Internal Communication

Kmart employees believe the company is approaching bankruptcy and closing all its locations, despite comments indicating the opposite from its parent, Sears Holdings, Business Insider reported on July 23. After speaking to employees and reviewing an online message board that workers use to communicate with each other, Business Insider found that the recent implementation of “path to profitability” plans left many store-level employees fearing the worst.

Sand between your tanned toes and the relaxing sound of waves hitting the shore. Happy hour that begins at 4pm (it’s 5’oclock somewhere). Visiting new places. Dealing with crowds (literally, being able to deal with… Continued

Many internal communicators have an idea of how to define a remote worker, but a consistent definition often is hard to find. While some believe a remote employee is anyone who does not work at headquarters, this is not really the case. Those who work in a company building, owned or leased, remain highly connected to the brand. The ability of internal communicators to reach them is relatively easy. Remote employees typically are telecommuting from home, embedded at customer sites or working in remote parts of the country. Reaching these employees can be tricky. It certainly is not impossible. A few simple and inexpensive tips will help internal communicators reach them.

We live in a mobile world, so mobility is ubiquitous, right? Not so fast. While it’s true that many things are done via mobile apps, it’s not been the case with internal communications (IC). Even some top-flight technology companies are only just now introducing mobility to their intranets via smartphone apps in response to employee demand.

You’re halfway through what’s been a rather interesting year in business, politics, brand successes and blunders and Game of Thrones developments. Which is to say: you still have another five solid months to make this… Continued

Pacific Northwest Laboratory comms-IT org chart (click link to view)

In most cases employees are, and will always be, a brand’s greatest asset. They drive in-house and agency success. Engaging them should be the highest priority. It’s the CEO’s responsibility to help achieve a singular, straightforward vision that propels the business and energizes employees to be best in class, renowned for unrivaled talent, forward-thinking capabilities and unrelenting client service. Achieving a vision like this requires building an incredible company spirit where every employee feels that “we are in this together” and maintaining an exceptional culture that embraces doing something different for clients, colleagues and the community. Central to the creation of this shared passion for success is a dedicated plan for actively engaging and motivating employees.

The best sports organizations in the world are continually obsessed with recruiting the right team members. Building a team that will have the right chemistry to win and then retaining those administrators, players and coaches after they have achieved some level of success are perhaps the twin holy grails of sport.

When you look closely at the things and people you’re surrounded by every day at work, do you get the sense that maybe you need to call shenanigans? Are all the portraits hanging in the company lobby of male leaders? Do your team members look and think an awful lot like you? When reviewing a candidate’s resume, do you make assumptions based on the person’s name or address?

Portraits in the hallway. Your team. Resumes. The About Us page on your website. When you look closely at the things and people you’re surrounded by every day at work, do you get the sense… Continued