Changing energy: How to turn employees from know-ers into actors

By James Bennett, Head of Content, Melcrum

In the past few issues of the Melcrum’s Member Bulletin I've spoken about how important change communications has been, particularly since the turn of the 21st century, how crucial it is today and how vital it will continue to be as countries and companies slowly emerge from the global recession.

And, judging by the presentations I witnessed and delegates I spoke to at our third annual Change Communications conference in London this week, I get the feeling I'll be repeating the same message for some time to come.

As with any form of life on this planet, be it animal, vegetable or mineral, it boils down to the survival of the fittest. And companies, employees and the way internal communication teams operate are no different. The recession has proven that no organization is too big to fail and that businesses, in many cases, need to dramatically change the way they function if they are to thrive in the future.

Communicators have learned some very valuable lessons during the financial crisis and the aftershocks that have shaken budgets, head count and confidence levels. Firstly, those who have paid attention and who value their jobs will never again overlook the perils of excessive risk taking and instantly be able to spot the early warnings signs that can lead to disaster; have realised that long-term planning is critical but equally that they should be prepared to change at a moment’s notice; figured out that business models tend to change quicker than anyone can anticipate; and most importantly deciphered that trust is irreplaceable. Any communicator that works within or for a financial services organisation, retailer, car manufacturer, airline or in the leisure industry, to name a few sectors, will know how valuable these lessons could prove to be in the future.

So how will we put these lessons into practice? Angela Mohtashemi, director of HR services at PricewaterhouseCoopers' communication practice and yesterday's keynote speaker, outlined this perfectly with extracts from a recent survey the firm carried out on how the downturn will change the future of work. It interviewed 1,000 global CEOs, 70 of which are UK-based, and discovered that if we are to manage the future of change we will have to do four things:

• Build trust, openness and transparency and create an environment where change is business as usual.
• Put in place channels and dialogue and involvement and develop the right culture to make it work.
• Ensure you know your audience – segment and target and use multiple channels and consistent messages.
• And even, as impossible to some as it may sound to many organisations and their leaders, create a culture where CEOs can ask for help because the majority of failure is top down.

I would add a fifth and very obvious point. If you think you've communicated enough within your organization then you almost certainly need to communicate more. As Tom Crawford, head of internal communications at E.ON UK, rightly told the audience, many companies need to “change energy”, and to turn the “I know” into “I act". It’s only when your organization’s employees are truly engaged and change their energies from knowing the message to asking themselves how they can behave and act differently in order to improve the business that you can say your change initiatives have led to increased engagement.

Melcrum's sixth annual Employee Engagement conference between 11th and 13th May 2010. Book before 31st March and receive a discount of up to £200!

Comments

[Mike Gilmour]

Hi James,

Many thanks for your recent article on the Melcrum buletin regarding Changing Energy.

I feel necessary to put over an alternative view to what you have indicated in your article particularly with the two ideas that seem to be prevalent. One about the companies involved in the survival of the fittest and two that we need more communication in whatever form that might be.

The idea of the survival of the fittest both in terms that you use and regarding it’s use to describe the way nature behaves and as a consequent we behave is wrong. It is not used in biological terminology because it is misleading and incomplete as it does not encompass the environment in which animals, vegetables and minerals(!) live. It leads to simplistic ways of thinking by implying that you have to be big, strong or tough in varying combinations to succeed.

This phrase coined by the economist Herbert Spencer after Darwin is so often used as a reason for behaviour in the work place that can only be described as bullying which results in greed and megalomania. There are many examples of this from the CEOs who think a £36million pay packet is right, loss making bankers who award themselves £3 billion bonuses from the Tax payer or politicians who award themselves dubious expense claims.

Life either personally or professionally can fail or prosper for many reasons from those who find themselves selling the Big Issue to many companies forced into closure due to defaulters or their bank withdrawing overdraft facilities.

It is your adaptability within the circumstances that you or your company finds itself that may give you the tools that you need to prosper. Changing your company’s production from video to DVD manufacture is a good idea while consistently ignoring the internet is not.

While understanding that good communication is crucial in going forward. If the processes and messages are transparent, open and trustworthy it will not work unless the underlying thoughts and resultant behaviour is honest. If the workforce is simply in the game for themselves but hides this aspect under the next new initiative then the gain is not the company but themselves. If however the thoughts are the other way around the honesty is transparent and no one is under any illusion about people’s behaviour.

Now I am not necessarily saying that all company’s adopt this policy of self aggrandisement. However if a company’s CEO or management are not honest about what they want how can a workforce properly proceed when they are spending time pursuing one agenda, according to the communications they receive, but are actually having to pursue another.

No amount of differing paths or amounts of communication is going to alter this. In fact the more of this the company workforce receive the more they will switch off and the worse the company will suffer.

The actual communication will be in the actions of the CEOs and managers to which we all then respond to on a basic level of rejection when “asked to do as I say and not do as I do”. The ‘knowing’ automatically changes into the ‘I act’.

If a company manages to communicate the honesty of it’s soul rather than some meaningless mission statement then the message is easy to communicate in whatever manner is necessary. It does not become camouflaged in subterfuge though in some circumstances hard to digest would actually have the effect of streamlining and making workers happier.

Regards

Mike Gilmour

[Angela Mohtashemi]

Mike, your view is certainly not alternative to the message of my presentation - in fact it completely echoes it! If you had been there you would have heard me open the presentation with exactly that point, 'fittest' is often to used the strongest, the most powerful, the best shape. But it is exactly your point - that organisations need to adapt to their envirnoments that is critical to survival. What we have seen in the downturn is the emergence of different types of organsations - consolidators and adaptors - that may take different forms in the years ahead. See PwC's report 'Managing Tomorrow's People' for thinking about orange, blue and green organisations in the future.
http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/managing-tomorrows-people/future-of-work/download.jhtml

[Prada Handbags]

Absolutely effective your feelings to my lifestyle. As i already have gained a lot coming from your current post and therefore it is my best honored to publish the good thoughts with you.Expect we all can make contact a lot more through the e mail and writings.Thank you a lot.by Prada Handbags

[New Jordans 2010]

Taking note of your astounding post, I realize it is of the different skills and real options.Trust I will certainly get which I aspire from your ideas.Have a good one!