As a recent Towers Perrin survey indicates (See PR NEWS, Jan 26,
2004), employee communications is one of the most nettlesome
problems now confronting corporate America. The trend adds to an
increasing list of worries for senior communication executives, who
are already taxed by issues concerning crisis communications,
corporate governance and consumer trust. Although the battle
against external forces continues to grow, any effective
communications strategy starts at home. "The most effective leaders
of internal communications see their roles as driving the business
versus reporting on it. We're entering a sea change in this area
because most CEOs recognize that to tell a good story you first
need good performance," says Maril MacDonald, partner and
co-founder of Matha MacDonald LLC, a Chicago-based consultancy
specializing in corporate strategy execution. PR NEWS asked
MacDonald, also a member of the Arthur W. Page Society board of
trustees, to give her take on where effective employee
communications goes from here.
In defining an internal communications mission, communicators
face an important decision: Do you want to actively participate in
and influence critical business decisions; or, do you want to
execute the communications around decisions after they are made?
Which path you choose has implications on the communication
department's results-orientation, role in the company,
organizational structure, staffing, and the level of risk and
reward it is willing to take.
Many communications departments act as service bureaus for their
organizations, set up around internal clients and communication
channels. Communicators in this model manage specific channels,
such as the company newsletter, and are "on call" to provide
specific jobs for executives or departments.
An emerging dimension of communications extends strategic
communication expertise deeper into management decision-making and
strategy execution. The key concept: PR's role is much deeper than
reporting on company strategies, operating challenges and marketing
plans.
In this more strategic dimension, the communications function
acts as a line function responsible for bottom line results.
Communications is evaluated on business results, not executive
inputs. The risks are higher -- but so are the rewards.
Communicators, therefore, need to build a greater depth of business
experience. Then they must combine this richer business experiences
with their communications expertise.
Getting the Numbers
If a communications department plans against financial metrics
and ties its work to business goals, communicators and management
can ensure communications adds value in a measurable way. This
"planning for results" approach requires the communications team to
think and plan differently. There are five general rules of thumb
to get a team on the right track:
- Understand the company's primary business objectives.
Communicators need to ask questions, such as: Is the company trying
to reduce variable costs? Does the company need to lower
absenteeism across its manufacturing facilities? - Identify the results your department can affect. Some business
objectives are outside the influence of communications, but not
many. After understanding the company's goals, dig deep into each
objective and identify if the result requires employees to think or
behave differently in their jobs. If so, communications can affect
the result. - Attack issues and their behavioral root causes. Businesses get
results from employee actions. Employees act in a certain way based
on their beliefs, which are shaped by past experiences. To address
issues in an organization, communications must get to the root
cause, or the experiences, that drive employee behavior. - Provide clarity and information. Communications can play a
significant role in aligning employees to execute the company
strategy and achieve objectives. A key and often- missed step is
cutting through the clutter and clarifying what it is the company
really wants employees to do. Communicators need to step up and
facilitate alignment at the top to avoid the common corporate
pitfall of mixed--and sometimes conflicting--direction. - Inspire employees to act. Clarity and information are of little
use to employees if they are not inspired to act. All too many
times, communicators focus on rational messages created to appease
the sender (or executives), rather than on messages designed to
motivate the recipients by giving them a reason to act.
Practice the Page Principles
Arthur W. Page, who served as vice president of public relations
for the American Telephone and Telegraph Company from 1927 to 1946
and was the first person in a public relations position to serve as
an officer and on the Board of Directors of a major public
corporation, viewed PR as the art of understanding, developing, and
communicating character--both corporate and individual. Page
further believed the successful corporation operates in the public
interest, manages for the long run and makes customer satisfaction
its primary goal. Members of the Page Society subscribe to these
time-honored principles, which serve well as the bedrock for
internal communications.
- Tell the truth. We all know the importance of corporations
being truthful with employees. Just as important is the Page
concept of "bringing truth to power;" the responsibility of each
and every one of us to insure that the right information -- and
feedback -- is getting to the top. - Prove it with action. Strong internal communications focuses as
much on the right actions as the right words. Page estimates that
public perception of an organization is determined 90 percent by
what it does and 10 percent by what it says. As we all know,
internal audiences are even tougher. - Listen to the customer. The most successful companies
relentlessly "bring the outside in" to ensure that employees, from
the CEO to the front-line, understand customers' needs and desires
and make decisions accordingly. Too many programs still mistakenly
focus employees solely on the needs of the business (cost-cutting,
operational improvements, etc.) with little, if any, connection to
the customer. Ironically, it's often this connection that best
motivates people to do their best work. - Manage for tomorrow. We're in a relationship business. Don't
reduce it to information dissemination. Trust, credibility and
reputation are critical (and all too rare) corporate assets. We
need to generate the goodwill and alignment necessary to run the
company over the long haul. - Conduct communications as if the entire company depends on it.
It does. Every day, internal communications move -- up, down, and
across the organization -- whether we're effectively facilitating
it or not. Industry leaders ensure that the messages people are
getting are complete, accurate, candid, timely, and relevant. - Remain calm, patient, and good-humored. The best communications
are achieved by level heads armed with good judgment and good
data.
By focusing on concrete business results and grounding internal
communications in the Page principles, you may not only get to the
table, you may bring the table to you.
Contact: By Maril MacDonald. She can be reached at 312.673.7320,
[email protected]