Friday 14 December 2018

Uncertainty concerns, speculation is worse


Every change or crisis comms text you’ll ever read will declare, somewhere within its sage advice, “never speculate”. It’s one of the fundamental tenets when dealing with the natural inclination to make up for an absence of facts: don’t make a rod for your own back.

There will be lots of internal communicators in UK-based companies fighting the impulse to give some reassurance to employees over Brexit right now.

There is so much uncertainty, and the political situation is changing so quickly, that firm facts are hard to discern. However, the desire to reassure employees over the future for the company, and the prospects for EU nationals in the workforce, must be growing every day. When nothing is clear, it’s hard to build confidence. But the need to do so remains.

In such circumstances there is a tendency to distil concrete and discrete scenarios: to say if x happens, it will mean y and we’ll do z. But that means hoping the sands don’t shift any further in the coming days (let alone weeks): routes that seem likely today could easily be ruled out tomorrow in the current febrile environment. Make one wrong prediction, in a bid to address uncertainty, and the company’s credibility as a source of reassurance will be shot.

Far better, in the short term, to emphasise that the company is zealously monitoring the situation and planning for many different scenarios. To emphasise that robust scenario planning means it has a whole toolkit from which it will deploy appropriate measures when the time is right.

In other words, acknowledge the uncertainties, don’t seek the resolve them. Emphasise that the organisation is ready for anything and prepared to act. Confirm the company’s commitment to share news and provide clarity as soon as it can. This might not immediately bring the certainty employees crave – and that communicators want to give – but it will help to maintain the credibility of communications and mean there’s more trust in the well when the situation becomes clearer.

Tuesday 12 June 2018

Shaping successful company narratives

One of the fascinating areas in which my colleagues and I are working is the development of company narratives. These are endlessly intriguing, stimulating projects from which the outputs can make a major difference for any organisation, no matter what size or sector. I’ve seen them work wonders in terms of enhancing engagement, alignment and common purpose.

But they are often discussed in articles and commentary in wildly dramatic terms, as if there is some mystic art behind their development and delivery.

There isn’t.

A narrative should be a clear, concise and practical tool for the organisation, forged from the culture of the organisation and used as the foundation for all engagement activities with stakeholders. It should be developed with extensive input from those within the company and embedded across all the organisation’s touchpoints with those groups. There should be at least as much emphasis on embedding its use as there is on its articulation in the first place.

Here are a few steps (among many) I would recommend:

1. Understand parameters 
Any narrative project, however wide the commitment to employee involvement, must start with a framework. This must come from conversations with leaders, so you gain a clear understanding – in their words – of the organisation’s purpose, ‘north star’ and strategic themes. Those leaders will also set the cultural tone for the organisation and act as guardians of its core values. Drawing out different leaders’ views on all these areas will give you a framework within which to work.

2. Involve team leaders/supervisors
Sometimes, in these projects, there is a rush to involve front-line employees as quickly as possible. Such involvement is, of course, essential to creating a narrative that is both compelling and credible. But don’t neglect the ‘squeezed middle’: the team leaders and/or supervisors who play a pivotal role in translating strategic aims into day-to-day action. They are a crucial group in their own right, so gain sufficient representation from them and tailor your research guides and materials to seek their input.

3. Craft, test, craft, test 
One great challenge in these projects is to collate and distil key themes emerging from employee involvement into a clear, concise and compelling narrative. But don’t shape it solely behind closed doors and then unveil it to the world. Test it with key stakeholders to help maintain their involvement and assess whether the themes (and words) you’re proposing resonate and inspire. Make it an iterative process.

4. Find the ‘proof points’ 
Any narrative stands or falls on its credibility and, therefore, must be supported by evidence. This can come in several forms, from facts & stats to mini case-studies, all of which should form part of the supporting material on which you can draw for engagement activities. Spend time seeking these ‘proof points’ early on.

5. Work with touchpoint ‘owners’
Every organisation has multiple touchpoints with its stakeholders. These are often managed by many different people, with limited interaction or cross-over: these colleagues’ adoption of the narrative – or otherwise – will mean the difference between a narrative that lives and breathes within the company and a project that withers on the vine. So identify these colleagues and examine how best to connect and communicate with them. Lean on your senior sponsors to help them set expectations. Work with touchpoint ‘owners’ to engage them in the narrative, identify their support needs and flesh out any concerns. Provide a simple toolkit of materials and guidance to help them. Stay in touch and work with them on delivering principles in practice. Be a collaborator, coach, agony aunt and steadfast support.

6. Keep evolving 
A narrative should be a living, practical tool for the organisation. It should not be a set of fine words that sits in a document or is posted on a website and forgotten about. As the company changes, the narrative should evolve with it. Establish a practical and systematic process for reviewing, updating and re-issuing the narrative (and/or supporting ‘proof points’) to touchpoint owners.

There are many other steps to consider, but these are some fundamental pointers that make a big difference, whether you’re an SME or a multinational.

Friday 8 June 2018

The company with nothing to hide


At the Engage for Success conference this Spring, I saw a powerful presentation by the Chairman and CEO of Absolut Vodka, Anna Malmhake. She told a story that was deceptively simple and extremely impressive.

Like many other institutions, in different countries and sectors, Absolut wanted to ensure their brand values were shared and followed by colleagues and partners around their world. In their case, they wanted clear and consistent messages in which they could engage teams and markets in the wider Pernod Ricard family.

After distilling five campaign beliefs they want to weave though all their brand marketing activity, worldwide, they summed their mantra up as “the vodka with nothing to hide”. The thinking being: we are a pure vodka and nothing detracts from our purpose or our product.

The Absolut team then looked inwardly and examined how this mantra could be brought to life for current and prospective recruits. The internal perspective being: we are an open company that is fair, straightforward and engaging for everyone.

But how to bring this life for people, so they can see the company means what it says?

Simple. Produce a film to communicate the message. Using employees.

Naked employees.

Colleagues from across the company’s single production site in Sweden appear, au naturel, in an induction film that communicates and celebrates what is special about the company and its culture. It is a bold concept, wonderfully expressed, in a really engaging film. Click here to see it on YouTube (if you’re over 18!). It has attracted nearly two million viewers.

I love the idea and its expression because it is simple yet bold, aligned with the values of the brand. It’s also interesting that they looked at what they were trying to say to consumers and realised they could do more with this concept from an employer branding perspective.

Fabulous stuff.

Tuesday 10 April 2018

Engagement before induction: the ‘Peacock Principle’

At the Engage for Success conference last month, I was inspired by a tale from serial entrepreneur Sir Eric Peacock regarding one of the practices he follows within his companies.

It’s a simple thing: his companies send a bottle of champagne with a couple of glasses to people about to join them. The message is clear: “we’re looking forward to seeing you”. The aim is to engage the employee before they even walk through the door, to demonstrate that this is an employer that will value them. Of course, there’s a defensive aspect to this – they don’t want the prospective employee to be attracted by a counter-offer from their current company – but there is also a real commitment to engagement and to treating an employee as individual, even before he/she joins.

It’s not the only thing that is sent. There is other material that follows it, including the usual pre-joining stuff you will get in any company. But the celebration comes first: an important signal that sets the context for the connection between employer and employee.

I’ve heard about it before, but I still found it inspiring. Why? Because we don’t do enough of it, in any of our organisations. It doesn’t have to be champagne, that’s not right for everyone, but a gesture that shows we are excited to welcome a new employee and can’t wait to start working with them is a powerful signal of intent. It’s easy to appreciate the warmth that such a gesture creates. So why don’t we do more if it?

To start as we mean to go on, to really connect with people and seek to build engagement, we should be using every opportunity. We should also be creating additional touchpoints to ensure a connection struck during recruitment is maintained and even strengthened rather than falling fallow. The ‘Peacock Principle’ as I shall now be calling this, is one to remember. 

Friday 23 February 2018

Engaged or 'in here'?

There has been more media discussion this morning on the lingering issue of ‘presenteeism’ and its links – or lack thereof – to productivity.

It is amazing that we are still debating such issues. Commentators have been discussing the need for managers to look upon flexible working more favourably, rather than having to see the whites of someone’s eyes in order to manage them effectively. Haven’t we been having such debates for 20+ years? Why are we still floundering around the issue rather than identifying methods and models that make flexible working an accepted and effective element of the modern workplace?

If some leaders and managers are yet to be convinced, maybe they need to see more overt proof of the impact. So why aren’t the various bodies involved in these debates doing more to identify and share lessons from organisations who have really made flexibility work, for employer and employee? We need less discussion over ‘why’ and more focus on ‘how’ if we are going to move the debate on.  

As one commentator this morning has put it, in a knowledge-based economy, whether someone is physically at their desk is increasingly irrelevant. Nor is engagement location-specific. There is so much employers can do to build effective relationships with their people – and enhance productivity – whether or not those individuals are physically in front of them. We should be focusing on how to make that happen, not whether it should take place.