For example, Adam provided a great perspective on supporting the client’s understanding of the channels and options available from the Internal Communications team. Also, by ‘partnering’ with the client the chances of improving the newsletter and owning the intranet are much better. Sushma’s idea to have an IT Customer Day is excellent considering it helps get the team face-to-face with clients and in their environment. Mark suggested developing a communication plan and giving the IT team opportunities to share their updates. Also to provide proof of how effective the channels were. Advita’s recommended taking a mock-up of the intranet and considering the employees’ feedback to help change perceptions and to stakeholders aligned.

Here are thoughts to approach the issue and get Anita to appreciate what works for her team.

To begin, Tanmay needs to understand from where Anita is approaching this issue.

In the recent past has Anita got feedback that her team’s work isn’t valued or known across the organization?

The decision to start a newsletter isn’t for Anita to take up. The Internal Communication team is expected to provide guidance on the channels and how to best optimize resources for communicating effectively.  Also, if there is already an online social media community then the IT team can form a community, own their content and share updates real-time.

To establish a team’s reputation requires lot of work. By sharing a newsletter doesn’t automatically qualify reach and visibility. Instead, Tanmay needs to coach Anita on steps to share the basics – what does the team stand for, what does it do, how does it make a difference to the organization, what are the current projects and the impact it hopes to make and what support does it need from staff. This content needs to go up on their community page and all IT team members should be actively engaged on the community.

That means, Anita needs to involve the group in coming up with possible content for the community so that they feel included. To add content that appeals to the community Anita needs to identify owners for each section so that content is periodically updated.

She is expected to lead by example and share the team’s great news/wins/go-lives via articles on the community. Furthermore, she can incentivize contributions on the community by recognizing the most active members. She should blog and use the social media tool herself since it helps to connect Gen Y especially.

Tanmay should be better prepared for such conversations with facts and trends to show how Spark is faring and refute any critical perspectives, if they aren’t right. Also, creating a newsletter to drive traffic to the online platform isn’t the best use of peoples’ time.

He also needs to set expectations on his team’s role in supporting internal communication. That means, the team isn’t expected to be managing her newsletter but can provide solutions for the spotlight to be trained on her team and other groups in a systematic manner.  There is a perception he has to manage – of his team only supporting ‘leadership’ and not others. While this may be true, Tanmay has to qualify why some stakeholders get more ‘high touch’ that others.

Tanmay needs to demonstrate cases where teams which have great work to showcase do get the relevant ‘visibility’ via the company intranet or other channels available. He can also recommend that Anita present her team’s work to leaders at designated forums so that she can highlight her initiatives and take their support.

Lastly, it is for Tanmay to clarify that a newsletter is a great channel to have but sustaining a newsletter takes time and effort – something which Anita may not have the bandwidth to do with her critical role.

So, it is best left to the experts – in this case, the internal communications team to think of suitable solutions for her team. Will the IT team appreciate if the internal communication teams prescribe the IT roadmap for an organization?  Then, why must IT recommend what the best approach is for internal communications?

Here is how the conversation shaped up.

Tanmay: “Hi Anita, you mentioned that your team required visibility. How can I be of help?”

Anita: “Yes, Tanmay. Ever since I took over this role I notice that the IT Division isn’t getting enough mileage for the work we do. Staff in the group and the rest of the company isn’t aware of all the projects we handle and also there is no ‘spotlight’ on us”.

Tanmay: “Can you explain more about what you meant by ‘visibility’?

Anita: “Look, our team is crucial to the organization’s success. We are the backbone of the company and keep the lights on, literally. However, we don’t seem to get any coverage .We believe we can publish a newsletter every month. That way, we can tell our story and all staff gets to know what work is on hand.”

Tanmay: “Can’t you use the company’s newsletter – Spark to share your updates as when you have one? We also have our internal social media platform – Evolve where you can post your updates. Have you considered trying that?”

Anita: “No one reads Spark! My gut feeling is that no one even glances at it. Evolve is better but people don’t go online unless they are driven to that page. This newsletter will drive traffic to the site.”

Tanmay: “What do you expect the newsletter to cover?”

Anita: “Everything about IT – our team, our work, the projects, our staff’s hobbies and interests, fun and games”.

Tanmay: “ Isn’t that too much information? Won’t that be overwhelming for your staff?”

Anita: “You need to either handle it or let me do it my way. Your team only supports the leadership and don’t help us get visibility”.

At this point Tanmay gauged that Anita didn’t sound very pleased with the support his team provided and decided to come back later with a solution to her need.

I invite you to think about Tanmay’s dilemma and share your perspectives.

1. What do you think Tanmay’s strategy needs to be what choices does he need to make?
2. How can he address this issue before it escalates into a full blown disaster for the Internal Communications team?
3. What can Tanmay do differently when he is confronted by such requests?

Look forward to your comments and in my next post we will revisit what Tanmay can do to get back his mojo.

I have been inducted into a few organizations and noticed that those teams which invest less time to integrate newcomers often end up alienating people in the long run.  Very often you are expected to ‘swim or sink’ and it takes a lot more energy to appreciate what is expected from you. The stress of figuring out stuff on your own can be debilitating. If you want your colleagues to be successful and make your organization excel (assuming that is why you hired them) then the onus is on you to make their transition smooth.

Here are some practices that can improve your chances of making your new hire into the internal communication a painless experience.

Plan the entry and induction: Prepare a rough outline of the objectives and expectations from the individual’s induction. While most organizations expect the new hire to get started from day 1, it isn’t always possible for newcomers to begin without knowing the people they will work with, the surroundings they will be in and the type of work they will handle. List the people the individual needs to connect with, conduct an office walk through and introduce the person informally to those around. You may not get all stakeholders in a room but you can definitely plan to send out an introductory note.

Logistics and paperwork: Often the basic requirements to get connected and move forward are the stumbling blocks to getting a team member up and running. Pre-empt the needs ahead of the individual’s joining so that the time spent getting infrastructure in place is lesser. Be it laptops or approvals prepare a checklist and assign ownership among the team for completion.

Introducing the new person: Seek the individual’s background, interests and hobbies to top up the note which introduces the hire and explain the role and expectation upfront.  Be sure you are using the right designations and inform the appropriate leaders that the person will be reaching out to get connected and understand their work better. This helps clarify conversations that stakeholders can have with the person and allows better conversations.

The Big Picture as well as the nuts and bolts: Apart from people the individual can meet you can list out specific topics that key leaders can cover in their conversations. For example, the business overview, how the organization wins clients, what it does to retain talent, how people receive and share information among others. The Internal Communication team members can take turns to address topics such as channels, recent surveys and trends, upcoming initiatives, plans for the year and intranet content management process. Explain the rhythm of business – team meetings, expectations, work timings, workplace dressing, ethics etc.

Understand the individual’s expectations: To get started the new hire will be expected to know more about the organization’s goals, the business groups’ plans, the internal communication team’s plans, the supervisor’s goals and his or her objectives for the year. While most of the information may be available on the company intranet it helps to have a conversation with the individual and clarify doubts.

Getting comfortable with the workplace: Take time to familiarize the individual with the usual hangouts – the cafeteria, the breakout zones, the beverage counters and the sports facilities among others.  

Welcome fresh perspectives: It isn’t only about what you can share. Seek feedback on what the individual notices different about the workplace or processes. Maybe, you can discover things which miss the eye since you are too close to the action. For example, the individual (assuming is coming in from another organization) can compare and contrast how the induction is done at other workplaces.

Help identify a mentor: Navigating the corporate environment can be confusing and difficult. Without a mentor life can be tough for a new hire. If you have been in the system long enough make the effort to identify the right person to make the transition smooth. The mentor needn’t be from your team and it isn’t necessary for the individual to have context on the role. The expectation is that your new hire has someone to go-to and bounce off ideas and take feedback.

Set expectations on feedback: You may want to be cognizant that as the new hire meets with stakeholders there is a possibility that the individual will get unsolicited feedback and comments either positive or negative. Be open about he or she receiving requests for work and clarify that the expectation is to listen patiently.

Have other ideas to make the internal communication new hire’s transition easier? Share them here.

I wanted to reflect on how organizations can ensure staff continues to be informed, engaged and recognized as the holiday parties and end of year communication go out.

This is as important to do as anytime in the year with Indians topping the list for flouting IT policies in organizations and with companies still coming to terms with social media’s pros and cons.

Don’t miss the opportunity to share your messages

Holiday parties aren’t all about fun and frolic. Make the most of this time to reiterate the great work your employees have done, celebrate the project successes, client wins and how your organization has made a difference to the community.  Help them connect to the big picture and how they have contributed to the organization’s successes. Equip your leaders with speaking notes and messages so that they can share all the relevant information in a timely manner during the course of the event. You will be surprised how many of your employees are aware of key milestones that your organization reached in the recent past.

Remind your leaders and staff about your values and brand

Most holiday parties may involve external vendors and partners and your staff may directly or indirectly be interacting with people. Remind them of why it is important to live the values in every engagement – be it planning the program, briefing the team or sharing documents and internal information. Every good experience adds to your organization’s brand image and your staff makes a direct impact to how your brand is perceived. A good mix of a holiday party is one that includes business, recognitions, entertainment, community building and fun. Even leaders need to be reminded to play their part and be responsible for their actions and words.

Be above board and err on the side of caution

Take extra precautions to be legally covered and keep the right stakeholders informed on the event and plan. For example, if you are hiring a public venue, keep the local administration and take police clearances early to avoid glitches. Do a dry-run or an even walk through at the venue to check for gaps. Keep authorities informed of the scheduled agenda and time for closure. Some cities have regulations on how late the parties can stay on and also on noise level permissions. Think about the measures you are expected to take if liquor is served at the venue. For example, have transport drops or designated drivers to escort staff back home. Also, women employees will need transport drops if it is late night. Involve your crisis management team, test the call tree and ensure all staff has updated their contact numbers and emergency details.

Provide explicit guidelines on social media sharing

Pre-empt the need for staff to share event footage and images with family and friends by giving a forum to upload content at a central spot on your intranet or on social media assets that your organization owns. Highlight the names of your social media and media contacts in case staff are approached by press. Ideally, you can also have a designated social media ‘correspondent’ to cover the event and pen an article. That way, you also engage the community. Another idea is to ‘crowdsource’ content and run an internal contest on the best footage that captures the essence of the event.

Provide a platform for feedback

Be it a spoof on the leadership or recent policies (which may or may not have been the most popular) let employees have their say on how they interpret their world. Thank all those who put the event together and recognize the group at the venue. Even after the event is over be sure to ask for feedback on how the program can be improved.

That’s not all…

Convert the best moments from the year that went by into a capsule that staff can look up – as a video or a blog. Include the highlights from the event into the 2012 welcome communication that your leader sends out.

Have a great time with your parties! Wish you and your families a wonderful New Year!

Published bimonthly, CW covers the latest in communication research, global perspectives, technology, best practices and trends through in-depth reports and insightful interviews. Founded in 1970, The International Association of Business Communicators provides a professional network of about 15,000 business communication professionals in over 80 countries.

The article discusses the growing interest of social media in India, outlines the opportunities that internal communicators can tap and recommends solutions to manage this trend. It also includes a case study on how inclusive strategies can drive adoption.

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit a B-school campus and gauge students’ reactions to the raging social media user-content pre-approval debate that is on in India. For those not clued in – India’s Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal is seeking web content screening to avoid hurting religious sentiments and damaging our cultural ethos.

The group discussion topic on the impact that censoring user content has on HR and organizations received mixed reactions. While privacy and freedom of expression topped their concerns there were very limited thoughts on the challenges that HR had on hand and how they might need to tackle the situation.

For example, with the world’s youngest workforce in India and almost everyone on social networking sites does HR know and have the resources and expertise to manage fallouts?

Can HR, internal communicators and organizations see this as an opportunity to win the hearts and minds of its people?

Do you know how active your staff is on social media sites? Employees of a few organizations lead the way.

Where will the organization draw a line between a personal comment and a professional misconduct? Can you gag employees from speaking in public? Isn’t a great idea and even internal communication that tells people to toe the line often find their way externally. The recent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail plan in India led many organizations to clamp down on employees speaking up. Throwing policy at people during those circumstances indirectly sends a message that the organization is less prepared, isn’t sure of their stand, don’t trust staff and much more.

With employees moving jobs frequently and social networking sites opening up staff for poaching can HR play a role in moderating the environment?

Can organizations facilitate discussions internally so that conversations don’t spill outside?

While the government is continuing its dialogue with key websites there is also lobbying and pressure from countries that will be impacted by curbs online.

A social media policy isn’t the solution. Now is the time to listen, engage and define the new world order inside organizations.

 As always, I am interested in your thoughts.

Called ‘BRing the Change Week’ the event runs from November 28 till December 3, 2011. If you haven’t figured, the ‘BR’ in’ Bring’ refers to Business Responsibility. The Foundation is involving the IT-BPO industry through volunteering – in one mega event spanning the country.

Brainstorming with partner NGOs

After the initial table top discussions (I preempted the needs of NGOs assigned to me by sending a questionnaire in advance to solicit inputs on their work and specific challenges) each group had to share their top three take-aways. By asking each NGO to talk about their next project and how they envisaged communicating, I guided the group with recommendations on making their communication stick.

The learning shared by representatives from partner NGOs ranged from their understanding of the communication process to better ways to use social media effectively. Some were impressed by the quality of the discussions and vowed to stay connected with the corporate resources. Other inputs people took away were about tools and templates to implement, tips on preparing an ‘elevator pitch’ and ideas to blend the power of communities with fund raising.

Workshop in progress

Personally, I felt there is limited understanding of the impact communication makes and even less investment by NGOs to grasp basics of this key function.

Overall, based on the NGOs who participated and their expectations from this workshop it is evident that opportunities exist to leverage communication to their advantage.

For those unfamiliar with the technology adoption lifecycle it describes the ability to embrace a new product or innovation while mapping it to the demographic and psychological characteristics of defined adopter groups. In the bell curve the ‘early adopters’ come in after ‘innovators’ and are usually younger, more educated and respected as leaders in their community. Among the five broad groups of people classified by this model the ‘early majority’ and the ‘late majority’ form the largest set. The ‘laggards’ come in, as the name suggests, last.

Now, let me share an extract of the message before I come to what it means for internal communications.

The letter stated:

 “I want to personally thank you because you were one of LinkedIn’s first million members (member number 724961 in fact!*). In any technology adoption lifecycle, there are the early adopters, those who help lead the way. That was you. We hit a big milestone at LinkedIn this week when our 100 millionth member joined the site. “ It then went on to talk about their vision and what they accomplished with the help of many. The note ended with a call to support their effort in the future.

Here is how I read it:

 1. This company took time to recognize me for trying out a new application and staying the course.

 2. It remembered that I was among the first million and they are now 100 million! Yes, I felt important and great to be a part of this journey

 3. I was pleased to be seen as a leader

 4. I realized that a lot can be done if you begin early By converting a milestone event (crossing 100 million members) into an opportunity to recognize definitely deserves appreciation. However this can never be possible without constantly thinking about your customers, having robust systems tracking every single metric worth a mention and messaging it appropriately.

 So, how does this insight translate into your internal communication recognition programming?

Wouldn’t it be great to inform your leaders of teams that are recognizing most and least so that they can take suitable action? Can this data be co-related to team’s morale and performance? Why not?

Will your design team be delighted if you share which pages are getting more hits and therefore how tweaks to the layout will improve experience for users?

Just heard that Adidas launched a football shoe with a chip inside that transmits data on maximum speed, distance covered, and number of sprints to a computer or mobile device.  How cool is that? How does it change the soccer player’s game if he or she knew how much energy to conserve based on kilometers run during the 90 minute match or which areas to focus more on or how to play in relation to other team mates?

Here are other reasons to keep recognition metrics on your radar:

Leverage metrics to drive a recognition culture: If you are aware of those employees who have repeatedly taken time to recognize great work can you in turn highlight their contribution?

 Improve ‘stickiness’ for your recognition site: Enhance usability by tracking content downloads, page views among other metrics.

Drive community and local recognitions: Staff will be more connected to local communities and it helps to ‘seed’ forums for recognitions closer home.

Support decision making with metrics: Simple data pointers such as the location’s first and most recent joiner can be inputs for, say, a milestone celebration.

What struck you most in this communication and how else can metrics improve recognitions in organizations?

She said she felt like a ‘dakiya’ – (Hindi for postman) at her workplace. This conversation became a passionate discussion among many in the room and I realized that it seemed like an issue with most of those practicing internal communication in their respective organizations.

I decided to probe the concern a bit further. Here is how our conversation went. The name of the participant is changed in the transcript below to protect her privacy.

Me: “Tell me more about why you feel like a postman?”

Janet: “It isn’t just my CEO who asks me to pen his e-mails; even my supervisor gets me to craft and publish communication on her behalf.” (The frustration in her voice reflected how much she wanted out of that scenario.) 

Me: “Were expectations set about your role? Are you aware what internal communicators are expected to do?”

Janet: “As an internal communicator I was told to focus on churning out mailers but what I can’t understand is why can’t leaders write their own communication? After a while my his e-mails begin reading like mine and there isn’t a way to differentiate!. I have limited understanding of internal communications since my background is in advertising.”

Me: “Have you had a conversation on what an internal communicator is expected to do and how your role can be improved?”

Janet: “I wouldn’t dare to have that conversation with my boss or my leader. They aren’t open to it and will go out and hire someone else.”

At this point the group began sympathizing with Janet and spoke of their woes in clarifying roles. Also, how internal communicators bear the cross all the time without any recognition.

Here are the questions:

What you think is the issue in this case?

How can internal communicators stop being ‘postmen’ or ‘delivery people’ and play a strategic role?

As a consultant or a person looking at this concern from the outside how can you help Janet get ahead of the expectations that her boss and leaders have?

Interested in your views. Post it now.

While there isn’t a ‘one-size, fits all’ approach for internal communications it helps to step back and ask the following questions –

1.       How do you want your stakeholders to perceive your team and you?

Competent? Capable? Thought leader? Predictable? Creative? Problem solver? Change manager? Partner?

2.       If your organization didn’t have an internal communications function but wanted one what would be the drivers for your business case?

Keep employees informed? Aligning staff to organizational goals? Build and manage infrastructure and channels? Create capabilities in the organization? Coach leaders to be effective communicators? Support managers in their role as communicators? Improving reach? Ensuring consistency? Enhancing quality? Upholding brand  standards?

3.       How will you know you are successful as a function?

Knowing the value you add? Measuring the value? When stakeholders acknowledge the value you add? If there is growing interest in your services and offerings? If leaders seek more support?

When I mulled over these questions it became increasingly apparent that setting a gold standard meant thinking of internal communications in the larger context of the organization’s goals and understanding industry benchmarks. The CIPR e-book ‘A Guide to Feedback Mechanisms’ calls out that ‘achieving dialogue is a gold standard for internal communications’ and can determine an organization’s success chance.

From an organizational context I believe it hinges on the following parameters:

• The organization’s position in its journey to be a top player in the industry
• The organization’s stand on internal communication
• The various partners that support the delivery and excellence of internal communications
• The willingness to adapt to change
• The openness to accept feedback from staff

In the context of industry standards:

• The team’s skills and capabilities
• The leadership’s openness to build competencies
• Knowing the current level and strengths of the team
• Having an internal communication strategy and plan
• Supporting the team with requisite budgets and resources
• Building infrastructure to support team’s effort

What according to you are the top three reasons for the existence of an internal communications function? Share your thoughts here.

Ira recommends that it helps to drive traffic through interactive content such as contests, blogs and chats with senior managers. After you have satiated their thirst for relevant information you can begin serving company related information side by side.

Guru on the other hand passionately debates human nature and why staff is inclined to ‘de-stress’ and how social media channels externally provide them that ‘release’. That said, he believes there is no better way to get adoption but by removing access to external sites till employees get used to the forums internally.

I also got a comment on Linkedin’s Communication Professionals group and JD GERSHBEIN, a seasoned professional felt that insecurity and redundant content contributes to ineffective usage of internal business networking sites. In his words:

“Very challenging to sell participation in an internal company group. In many cases, these virtual communities have redundant content without any free exchange of ideas. In this day and age of shaky (at best) job security, people feel inhibited to voice their real opinions on the social platforms, fearing that they may say something that will come back to haunt them.”

When I reflect on Shruti’s predicament it feels that there is more that she can do to get adoption.

In Indian culture hierarchy plays an important role and it helps to get leaders on the forum first if she needed staff to participate actively.

Look for bright spots among staff already using the forum – and get them to be your champions. Convert their successes into war stories that will encourage others to use the network. For example, it is possible that a project managed to solve a nagging issue online and it helped reduce time to market. Can that find a place in your internal communications?

Share how the network contributes to a person’s productivity and improves their chances of career progression. Incentivize their effort – be it for a solution they provided or a white paper they wrote.

Remove roadblocks of participation. There may be infrastructural challenges such as too many logins to get past to access the site. Make life simpler for the audience.

Let supervisors of top contributors know of their supervisees’ support in harvesting internal knowledge. That goes a long way in sensitizing leaders as well as motivating employees to participate.