. It argues that the carrot and stick approach only works in certain circumstances but fails a majority of the time when cognitive skills come into play. The case is very well made and is worth noting if your organisation is considering introducing a financial recognition and reward scheme. Check is out on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&feature=player_embedded#! What are your views?