Talk Internal Communication

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...

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...

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...

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...