The 2007 Ragan Corporate Communicators Conference, held in Chicago May 8-10, kept the PR party rolling with an abundance of information geared to help executives bring
more to the table when it comes to social media, online communication, print communication, face-to-face communication and senior communication, each of which represented one of
six tracks attendees could follow. While all of the sessions directly addressed challenges faced and opportunities presented in today's communications landscape, employee
engagement was front-of-mind in a number of presentations. How can an organization use social media and new innovation to engage employees? How can top-level executives use
internal blogs to directly communicate with peers and co-workers? How can you use speaking opportunities to motivate and inspire employees?
These questions were answered during the conference. Here is a brief overview of the best practices and tactical tips offered by three presenters:
Engaging Employees Through Innovation
Silvia Avella, communications project manager for Philips Electronics, presented, "Video Programs and Games: Using Innovation to Book Employee Engagement." She
specifically focused on outside-the-box tactics to stimulate employees' waning interest in organizational initiatives and training. They include:
1. Videocasts: "Most Americans get their news by watching television," Avella pointed out. "It requires little effort for the end-user to absorb information." She
presented basic tips for producing videos.
Outside Production Company: If you plan to hire a production company, she lists these nuggets of information:
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The cost is generally approximately $3,500 for a one-day shoot.
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Production companies are ideal for producing videos of town hall meetings or special announcements.
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On the up side, high-quality, professionally edited video looks just that - high-quality and professional.
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On the down side, it is very expensive.
In-House Production: If you want to do it yourself:
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Buy a digital or video camera and film it yourself.
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This is ideal for recurring series, such as weekly or monthly videos of meetings that will be posted on the company's intranet.
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On the up side, the cost is minimal, and it expands the communications department's skill sets.
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On the down side, you have to know what you're doing, or it will look like a high-school film project.
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Make sure you have the technology to support the video (Windows Media Player, Flash, network capacity).
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Don't script it, and if you are a global company, make sure you have the ability to translate the content into all relevant languages.
2. Video games: You think your kids are the only ones who appreciate video games' power of captivating elusive attention spans? Many corporate employees grew up in the
age of Atari and Nintendo (or at least they are familiar with the technology), so video games are a great way to boost employee engagement and involvement by taking
the monotony and ennui out of tasks. According to Avella, here's how to build a customized game to meet your organization's needs:
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Anticipate the costs, which can be very high between the flash, programmers, labor and servers.
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However, when trying to get budget approval, point to the educational benefits when it comes to communicating change management or driving behaviors, for example.
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On the up side, it's an engaging way to show how a complex system/concept works and train employees to use/understand it; plus, it reinforces the corporate brand because
it is customized for your organization.
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On the down side, it's very expensive, and it often requires a lot of IT support and maintenance.
If you want to approach senior management with an success story of a company that uses video games to great success, consider Philips' "Simplicity Showdown:"
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The teamwork challenge tested employee understanding of the company's brand, vision, values and management agenda.
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The manager used the tool to coach, hold discussion sessions and track each team's success.
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The team had to spend approximately 10 minutes per week over a four-week period answering questions via the company intranet.
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Employee Engagement Survey results showed that 72% of managers were seen as active role models for company values, as compared to 50% in 2005; 82% of employees believe
Philips has an outstanding future, as compared to 66% in 2005; and 65% of employees trust Philips leadership, as opposed to 49% in 2005.
Senior Execs Use Internal Blogs
State Farm Insurance executives Scott Hartema (assistant VP), and Carol Beneze and Stacy Marshall-Kern (communications strategists) presented, "Straight from the
Executive's Mouth: An Anatomy of a Successful Internal Blog." The conversation detailed their company's path to building, launching and marketing its internal blog to a skeptical
audience. They cited their goals as:
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For the executive (Scott Hartema), getting feedback, presenting innovative ideas and engaging employees;
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For the communications department, to incorporate blogging into the overall communication strategy and to create buy-in for organizational change initiatives.
Having completed their mission to develop a successful, engaging internal blog, the trio pointed out these best practices:
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Make it both business and casual - tie-in both business activities and personal anecdotes to give the blog a conversational, personable feel. The team offered
Hartema's decision to show his iPod playlist as an example.
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Ask for input - engage employees by asking them their opinions, i.e.: "Where and why should we incorporate IT industry standards and best practices?" and "How do we use
our own knowledge and experience to move forward?" But, the presenters warned, "When you ask for information, you have an obligation to do something with it."
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Allow for commentary - a blog isn't a blog if you can't comment, so it is essential to give employees a chance to voice their opinions.
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When it comes to marketing the blog and attracting skeptical employees, create a mini-communications plan to introduce the platform and invite participation.
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Always update the blog frequently, respond to reader comments, measure readership, embrace controversial topics and keep the tone conversational.
Motivational Speaking
Speaking before an audience of your peers is hard enough; making your message empowering, compelling and engaging takes a special kind of communicator. Fortunately for those
at the Ragan Conference, Rob Friedman, director of executive communications for Eli Lilly, gave a presentation called, "You Can Do It! The Motivational Speech." In his
discussion, he offered 10 techniques for a speaker looking to "move people to action:"
1. Build credibility by establishing authority and empathy.
2. Pump up the audience by telling people what they are good at and inspiring confidence.
3. Ignite a sense of urgency, as people are most often motivated by dramatized challenges that need to be conquered.
4. Tell people to do more than they believe they can by setting high expectations, stroking their pride and appealing to something bigger than the individual.
5. Show the audience examples of success.
6. Show the consequences of failure.
7. Be very clear about the outcome you want.
8. Show the audience why their efforts will be worthwhile.
9. Conclude with an impetus for action or a challenge.
10. Show your passion to inspire passion in others.
CONTACTS:
Silvia Avella, [email protected]; Carol Beneze, [email protected]; Stacy Marshall-Kern, stacy,marshall-
[email protected]; Robert Friedman, [email protected]