Digital communications channels have changed the face of employee and internal communications by allowing for constant, unfiltered, transparent dialogues to take place at work,
but within the comfort of individuals' cubicles. Additionally, with the much discussed stakeholder empowerment - and employees' position as one of said stakeholders - enabling
this communication is essential for organizational success. Plus, doing so has a number of benefits:
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Two-way interactive communications get employees involved;
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It encourages a "my door is always open" corporate culture;
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It offers communications executives a glimpse into what employees are thinking and feeling on any given subject;
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And it cuts down on the layers of communication that traditionally separate employees and senior managers.
The number of ways to empower employees to communicate double and triple with the passage of time, but one method remains a solid, simple and inexpensive option: the online
discussion forum. David Kligman, publications manager for the California State Automobile Association (a division of AAA), offers a number of tips for setting up this
communications platform:
How To ... Sell The Idea To Management
Make it consistent with your organization's goals. Constantly reinforce the message that this method of employee communications is aligned with the company's best
interests. It keeps employees engaged and active; it provides a forum to generate and develop ideas; and it champions a corporate philosophy of transparency.
Get a senior level executive to champion the tool. Ideally, someone in the corporate communications department has the ear of the CEO. That person should go to him/her
with a plan that includes the forum's many benefits: It boosts senior executives' credibility, it provides a platform for problem-solving and it empowers employees.
Emphasize the cost/payoff quotient. Kligman said that the only thing AAA's online forum construction cost was time - an admittedly valuable resource, but inexpensive
compared to the money an outside consultant/vendor would cost.
How To ... Develop The Forum
Get the IT department on your side. The IT department will ultimately be responsible for building the forum and working out the bugs, so they must be on board if there
is any hope for the concept's survival.
Provide functional requirements. Tell the IT guru if you want there to be a required sign-in before an employee can post a comment. Explain what kind of oversight, if
any, you want to have when it comes to monitoring/editing comments.
Set a timeline. Dropping a plan into the lap of IT and then walking away will only result in one thing: a project that never gets done. Have reasonable expectations.
Does the intranet already have the capability to host a forum? Will your proposal require additional technology to implement? All this must be discussed up front so as to not
complicate the progress of building it.
How To ... Get Employees To Participate
Tell them it exists. Unless your employees hang around the corporate intranet all day, chances are they won't just stumble upon the newly created forum. Send out a
company-wide e-mail that explains what it is, how to use it, and what the rules of engagement are (i.e., no complaining that you don't like the smell of your cubicle-mate's tuna
sandwich). Post notices in common areas, such as the kitchen and bathrooms. Have your CEO or another senior executive champion it by making the first post.
Give them something to talk about. Getting senior buy-in and IT buy-in is all for naught if your intended users - the employees - don't take advantage of the
communications channel. Start a discussion by posing a provocative question.
Supervise the site. The communications department should be in charge of monitoring the site's content. If you see a conversation that begs for attention - an employee
voices discontent over a certain policy, for example - address it with an appropriate response. Employees won't want to engage in discussions that won't lead to anything. Make
it clear that this is a tool to help them talk to one another and to have their voice heard throughout the organization's hierarchy.