Seven tips to keep your employee magazine fresh and relevant

by Luke Dodd, Features Editor, Melcrum

Hi everyone,

In the February edition of SCM, we took a look at how to ensure your employee magazine remained an effective channel for sharing strategy throughout your organization – especially when surrounded by newer social technologies.

Integration emerged as a key solution, for example; consider cross-referencing between the magazine and your intranet/internal social network. Communicating your company's strategy and important messages this way can maximize engagement for employees.

Alongside integration, there are other factors to consider when looking at how to keep your magazine fresh and relevant. Here are our top tips:

1. Hold regular focus groups at all stages of magazine production
Use employee focus groups to decide initially that a magazine is right for your organization, to ensure that content is continually hitting the mark and for any other big decision you need input on. They are, after all, the people who will be reading it.

2. Keep the human element alive
Employees want to read about their counterparts across the organization, not solely about executive level activity or new processes.

3. Include employee case studies
People like to read content they can relate to and hear stories about what people are doing across the world.

4. Don't include corporate blah blah
Try and make it feel as far away from corporate as you possibly can. If content doesn't fit this ideology, don't include it.

5. Align content with strategy and business need
Although, in doing so, make sure the content doesn't become stagnant. Be creative in the ways you tie content back to business objectives.

6. Reference the external market
If there are key changes happening in your organization's sector, make sure to mention it in your magazine. Employees want to be kept informed by the company they work for.

7. Develop a good internal network and keep close to leadership
Find out what other people in the company are doing. If possible include leadership comments on future plans.

 

For further information on employee magazines, visit the links below:

How to use staff magazines to connect with your employees

Ten reasons to keep printing your in-house magazine

British Airways gets "Up To Speed" with a new employee magazine

 

Until next time,

Luke

What language are you speaking?

By Tanya Batra, Melcrum

Consider the following questions:  

How well do you know your internal audience?
How long have they been employed at the organisation?
Who do they trust?
What are their frustrations and concerns?
Do they use social media outside work?
What’s their motivation for coming to work?

   
If you don’t know the answers, it’s unlikely that you’re speaking the same language as your audience.

Far too often, and for many and varied reasons, the importance of really knowing our audience is overlooked, and a one-size-fits-all approach is wheeled out yet again.

And while the increase in comms channels now available to us can create the illusion that we’re successfully reaching out to and communicating with all of our employees, the reality is that it’s just more likely that our messages will be lost in the fierce competition to gain an audience’s attention.

The simple fact is that our communications should be tailored, targeted and relevant in order to resonate with our audience. And yes, while it does require an investment to establish an understanding of the different segments and preferences within your audience, the alternative has a far greater cost.

  
Psychoanalysis(!)
One possible approach to segmentation is to focus on attitude and motivation, and leverage them to create an understanding of what drives employees in your organisation, how they feel about the company and in turn, how best to communicate with them to achieve your desired outcome(s).

Brainwaves Consultancy takes just such a psychological approach through Personal Construct Psychology, working on two key assumptions: 1) that we are a product of our experiences, and 2) that our perception of the world is revealed in what we say. 

The research methodology involves asking employees a series of questions around a specific topic. Based on their responses, employees are categorised into segments, each of which has a distinct preferred method of communication that can then be utilised.

  
Sound interesting?
In our Mastering Audience Segmentation report, we published a case study with Sainsbury’s and Royal & Sun Alliance around the use of this methodology. If you’d like to read more you can download a copy of the full case study here: http://bit.ly/wko0RX

The concept of audience segmentation is also covered in The Internal Communication Black Belt 1 Programme.  

Under the guidance of our expert trainers, attendees discuss a range of influential theories of segmentation, learn how to effectively build an audience profile and identify the most appropriate method of segmentation for their organisation.

Black Belt 1 covers a host of other core IC areas too - visit the website to view the full course overview and learn more about the programme.

8 tips for communicating with employees during the economic downturn

Global consultancy Mercer has highlighted eight tips for leaders communicating with employees during the ongoing economic uncertainty to help bolster morale and engagement.

Our research here at Melcrum has consistently shown that open, honest and regular communication with your workforce is the best way to reassure staff and instil confidence in the organization. Leaders have a crucial role to play in this. Alongside these tips, Melcrum has a free report Communicating During Economic Downturn available for download (PDF).

1. Throw out the rule book. Conventional wisdom says: “when you have nothing to say, say nothing.” In this new world of semi-permanent uncertainty, to a large extent the opposite is true. Whilst you may have nothing to say, tell your employees that and given them a timeline for further information.
2. Don’t assume that you have control. Long gone are the days when CEOs could control what employees read or heard about their company. The internet, 24 hour news, blogs, instant messaging provide instantaneous worldwide communication which means employees may know things about your company almost as soon as (or even before) the management team.
3. Tell employees what won’t change. Use the core foundations of your business as a way of instilling confidence in employees. Let them know that, while markets may be in a maelstrom, your core values will not change.
4. Be honest about what will change. Address employees’ concerns head on and acknowledge what may happen in the future.
5. Describe positive outcomes. Be clear about the things that employees can do to make a difference. The things that will keep the business going, maintain cash flow, keep expenses down and retain customers. Employees should be given a 10 point action plan of the things that should be on their minds every day.
6. Make all managers communication leaders. Surveys to determine who people trust as a source of information continue to show that authority figures (including CEOs) are rated some way below ’people like me’. Use this to your advantage.
7. Educate your employees. Employers can help them understand what’s happening – and reduce their uncertainty – by providing basic education in financial matters. You can also give them Q&As that include points about how the company is affected by the market conditions.
8. Walk the walk and talk the talk. In a time of uncertainty and change, leaders don’t just communicate the message verbally; they are the message and demonstrate that through the way they behave.

 

Ten reasons why you can’t afford to miss our 10th anniversary!

By Tanya Batra, Melcrum

The 10th Annual Strategic Communication Management Summit takes place in just two weeks! And for those of you who haven’t booked your place yet - here’s ten reasons why you really can’t afford to miss out...

1. Future foresight - be in the know
We all want to know what’s around the corner. And while predicting the future is a challenging and unenviable task, having that foresight means we can plan ahead and make provisions to not just meet future challenges, but to successfully overcome them. This year our focus is on the future for internal comms, and the Summit is set around four key trends set to shape the business world over the next 3-5 years.
 
2. SCM Summit legends pack
As well as lots of new inspiring ideas, you’ll also receive an SCM Summit Legends Pack, containing a handpicked selection of case studies and opinion pieces from past Summit speakers - available exclusively for delegates.
 
3. SCM Awards
The SCM awards dinner takes place on 12 October, the evening of the first day of the Summit, so after a day of inspiring case studies, relax and enjoy a drink with fellow delegates at the champagne reception before sitting down to a three-course meal and an evening of surprises and entertainment, as we announce the winning entries. 

4. All bases covered
Our programme leaves no stone unturned. It covers up-to-the-minute issues facing communicators across industry, as well as fresh, cutting-edge approaches to recurring challenges: line manager comms, the digital workplace, measurement, employee value proposition (EVP), agile working, communicating with a global workforce, CEO comms, ROI and cost efficiency, culture and behaviour, employee engagement and intranets.

5. Trusted by many
Benefit from over 15 years of Melcrum’s research with Fortune 500 companies to share examples of best practice and emerging trends set to shape our industry. We’re the trusted source of advice for senior level communicators at Global Fortune 100 and FTSE 100 largest organisations, so you can be sure you’ll be in expert hands.  

6. Unrivalled benchmarking and networking opportunities
with fellow IC professionals from across industry facing the same challenges as you, in a practitioner-focused environment. Delegates already registered include those from RBS, Rolls Royce, Nationwide Building Society, Essex County Council, HSBC, GE Capital, Centrica, Adidas, BP, Orange and Shell, and many more. 

7. Expert-led panel discussion on “The Digital Workplace”
with senior reps from Yammer Inc., Microsoft UK and the Intranet Benchmarking Forum (IBF) who will address your questions and key challenges around the digital workplace, it’s evolution and role in IC strategy. 

8. Macleod and Clarke
As IC rises to the top of the national agenda, we’re keeping you at the forefront. David MacLeod and Nita Clarke, two names truly synonymous with the words employee engagement after their hugely influential report to government in 2009, will present a keynote session on day one, providing exclusive first-hand insight to their next steps, the launch of a new government sponsored employee engagement taskforce.

9. Diverse, refreshing and inspiring 30+ speaker line-up
With over 30 speakers, this year features our largest speaker line-up to date. Over just two days, you’ll hear from top-level communicators from a broad range of organisations who’ll provide in-depth insight into the work they’re doing. You’ll hear case studies from senior leaders at Nationwide Building Society, Ericsson, NHS Blood and Transplant, eBay Europe, first direct, Harrods, TUI UK & Ireland, Tata Global Beverages, Chartered Management Institute and many more.

10. And our final reason?
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the UK Strategic Communication Management Summit, and to celebrate, we’ve gone all out to make this event as exciting, inspiring and valuable as possible. It’s more than just a conference, it’s an annual meeting of the best minds and leaders in IC - make sure you don’t miss out. 
 
Full programme and booking information available at:
http://melcrum.com/scmsummit_2011/index.html

The Times They Are A-Changin’

by Roz Topolski

“The only constant is change” has never been truer for Communicators, at least according to Melcrum’s recent survey.

In fact, 32% of Communicators said they spend most of their time on change communication, according to our Key Benchmarking Data for Communicators 2011 survey for organizations with 1,000 or more employees.

Rather than focusing on proactive strategies that will help their organizations thrive, these communicators are spending more time just keeping up with all the change in their organizations.

I’d like to invite those Communicators – and others who find themselves dedicating most of their resources to change communication – to attend the SCM Summit in Washington D.C They’ll discover tactics to help them navigate the complex change communication channels, such as how to:

• Become a trust communication advisor and ask powerful questions from Melcrum’s Black Belt Trainers.
• Turn front-line managers into authentic communicators, while building trust and driving adoption, from Susan Dorflinger of GE Real Estate.
• Align and engage a globally dispersed and demographically diverse workforce with corporate change from Sona Hathi of Melcrum.
• Lay the groundwork for a positive future from Leslie Cifelli of National Grid.

Join us for a unique opportunity to join communication leaders from across the US for fresh insight, thought leadership, guidance, and best practices in internal communication.

To view the full program for this year’s SCM Summit, taking place on October 4-6, visit the website and download the brochure.

Effective internal communication is the highway to a high-trust workplace

By Roz Topolski

 

We all know what it feels like…you hear rumors about upcoming layoffs, a re-organization, or a change in leadership. You ask your manager at the next team meeting about the details…and there aren’t any. Your CEO is extremely vague at the town hall meeting. Has your leadership considered how this uncertainty will impact employee productivity, engagement, or even the financial future of the business?

Here’s a statistic that will open their eyes…according to a paper form the US National Bureau of Economic Research, even a 10% increase in employee trust in management has the same effect on general levels of satisfaction as a 36% increase in monetary reward.

Trust has emerged as a critical factor in building successful businesses. Fortunately for communicators, effective internal communication is the highway to a high-trust workplace. Communicators can equip leaders and managers with the essential tools they need to strengthen the relationship-focused elements of their business and drive their organization
towards financial recovery.

The true expert on this subject, Roger D’Aprix, a communication mastermind and author of “The Credible Company: Communicating with a Skeptical Workforce,” will share his experience with building trust in some of the world’s most admired companies at the SCM Summit in Washington D.C. In a candid keynote session, Roger will outline what companies and communicators must do to meet the demands of a 21^st century
workforce living and working in the Digital Age.

Attend the SCM Summit in Washington D.C., on October 4-6, and you’ll hear from true thought-leaders who are restoring employee productivity, commitment, innovation, and trust in their workplaces. Learn how to:

• Enhance senior leadership’s influence through: authenticity, candor, transparency, and conversation from Angelo Ioffreda, Senior Director of Internal Communications, NII Holdings.


• Provide opportunities for conversation up, down and across your organization from Mark Mills, Senior Communication Consultant, Nationwide Insurance


• Become a trusted and valued advisor to your leadership from Jeff Zwier, Associated Director, Global Business Line Communications, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ltd.


• Earn high ratings from employees on key trust drivers, even after major change, from Brandy Fulton, Vice President, Human Resources, and Kristin Taylor, Director of Communication, of Citrix Systems, Inc.


Earn your employees’ trust, and the sky is the limit! See you in Washington D.C.

P.S. Register for the SCM Summit in Washington D.C. by September 2 and save up to $250!

MacLeod and Clarke on employee engagement - the next chapter

By Tanya Batra, Melcrum

I’ve no doubt you’re all familiar with the names David MacLeod and Nita Clarke, which have fast become synonymous with the term "employee engagement" following their hugely influential report to government, "Engaging for Success", in 2009.

 

When findings from this report revealed the forcibly strong correlation between engagement and business outcomes, the resulting recommendations gained political and national attention, and support for the implementation of initiatives to address the state of employee engagement in UK organisations.

 

In a keynote session at our 10th Annual Strategic Communication Management Summit this year, MacLeod and Clarke will be discussing next steps following this report, including the recently launched and government backed "Employee Engagement Taskforce". And in light of their upcoming presentation, in last week’s poll we asked you:

"Does your organisation fully understand the direct connection between employee engagement and business performance?"

8% Yes, employee engagement is all our CEO talks about.
31% We’re definitely getting there and IC is heavily involved in developing a strategy to link the two.
29% Somewhat, but senior leadership is working with HR on this rather than with internal comms.
32% No, there’s a long way to go before anyone truly understands this link.

The results are hardly surprising and mirror the views and concerns expressed by MacLeod and Clarke in a recent interview published in our SCM Journal. The duo believe they still need to keep making the case for employee engagement and maintaining dialogue:

"The numbers are still disappointing for those who are engaged and the number of organisations who are really maintaining employee engagement… without engagement, you will not be able to meet challenges. Internal communication plays a large part in employee engagement - good communicators make sure the lines of communication are completely open".
  

MacLeod also expresses concern for those organisations still attempting to manipulate productivity and potential in employees through financial reward, especially given the financial constraints most organisations are experiencing post-recession. While people want to earn, bonuses act as little more than short-term motivation. Organisations must instead take a more holistic view towards engagement in order to generate emotional commitment with a transformational impact on business results - one that sees employees offering more of their capability and potential “willingly”.

Get this right says MacLeod, and when times are tough, employees will see themselves as part of the solution, as "saviours" rather than "victims" bearing the brunt of the problem when their bonus doesn’t come through. 


This was the exact approach taken by the IC team at eBay Europe when they faced a downturn in business results and therefore required higher levels of productivity and innovation, but had no money to throw at the problem. They reversed the cause and effect relationship and instead boosted employee engagement levels at a critical time to drive business results, a decision which saw the company return to double-digit growth in just two years.

Continuing this theme, a key focus of MacLeod and Clarke’s presentation will be -

"To what extent does it fall under the remit of IC to ensure employee engagement is a priority when delivering against the demands of the business?"


And with 29 percent of our poll respondents stating that senior leaders are partnering with HR on employee engagement initiatives rather than with IC - given the fundamental role played by IC in maintaining employee engagement – it’s clearly an area that needs addressing. 

 
They’ll also be sharing results from their research on what’s happening in other organisations, and the perspective of CEOs and other business leaders on employee engagement in the broader context of success in their organisations. Joining them at the Summit on day one will be Tobias Huebscher, senior manager internal communications and Richard Davies, employee communications consultant Europe at eBay Europe, who will discuss their employee engagement success story and it’s major contributor, the creation of a "European Team Brief", which has impacted over 500 staff across 11 countries.

  
To view the full programme for this year’s SCM Summit, taking place on 12-13 October 2011, visit the website and download the brochure.

 

Has social media signalled the end for email?

by Kate Pledger

The recent decision to begin fazing out email in favour of social media by international software company Atos Origin has initiated strong debate. So much so, that it's prompted senior managers to question the relevance of email-based communications in their companies and contemplate the practicalities of a "zero email" initiative, according to Luke Dodd, Melcrum's features editor in his article “Is email dead?”

Boosting employee engagement and collaboration is increasingly on the agenda for many organizations, according to Melcrum's How to use social media to solve critical internal communication issues report. And with social media delivering on this, it could be said that the demise of email is imminent.

An increased involvement with social networks can improve a senior manager’s interaction with the rest of the workforce and establish a shared sense of identity among workers. In using social networking tools such as Yammer or Microsoft Office Communicator, employees can formulate new initiatives in a quick fire, rapid response environment.

Managers can also gauge the wider attitude and outlook of the staff as well as thoughts regarding new policies or changes in the workplace.The survey reveals a rise in employee feedback and an increase in the accessibility and visibility of business leaders as a result of using social media. A new report from digital research firm Comscore has also noted a significant drop in email usage, most notably in the millennial generation, or young people under thirty.

Significantly, the adaptation of the Atos Origin's communication system was fuelled by a team of under 30s, who determined that the old system of email would hinder the future growth of the company.

But don’t expect email communication to start waving the white flag of surrender just yet. Business consulting and technology services firm Concentra reported that 85 percent of senior managers said email was their communication method of choice. Additionally, some may claim that email usage dates back to the nineties and has remained a significant force in the work place, proving that email is a successful means of communication which most employees feel comfortable using.

These two communication channels also have a notable affect on the message content. What instant messaging is to informality and community, email is to professionalism and authority. 

Eighty percent of people questioned in the Melcrum report endorse social media as more than just a "fad", proving that it shouldn't be ignored by employees intent on using solely email. The face of internal communication is eternally adapting to suit changing generations and demographics. Companies must consider their needs and workplace culture and adjust their internal communications system accordingly.

So it seems email will remain rooted firmly in company infrastructure, standing in the way of total social media invasion...for now at least.

Has social media signalled the end of email? I'd love to know your thoughts.

Social Media @ Work – the film in full

by Luke Dodd, Features Editor, Melcrum

Able & How’s offices on New Cavendish Street, central London, played host to the premiere of the RedSkyVision-produced short film “Social Media @ Work” on 15 June.

The film featured a host of big names from both the worlds of social media and internal communication. These included Richard Dennison, BT; Madeleine Kavanagh, Deutsche Bank; David Ferrabee, Able and How; Stefan Stern, Edelman London; and Melcrum's very own Rebecca Richmond.

Robin Block, director of RedSkyVision, and the film itself, said: "My aim was to create some thought leadership that would aid the business case when considering utilizing social media channels internally within a business. I'd like internal communicators to use this film as an educational tool to help inform their teams and leadership."

Social Media @ Work provided an overview of social media's place within internal communications and raised some interesting points regarding its future. How will the function develop? What are the challenges? Where will it lead?

For expert opinions on these questions and more, watch the film in full below and tell us what you think....Enjoy!

Luke

Social Media @ Work from Red Sky Vision on Vimeo.

 

Creating communities through social media innovation

by Luke Dodd, Features Editor, Melcrum

The latest Melcrum Social Media Benchmarking Group's (SMBG) meeting was held at Ericsson's impressive offices in sunny Guildford, Surrey, UK on 19 May.

During the proceedings, there were two presentations: the first from Arndis Jonsdottir, an organizational psychologist specializing in communication, quantative and qualitative data analysis relating to employee engagement and change.

Jonsdottir shared her perspective on social networks and media, and the challenges of establishing platforms for internal communication that drive added-value for the business and also align with employee communication and engagement preferences. Some key points made during her presentation include:

1. Work value is defined as the outcomes people desire and feel they should attain through work. This can be measured in two ways: extrinsically – tangible rewards; and intrinsically – the process of work and the inherent interest in it.
2. As we get older, we develop a less idealized view of work. Different generations have different strengths, weaknesses and views.
3. Social media can positively impact the workforce by facilitating innovation and collaboration, connecting employees and teams, improving dialogue, enabling learning and knowledge-sharing, moving the CEO or top level dialogue closer to the employee and supporting an image of being up-to-date and contemporary.

Following Jonsdottir's presentation, Adam Lloyd, head of internal communication for Western and Central Europe, Christine Cornelius, internal communication manager, and Lena Jansson, director of IT communications, discussed Ericsson's new social platform, MyNet, which launched last month and already boasts several thousand users within the organization's global network.

The trio also provided some essential reminders for communicators, including:

• Always coach and advise managers.
• Teach and advise the organization.
• Leaders have to be seen to "walk the talk".
• Use collaborative spaces to get employees to understand the organization.

A top tip from the day for communicators was to get company leaders to spend time commenting on staff member's blogs in place of writing their own, as this kind of interaction was often seen as more personal and valuable.

Do you feel that getting your leader to comment on staff blogs would improve employee engagement and provide valuable interaction?

Luke

PS. For information on how you could join the Social Media Benchmarking Group, please email stewart.donovan@melcrum.com.